Guides
Moving company discovery call: the question sequence before the survey
A script for the moving company discovery call: ask about access before rooms, use the answers to decide survey needs and estimate type, and record every reply.
What to take away
- The discovery call is not a sales call. It is the first pass of the survey, and its job is to find out whether a real survey is needed and what kind of estimate the job can honestly carry.
- Ask about access before you ask about rooms. Floors, stairs, elevators, and where a truck can stand decide more of the price than the furniture does.
- Never give a flat figure on the call. Give the basis, the minimum, and the next step, and write down every answer the caller gave.
- End with the estimate type explained in one sentence each, so the caller knows what binding and non-binding mean before they choose.
What the call is for
A caller wants a number. What you need is a picture of the job.
The call succeeds when you hang up knowing three things: whether a walkthrough or video survey is required, which crew size and truck the job probably takes, and whether the date falls on a day you can staff.
A number spoken before those three are known is a guess the caller treats as a promise.
The sales and proposal guide describes where the call sits in the pipeline. This page is the script.
The question sequence
Ask in this order. Each block builds on the one before, and the order is deliberate: access first, because it is what callers forget to mention and what most changes the hours.
Discovery Call Question Order
- Block 1origin and destination addresses
- Block 2goods, rooms, and special items
- Block 3timing, date, and flexibility
- Block 4explain estimate types
Block 1: the two addresses
- Where are you moving from, and where to? (Street level of detail; you need the route, the distance, and whether a state line is crossed.)
- At the origin, which floor, and is there an elevator? Can it be reserved for the move?
- Same questions for the destination.
- How far from the front door can a large truck legally park? Any gates, low branches, weight-limited bridges, or loading-dock hours?
Block 2: the goods
- How many rooms, and which ones are full? (This is where most callers start; you have moved it to fifth.)
- Is there a garage, basement, attic, or storage unit with contents going on the truck?
- Any pianos, safes, large glass, artwork, exercise equipment, or appliances that need disconnecting?
- Will you pack yourselves, or do you want packing as a service? For anything you pack, have you moved before with boxes you packed?
Block 3: timing
- What date, and how flexible is it? (Note whether it lands at the end of the month or in peak season.)
- Is there a delivery window, or must it be the same day?
- Is anyone else quoting, and have they done a walkthrough?
Block 4: the estimate type
- Explain binding, non-binding, and not-to-exceed in one sentence each and ask which the caller would prefer, then explain what a survey is needed for before any of them can be issued.
What each answer changes
| Answer | What it changes | Who needs to know |
|---|---|---|
| Fourth floor, no elevator | Access hours at that end, crew size | Estimator, dispatcher |
| Elevator exists but cannot be reserved | Wait time, possible split load | Dispatcher |
| Truck cannot reach the door | Shuttle or smaller vehicle, doubled handling | Dispatcher, crew lead |
| Piano or safe | Specialty equipment, extra crew, separate line on the quote | Estimator, crew lead |
| Customer packing | Inspection at survey, valuation wording for customer-packed cartons | Estimator |
| End-of-month date | Calendar pressure, quote validity period | Office |
| Crossing a state line | FMCSA rules on estimates and documents apply | Owner |
The last row matters: for an interstate move, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration sets what the customer must receive in writing. Its Protect Your Move materials describe what an interstate customer is entitled to ask for and how movers and brokers differ.
What Each Answer Changes
Answer
- Fourth floor, no elevator
- Access hours, crew size
- Elevator cannot be reserved
- Wait time, split load
- Truck cannot reach door
- Shuttle, doubled handling
- Piano or safe
- Specialty equipment, extra crew
- Customer packing
- Inspection, valuation wording
- Crossing a state line
- FMCSA rules apply
Changes
- Fourth floor, no elevator
- Estimator, dispatcher
- Elevator cannot be reserved
- Dispatcher
- Truck cannot reach door
- Dispatcher, crew lead
- Piano or safe
- Estimator, crew lead
- Customer packing
- Estimator
- Crossing a state line
- Owner
Who
- Fourth floor, no elevator
- Elevator cannot be reserved
- Truck cannot reach door
- Piano or safe
- Customer packing
- Crossing a state line
Read them before you take interstate calls, because the caller may have read them first. Which authority your company needs for that work is covered in the licensing and compliance guide.
What not to say
Do not say a number that sounds like a price. "Most three-bedroom moves come in around" is a quote. If the walkthrough finds a garage full of shelving, the customer will remember it.
Say the basis and the minimum: "Local moves are priced by the crew-hour, with a minimum of X hours, and I can give you a firm figure after a survey."
Do not describe a competitor. Do not promise a crew or a date before dispatch has seen the calendar; the operations and workflow guide explains why a promise made on the phone is the first thing dispatch has to unwind.
Do not make a claim about the company's service or pricing that you cannot support. The Federal Trade Commission's advertising FAQs for small businesses apply to what is said on the phone as much as to what is printed. "No hidden fees" spoken to a caller is a claim, and the shuttle charge at delivery is the test of it.
Record the call
Every answer goes on the intake sheet under the job number. The IRS asks in what kind of records should I keep only that the system clearly show income and expenses.
The intake sheet is also the document the survey checks against. It settles the argument when a customer says they mentioned the piano. If the sheet says they did not, the estimator has a fact to stand on.
Who takes the calls, and how they are trained to run this script rather than sell, is part of the hiring and training guide.
The close
End the call with a next step and a date. Book a survey, send a video survey link, or for a small labor-only job, take an hourly booking with a stated minimum.
If the caller is moving to a market you do not serve yet, say so and note the inquiry. The expansion and market guide explains why a log of turned-away inquiries is the honest test of whether a second market exists.
Common questions
How long should the call take?
Long enough to get through the twelve questions with a cooperative caller. A caller who will not answer the access questions is telling you something about the job.
Can I skip the survey for a studio apartment?
Sometimes. If the answers to blocks one and two are complete, a small job can go straight to an hourly booking. The survey is for any job where a flat figure will be issued or a specialty item is involved.
What if the caller already has a lower quote?
Ask whether the other quote was binding and whether it followed a survey. A lower non-binding figure with no survey is not a lower price; it is a different risk position, and the caller may not know that yet.
Should the estimator take the call, or the office?
Either, provided the script is the same. What matters is that the person who will do the survey reads the intake sheet before arriving.
