Call protocol
Contractor estimate request script: a new job on the phone
Short answer
When someone calls for an estimate, a 100% AI receptionist answers in your company’s name, says it’s an AI and follows this contractor estimate request script. It asks what the project is, where it is, whether the caller owns the property, when they want it done and, only if you want it asked, their budget.
Then it books the site visit in your calendar or takes the request, and you get a summary with every answer. Jobs outside your area or your trade get the polite answer you chose. It never throws out a ballpark price. This is the protocol we start from for contractors and remodelers; you adapt it and approve it before it answers.
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Example call: a kitchen remodel
Stonebridge Builders · A kitchen remodel
- AI
- Stonebridge Builders, this is AI Receptionist, the AI assistant. How can I help?
- Caller
- I’d like an estimate for redoing my kitchen.
- AI
- What’s the address, and are you the owner?
- Caller
- Yes, 14 Orchard Court.
- AI
- When would you like the work done?
- Caller
- This summer.
- AI
- A name and number for the visit?
- Caller
- Nora Castellano, 555-0120.
- AI
- I can book Tuesday at 9.
- Caller
- Perfect.
- AI
- You’re booked, Nora. I’ll text you a link to send photos.
Summary sent to you
- New lead
- kitchen remodel, 14 Orchard Court, owner, wants it done this summer.
- Caller
- Nora Castellano, 555-0120.
- Done
- estimate visit booked Tuesday 9:00 and saved; photo link (example.com/photos) texted. No price given.
The contractor phone script, step by step
-
What’s the project?
In the caller’s words, then the follow-ups your protocol adds: which room, roughly what size, new build or repair.
The AI says: “Tell me a little about the project.”
-
Where is it?
The address, checked against your service area. Outside it, the caller hears your words, not a vague “maybe.”
The AI says: “What’s the address of the property?”
-
Owner or not?
Whether the caller owns the property, rents it or manages it for someone else. It saves your team a visit to a job nobody can approve.
The AI says: “Are you the owner of the property?”
-
When?
Their timeline, from “as soon as possible” to “next spring.” Useful for sorting your follow-ups.
The AI says: “When would you like the work done?”
-
Budget, only if you want it
Some contractors want a rough budget before a site visit; others never ask on the first call. It’s asked only if it’s in your protocol, and never answered with a number of its own.
The AI says: “Do you have a budget range in mind for this project?”
-
Name, number and the site visit
It confirms a name and a callback number, then offers times from your calendar for an estimate visit. Once the slot is saved it confirms it and, if you want, texts a link you choose, such as your photo upload page.
The AI says: “I can book an estimate visit Tuesday at 9. Does that work?”
Which calls go straight to you
For a contractor, these are the hand-offs we start from. Your rules replace them.
| Situation | What happens |
|---|---|
| Someone could get hurt on a job (gas smell, live wire, collapse, flooding) | Told to hang up and call 911 first, then the project lead is reached |
| New project in your area and trade | Site visit booked, or taken as a request |
| Large or commercial job, by the size you set | Put through to you, or emailed to you at once as a priority lead |
| Outside your service area | Your approved line; noted in the summary |
| Work you don’t do | Your approved line or referral |
| Current customer with a problem on a job | Put through to the project lead, or a message |
| Supplier or subcontractor | Message, by your rules |
What it never says on this call
- A ballpark price, a price per square foot or “that usually costs about…”
- A start date, a finish date or how long the job will take.
- Advice on materials, permits or what the job really needs.
- Safety advice beyond the line you approved; if someone could get hurt, it says to call 911 first.
- A site visit that isn’t saved in your calendar.
What you decide
- Your service area, and what to say to callers outside it.
- The work you take on, and what to say about the rest.
- Your qualifying questions: budget, timeline, ownership, financing.
- What counts as a large job, worth putting straight through.
- Site visits: which days and times, how long each takes, and the link it texts, if any.
- Spanish-speaking callers, answered in Spanish on the same line.
We set it up with you, and you approve it.
Why this protocol works
Our call protocols come from nearly two decades of running phone reception for small businesses. An estimate request call is where contractors lose work they never knew they had: the phone rings while you’re on a roof or under a house, and the caller tries the next name on the list.
Two rules carry the weight here. It asks what matters, so your estimate visit starts with the facts. It never promises what you don’t, so no number gets quoted before you’ve seen the job. More on our method. How each remodeling lead arrives ready for your follow-up is on lead intake and qualification; how the visit lands in your calendar, on appointment scheduling. Storm work has its own roofing storm damage protocol.
Questions contractors ask
Can it give a rough price so people don’t waste my time?
Only if you write the price line yourself and approve it. By default it doesn’t give numbers, because a ballpark over the phone becomes the price the customer remembers. What it can do is ask about budget, so you know before the visit whether the job fits.
What happens with jobs outside my area?
It tells the caller, in the words you choose, that the address is outside your service area, and notes it in your summary. If you have a referral you trust, it can give that too. No promises, no awkward “we’ll see.”
Can callers send photos?
The AI can text the caller a link you choose, such as your photo upload page or your website, during or right after the call. It doesn’t receive or review photos itself: they land wherever your link sends them, and the summary tells you a link was sent so you know to look.
What if the caller isn’t the owner?
It asks who the owner is and whether that person can be reached, and notes both in your summary. A tenant, a property manager or a relative calling on someone’s behalf still gets the site visit offered if your rules allow it; otherwise the request is taken and you decide whether to go.
Put this protocol on your phone line
Tell us the work you take on, your service area and how you schedule estimate visits, and we build your protocol as part of your free setup. You approve it before you forward your number. No monthly fee on Pay As You Go; plans are on pricing, and more examples are in the call protocol library.
Free setup · No contract · Cancel anytime