A well-designed chatbot survey can transform your lead qualification process from tedious form-filling into engaging conversations that prospects actually complete.
When you ask the right questions using a natural, conversational flow, you surface richer insights and qualify leads with more nuance—and less drop off—than traditional web forms.
In this guide, I’ll walk through proven frameworks (like CHAMP and BANT), explain how to build auto-scoring, smart follow-ups, and show you how easy it is to move structured data from your AI survey into your CRM. Let’s make lead qualification work for you.
Essential frameworks for lead qualification questions
When it comes to effective lead qualification, structured frameworks are your best friend. The two most widely adopted models are:
CHAMP: Challenges, Authority, Money, Prioritization
BANT: Budget, Authority, Need, Timeline
Both help you systematically identify the most promising leads by targeting the key factors behind purchase decisions. But the magic is in translating these into natural, conversational questions that don’t feel like an interrogation. That’s a big reason why AI surveys built with tools like Specific’s AI survey generator consistently outperform rigid forms—people respond better, and you capture more usable data.
Let’s break down each framework and how they sound in the flow of a chat:
CHAMP
Challenges: What main issue are you hoping to solve with a new solution?
Authority: Are you the person who would make the final decision on this purchase?
Money: What budget range have you considered for this type of solution?
Prioritization: How urgent is solving this challenge for your team?
BANT
Budget: Do you already have budget allocated for this, or would it need approval?
Authority: Who else, if anyone, would be involved in choosing a provider?
Need: Can you tell me what drove your interest in exploring solutions now?
Timeline: When are you hoping to implement a new solution?
Here’s how traditional forms stack up against conversational AI surveys:
Framework Area | Traditional Form Question | Conversational Chatbot Survey |
|---|---|---|
Budget | “What’s your budget?” (dropdown) | “Is there a budget range you’re comfortable with, or do you want to talk options?” |
Timeline | “When do you plan to buy?” (calendar date) | “If it’s a fit, when would you ideally want to get started?” |
Authority | “Your job title” (input field) | “Would you be leading the purchasing decision, or is it a team effort?” |
Need/Challenge | “Describe your project” (textarea) | “What’s the one thing you’d love to improve or fix with a new tool?” |
AI can generate endless variations and adapt tone, length, and follow-ups instantly. Try the AI survey generator to see how your prompts turn into ready-to-go lead qualification conversations tailored to your business.
Build intelligent scoring and branching into your chatbot survey
Auto-scoring: This is where smart lead qualification happens at scale. Questions like budget, urgency, or authority can each carry a score behind the scenes. For example, if a lead indicates a $5K–$10K budget, the chatbot automatically scores them higher than someone with “no budget yet.” AI chatbots with auto-scoring increase opportunities by 181% on average. [1]
Here’s a visual for mapping scores to lead quality:
Score Range | Lead Quality |
|---|---|
15–20 | Sales-ready (immediate outreach) |
10–14 | Qualified (add to nurture queue) |
0–9 | Lower fit (consider automated follow-ups) |
Specific scoring examples:
Budget: $10K+ = 5pts, $5K–$10K = 3pts, <$5K = 1pt
Timeline: < 1 month = 5pts, < 3 months = 3pts, "Just browsing" = 1pt
Authority: Decision-maker = 5pts, Part of team = 3pts, Recommender only = 1pt
Branching logic: With chatbots, every response can trigger deeper probing or alternate flows. For instance, if a prospect answers “no, I’m not the final decision-maker,” the chatbot can automatically ask “Who else would need to be involved in the process?” or pivot into educating the lead. AI follow-ups can dig deeper or clarify vague answers, creating ultra-relevant conversations that standard forms simply can’t. Automated branching helps capture 45% more qualified leads using smart triggers. [1]
To see how dynamic probing questions work in action, check out our automatic AI follow-up questions feature.
Structure your data for seamless CRM integration
A lead conversation is only as useful as the data you capture. The key with modern chatbot surveys is that all responses—no matter how conversational—should be mapped to structured fields in your CRM.
Field mapping: Start by identifying which questions you want mapped to existing CRM fields (like “budget_amount,” “decision_role,” “project_need”). Make sure every question line up with how data is stored in Salesforce, HubSpot, or your favorite CRM. For example, a multi-choice answer about budget can translate to a custom CRM property with dropdown picklists.
Data standardization: Keep naming and formats consistent. Stick to lower case with underscores (e.g. “project_priority”), use dropdowns or standardized response sets when possible, and clean/parse free text into tags where possible. Here’s how a conversational response gets structured:
Question in Chatbot | User’s Response | Structured Field Output |
|---|---|---|
“How urgent is solving this challenge?” | “Pretty high. We need a fix in the next 4 weeks.” | project_priority = “high”, implementation_window = “<1 month” |
“Are you the final decision-maker?” | “I help recommend, but my manager signs off.” | decision_role = “recommender”, authority_level = “manager approval required” |
For Salesforce or HubSpot, always check that the field types match (e.g., “budget_amount” as a number, “project_need” as single-select). AI tools like Specific’s AI survey response analysis can help you extract entities and map even open-ended replies to CRM-ready fields.
Question templates and AI prompts for your lead qualification survey
Let’s get practical. Here are ready-made sequences you can use across different industries and business types—feel free to borrow or tweak to taste.
B2B SaaS (CHAMP style, consultative):
You’re planning a lead qualification survey for SaaS buyers. Create a conversational flow using CHAMP: Ask about current challenges, who makes purchase decisions, estimated budget, and urgency.
I’d ask:
What’s not working in your current setup that you want to fix?
If we find the right solution, is it just you who decides or are others involved?
Do you have a budget range in mind, or is that still open?
How soon are you hoping to solve this?
Professional Services (BANT style, direct):
Draft a lead qualification chatbot survey for consulting clients using BANT. Focus on budget, authority, specific needs, and project timeline.
I’d write:
Is there a budget set aside for this project, or does it need further approval?
Who initials or signs off on vendor selections for your team?
What led you to look for consulting help right now?
Is there a deadline or go-live date you’re aiming for?
Enterprise Tech (extended CHAMP, probing for scale):
Generate a chatbot survey for an enterprise IT solution, using CHAMP and follow-up prompts to clarify pain points, decision group, financial scope, and long-term priorities.
A good sequence would be:
What critical problem is hindering your IT team’s productivity right now?
How is this challenge impacting the business overall?
Who’s part of the decision process for major infrastructure investments?
How much flexibility do you have on budget, if the ROI is clear?
How high does this sit on your team’s priority list for the next quarter?
AI Customization Prompt (for any business)
I want to build an AI-powered lead qualification survey to replace our discovery call. Use the BANT framework, make it sound consultative, and ask for: budget, authority, main reason for interest, and timing. Include automated follow-up for vague answers.
After you generate your first survey draft, refine and edit the conversation tone and depth as much as you’d like with the AI survey editor.
Ready to qualify leads conversationally?
Forget generic forms—conversational lead qualification gives you deeper insight, captures higher-quality leads, and saves hours of manual calls. Swap slow sales screening for instant, scalable conversations that fuel real growth. Ready to create your own survey?