Practical guide
How to qualify event inquiries
You judge an inquiry on four points: the date, the guest count and format, the budget, and who is behind it. Here is the grid to read them in two minutes and choose the reply that fits.
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Qualify an inquiry in five steps
Order matters: each step can stop the inquiry before you spend time on the next one.
Check the date and how flexible it is
Look at the calendar before anything else, setup and teardown included. A taken date doesn't close the inquiry: offer the nearest date or another space. Also note whether the date is firm or flexible, and how far out the event is.
Match the guest count and format to your spaces
The same group doesn't fit the same space for a meeting, a reception, or a seated dinner. Check a range (40 to 60 guests) against the top number. Note any technical or catering needs you can't serve.
Read the budget
Compare the stated budget with your packages for that guest count, flat rate or per person. A missing budget isn't a bad sign: many clients are waiting for your price. The negative signal is a budget far below your packages, presented as firm.
Know who is writing and who decides
The client, an assistant booking for their team, an agency sourcing for its client: each needs a different reply. Note the company, the decision-maker, and the decision date. For an agency, ask who the proposal should be addressed to.
Rate, then reply
Hot: a complete reply first, with availability, price, and an offer of a site visit. Warm: a reply with availability and two or three specific questions. Cold: a short, polished reply, or a rejection with its reason. Re-rate every time the client replies.
The inquiry qualification grid, ready to print
Adjust the thresholds to your packages and your spaces.
| Criterion | Hot | Warm | Cold |
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Specific date, available, setup included | Several possible dates, or “flexible” | Date taken, no other date accepted |
| Guest count and format | Within the space's capacity for that format, with needs you can serve | Wide range or format to confirm, technical needs to check | Over capacity, or a constraint the venue can't meet (overnight stays, sound, hours) |
| Budget | Stated and in line with your packages for that guest count | Missing or “flexible”: give a range in your reply | Far below your packages and presented as firm |
| Who's asking | Identified client, the person who decides or leads the project | Intermediary with no decision-maker named and no decision date | No name, no company, no answer to your questions |
| Reply to send | A complete reply first: availability, price, site visit | Availability and two or three specific questions | A short, polished reply, or a rejection with its reason |
A4 format, ready to print and post. No sign-up.
Sorting fast without ruling out good inquiries
Three habits keep you from ruling out a good inquiry when the queue overflows.
Check the date with the turnover time. A 7 p.m. dinner in a space booked for a meeting until 6 p.m. is only free if that hour is enough to reset the room
Reply with a price even when no budget is stated: a range or a per-person package tells the client whether to keep going with you
Read the guest count together with the format. An offsite with a general session and two breakouts takes three spaces, not one
Three numbers to track
- Win rate by level: hot inquiries should book clearly more often than the others
- Win rate by source
- Rejection reasons and loss reasons, month by month
The grid is written once, for the whole team
If an inquiry's value depends on who reads it, you aren't really sorting. Write the thresholds down once and apply them as soon as each inquiry arrives.
You reply in arrival order, and the inquiry that could book is left waiting
Your inquiries arrive all mixed up: an offsite with a date and budget, a party with no date yet, a dinner for twelve, an agency sourcing for a client. Without a grid, you handle them in the order they land. The detailed proposal goes to the wrong one.
The date is in the subject line, the guest count at the end of the message, the budget nowhere: you read each inquiry twice
With JoinwaysEvery inquiry arrives read in the inbox, with each detail laid out in one place, under the original message
You price it before checking the date and the setup time, and the conflict shows up just as you're about to send
With JoinwaysWhen you create the event, a date or space conflict is flagged, setup and teardown included
The inquiry with no firm guest count or budget sits waiting instead of going out with two questions
With JoinwaysThe request-for-information email is ready: you add your questions and send it
You don't know whether you're writing to the decision-maker, their assistant, or an agency, or when the decision will be made
With JoinwaysThe inquiry is linked to the client company, with its past events and proposals. Under the inquiry, you see the share of inquiries from that source that became events
Inquiries over capacity or out of budget stay open, or close with no reason, and your sorting never gets sharper
With JoinwaysRejecting takes one action, with its reason (date unavailable, not enough capacity, budget too low, not a fit for the venue) and the rejection email to review
Related product pages: Reports
The product, screen by screen
What you can check during the trial
On your own inquiries, alongside your current tools.
The printable grid
Download it with no sign-up, and post it where the team reads inquiries.
To connect your inbox
Gmail or Outlook connects in two minutes, and the inquiries that land there are read, booking platforms included.
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The same method, three situations
The criteria stay the same, their weight changes.
Booking platform inquiries
They often arrive with the date, guest count, and budget filled in. The client is comparing several venues on the same inquiry: a complete reply, with availability and price, carries more weight than a question.
Agency inquiries
The agency is sourcing for its client, often at several venues. Ask who it's for, the decision date, and who the proposal goes to: the agency or its client.
Short and long lead times
A cocktail reception three weeks out gets decided in a few days. A conference ten months out can be hot without being urgent: a hold, a site visit, and well-spaced follow-ups.
Frequently asked questions
How do you qualify event inquiries?
- The date first: if the space is taken, offer another date or another space in the same reply
- The guest count and format, checked against the real capacity of your spaces
- The budget compared with your packages for that guest count, without ruling out an inquiry that doesn't give one
- Who is writing: the client, an agency, or an intermediary, and who decides
- A rating you revisit every time the client replies
Does Joinways rate inquiries for me?
Should you reply to cold inquiries?
How many questions should you ask in the first reply?
Does an inquiry sent to several venues deserve a complete reply?
Can you change the grid?
What does it mean to qualify an event inquiry?
What questions should you ask after an event inquiry?
How can you tell if an event inquiry is serious?
How do you qualify an inquiry with no set date?
Which rejection reasons should you track to qualify better?
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