The engineering team never joins a call without knowing the scope
"I need an app" or "I want to connect my system to that tool" arrives with no scope, no timeline and no budget, and the only way to answer it properly is to sit down with whoever wrote it and pull those details out one by one — time the engineering team usually does not have to spare. SDRBOT.ai does that extraction before any call gets booked: it asks what has to be built or connected, which system or API it has to talk to, the timeline the client has in mind and the budget range available for the project. Only what already has enough information for a real estimate reaches the engineering team.
Build my SDR free →What slows support down today
A deadline gets agreed with the client before anybody on the engineering team confirms it can be met, and the mismatch only shows up after the proposal is signed.
An integration request arrives without saying whether the system on the other side has a documented API or is a legacy box with no documentation at all, and the effort estimate changes entirely on that one answer nobody asked for.
The engineering team interrupts a sprint to answer a quote request on WhatsApp, because asking the client directly is still the only way to know whether that conversation is worth a call.
A real conversation in software companies
What it qualifies before handing the lead over
- Type of project (new build, integration between systems or process automation), which completely changes how it is estimated
- The system or API it has to integrate with, and whether documentation is already available
- The timeline the client has in mind for delivery or for going live
- Budget range available, or whether the client is still comparing quotes with other vendors
what lands in your dashboard
Scope ready for an estimate
- Project
- CRM ↔ WhatsApp integration
- System
- CRM with a documented API
- Timeline
- End of next month (campaign scheduled)
- Budget
- Still comparing vendors
Illustrative example. In your account the SDR is trained on the real details of your business.
What has to be built, defined before the technical call
"I need a system" is the most common request and the least useful for estimating anything — it could be an app from scratch, an automation of one specific process, or an integration between two systems that already exist. Each of those is priced in a completely different way.
The SDR asks the type of project before anything else: new build, integration between existing systems, or process automation. Only after that does it ask the rest — current stack, whether any documentation exists, whether there is a technical team on the client's side to talk to during the project.
The timeline set against what that type of project usually takes
A tight deadline on a large scope is the combination that generates the most friction once a project is underway, and much of the time the client has no idea that the deadline in their head is incompatible with what they asked for.
The SDR asks about the desired timeline and records it alongside the type of project, without trying to validate whether it is feasible — that is a technical decision for the engineering team, with more context than any screening can have. What the SDR guarantees is that nobody on the engineering side discovers the mismatch only at the scoping meeting.
An API integration qualified by the system on the other side
Every integration has one question that changes the entire effort: does the system on the other side have a documented, stable API, or is it a legacy system with no documentation, requiring technical investigation before a single line of code?
The SDR asks which system the integration has to talk to and whether any documentation is available. That answer alone separates a straightforward project from one that will require technical investigation before the estimate itself — information that completely changes the quote.
What your team gains
- The technical call starts on the scopeEngineering joins knowing the type of project, the system involved and the timeline, instead of finding out live.
- An API integration arrives qualifiedKnowing whether the system on the other side is documented changes the estimate before a single line of code.
- A vague request does not become an empty meetingSomebody who writes only "I need a system" is qualified until it becomes a specific request, or turned down without taking an engineering slot.
- An impossible timeline shows up before the proposalThe gap between the desired deadline and the scope requested is on record for engineering to weigh, not a surprise on the call.
Frequently asked questions
Can the SDR estimate the timeline or the budget for a project?
No. It gathers the type of project, the system involved, the desired timeline and the budget range, but the technical estimate — how long, how many people, what it costs — stays with the engineering team, with the qualification already in hand.
How does it work when the lead cannot explain technically what they need?
That is common, especially when the person writing is not on the technical side of the company. The SDR uses plain-language questions (what the system has to do, what it has to talk to) instead of demanding technical vocabulary, and flags for the team when an answer is still vague.
Is a maintenance or ongoing support project qualified the same way as a new one?
No, the script changes. For maintenance or support, the SDR asks about the existing system and the kind of recurring problem, instead of build scope — different questions than for a project from scratch.
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