Lead Qualification for Installers: What to Ask, and When
Lead qualification for installers happens in three places: the form, the WhatsApp follow-up and the first call. What to ask in each, by product.
Lead qualification for installers happens in three places, not one: the form the homeowner fills in, the WhatsApp or SMS conversation that follows it, and the first phone call. Each question belongs in one of those places. Most qualification problems come from asking a question in the wrong one.
Ask too much on the form and fewer people finish it. Ask too little and your surveyor spends the afternoon ringing people you can't help. Qualifying leads well means deciding, question by question, where the answer is easiest to get and most likely to be right.
What should every lead pass before it reaches you?
Before any question about the job, four checks decide whether a lead is usable at all:
- the postcode is inside the area you cover;
- the person is the homeowner;
- the phone number is live;
- the consent names you.
A lead that fails one of these is a poor lead, whatever else it says. Be clear about what each check proves, though. A live number proves the line connects, not that anyone will pick up. "Homeowner" is usually the person's own answer on the form, so the call is where you confirm it.
Consent needs the most care. The ICO's guidance on electronic mail marketing says that if a third party tells you its list has consent, you must check that the consent named your organisation, not just "trusted partners", and that it is recorded so you can show who consented, when and how. If it doesn't name you, you must not send email or text marketing on it. That's guidance, not legal advice, but it's reason enough to ask any supplier for the consent wording and time.
Where does each question belong?
Put each question where it's easiest to answer honestly.
1. The form: what they know without looking anything up
Ask what a homeowner can answer in seconds, on their phone, from memory: the type of property, which way the roof faces, roughly what they spend, what they want and how soon. Offer bands and a "not sure" option rather than exact figures. Every question costs you some people who would otherwise have finished, so keep only the ones that change whether you'd call.
2. The conversation: what clarifies intent
The WhatsApp or SMS conversation is for quick questions answered with a tap, and for clearing up misunderstandings. A homeowner asking "is this the free grant thing?" should get a plain answer in text before anyone's time is spent on a call. Our guide to WhatsApp lead follow-up covers how that conversation should run.
3. The first call: what needs a person
Some questions need a conversation: who else decides, whether they've had other quotes, what's prompting the job now, and whether a survey is worth booking. The call is also where the form's answers get checked.
What should you ask, by product?
The lead qualification questions change with the job. Every lead also carries the four checks above, an email address and a preferred contact method.
| Product | The home | What they have now | What they want | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solar | Property type; roof direction and shading; listed building or conservation area | Electricity bill band; existing solar, battery or EV | Panels, battery or both; rough system size, if known | Timeframe |
| Windows and doors | Property type and age; listed building or conservation area | Glazing and frame material; roughly when fitted | Replace, new or repair; how many windows and doors; material and style | Timeframe |
| Conservatories | Property type; listed building or conservation area | Existing conservatory, or none; current roof type | New build, orangery or roof replacement; style, if known; rough size | Timeframe |
| Air source heat pumps | Property type and age; listed building or conservation area | Fuel and boiler age; hot water cylinder or combi; insulation, as they describe it | Heat pump, or heat pump and solar; outdoor space for the unit; whether they asked about the Boiler Upgrade Scheme | Timeframe |
For solar lead qualification, the bill is a band on purpose: "£100–£200" is an honest answer where "£147" would be a guess. You can see every field in what a solar lead contains.
For windows and doors, "replace, new or repair" saves the most wasted calls: if a window fitter in Stockport doesn't take repairs, that's a screening answer, not something to find out on the phone. See the full list for window and door leads.
For conservatories, the roof type is the answer most likely to change on the call. Conservatory leads carry it alongside the job type, so a roof replacement doesn't arrive looking like a new build.
For heat pumps, "asked about the Boiler Upgrade Scheme" is a screening answer, not an eligibility check: it tells you the scheme is on the homeowner's mind, and nothing about whether they qualify. That's how it's labelled on an air source heat pump lead.
What shouldn't you ask on a form?
Anything that needs a survey, a tape measure or a bill to answer, such as:
- roof pitch, or the exact size of the roof or windows;
- the condition of the frames or conservatory base;
- the home's heat loss, or whether the walls are cavity or solid.
If the honest answer is "I'd have to check", the question needs a band, a "not sure" option or a place on the call. Avoid "check whether you qualify" wording, too: it suggests a grant is on offer.
The trade-off: a shorter form means some details arrive as bands, and the call fills them in. That beats a long form most people abandon, or precise answers that are really guesses.
Why does the call differ from the form?
Because the form was filled in on a phone in a minute or two, by someone who isn't a surveyor. Expect differences with home improvement leads:
- the conservatory roof the form called polycarbonate turns out to be glass;
- the electricity bill the form put at £100–£200 a month is nearer £90.
Neither makes it a bad lead: the homeowner still owns the home, lives in your area and wants the job. The call corrected a detail before the survey, which is its job.
The line to draw is between a detail and a check. A detail that differs (the roof material, the bill, a timeframe that moves forward) is normal. A check that fails (they rent, the postcode is outside your area, the number is dead, or there's no consent naming you) is a poor lead. Comparing the call with the form, line by line, is what call analytics for installers is for.
Which exclusions should you agree up front?
Before a campaign starts, agree in writing what should never be sent. A typical list covers:
- postcodes outside your area;
- jobs outside your criteria, such as property types you don't work on;
- commercial projects;
- jobs that depend on a grant or on ECO4;
- duplicates;
- anyone without consent that names you.
Every exclusion narrows the pool, and where a supplier prices on your criteria, a tighter fit usually costs more per lead. That's a fair trade if the excluded leads were ones you'd never convert, and a poor one if they were jobs you'd have taken in a quiet month. Ask about the supplier's returns policy before you buy, too.
Where POCKLA fits
POCKLA splits qualification the same way. The form, on a page made for each audience, collects the homeowner's own answers. The phone number is checked live, the postcode against your area, and the consent names you, with its wording and time stored.
Seconds after the form, AI messages the homeowner on WhatsApp in your business's name, asks your questions as buttons, answers objections plainly and agrees a call time they chose. Prefer text? Free SMS nurture with a personalised link does the same job. The lead reaches your CRM, or POCKLA Desk, with every answer attached and a timeline.
For solar, nothing on the exclusions list above is ever sent, and invalid numbers are returned with no time limit. Criteria, postcodes, follow-up channel and delivery are agreed on a call before anything goes live.
The first call is still yours. Make it from Desk and you get free call analytics, including how the call compared with the form.
Want leads qualified against your criteria before they reach you? See what a POCKLA lead contains →