Seven lines a technician can actually use at the door.
Information isn't a decision. The Before You Knock card takes the play and turns it into an opening question, three questions to confirm the read, what to sell on, the one sentence to say if price comes up, and a closing question that asks for the business today.
Play Card
Before You Knock- What would make you comfortable with whoever does this?
- How long are you planning to be in the house?
- Who else would you want to check with?
The problem: a page of information and no angle
A brief can be accurate and still useless. A tech reads that the system is twenty years old, the owner has been there seventeen, and a hailstorm passed nearby in April — and then knocks and asks "so what seems to be the problem?" The read was there. The conversation never used it.
The card is where the brief becomes a decision. It names the play, names what the homeowner most wants to be true, and gives the tech the exact lines that put both to work — read first, said second, closed with a question.
Read it in this order
The card is built to be used in the driveway, in about thirty seconds, in this order.
The opportunity and the mistake
Read these first. The opportunity sets your ambition for the visit. The mistake is what this homeowner is sensitive to — if it says 'leading with price,' don't.
The opening question
Designed to make them talk about the problem, not the price. Ask it in your own words.
The three questions
They confirm the read. If the answers don't match the play, switch — the card on newer briefs lists exactly what to switch to when you hear it.
What to sell on
The Win Condition, made specific to this house. Whatever you propose, describe it in those words.
If price comes up
The one sentence that keeps the conversation on value without dodging. Never dodge with a researcher; never lead with it for someone who's been burned.
The closing question
An actual ask for the business today. Never 'let me know.'
When the play is wrong
The brief said Comfort and the first thing they say is 'the last guy ripped us off.' That's Trust. Switch.
| If you hear… | Switch to | First move |
|---|---|---|
| 'The last company…' / 'How do I know…' | Trust | Prove before you propose |
| 'What's this going to run me?' (first thing) | Value or Emergency | Give a clean number, then the reasons |
| 'I read that…' / a model number | Research | Ask what they found |
| 'That room never…' / 'It's so loud' | Comfort | Go to the room |
| 'Let me ask my…' / 'We'll decide together' | Family | Get the other person in |
| 'It stopped working this morning' | Emergency | Fix today, then forever |
The newer card, in test
Some accounts are enrolled in a test of a newer Before You Knock card. On those accounts, roughly half of briefs show the new card — with a short "why we think so" line, evidence chips marked confirmed, derived or inferred, an "if you hear this, switch to…" list, and a two-tap question afterward: Was the play right? Right, Partly or Off. The other half show the current card, so the two can be compared fairly.
Why the debrief matters: this is how ServiceScout learns your read. Over a few weeks the plays on your briefs get tuned to what actually happens at your doors. Techs who answer it get better briefs. It takes ten seconds.
Who it's for
What the owner gets
The reason the brief changes behavior instead of just informing it — and, through the debrief, the reason plays get more accurate for your market over time.
What the office gets
The sixty-second read on any brief: play, win condition, the mistake to avoid. Enough to know which tech should take it.
What the tech gets
Something to say in the first ten seconds, three questions that confirm the read, and a way to close that isn't 'let me know.'
Questions people ask
Is the card a script?
No. Ask the opening question in your own words. The card gives you the angle and the order; your voice does the rest. The house always wins the argument.
Where does the card appear?
At the top of every brief on accounts where Sales Plays are turned on, about 90 seconds after the brief is built. It's the first thing under the badges and the two labels.
Why is the closing question always an ask?
Because 'let me know' is how visits end with an estimate open and nothing decided. The closing question asks for the business today, in the homeowner's own win condition, and offers a specific next step.
What is the two-tap debrief?
On accounts where it's turned on, a few hours after a visit the tech gets a text: Was the play right? Right, Partly or Off. If Partly or Off, one more tap says which play it should have been. That answer tunes future plays.
Does the card use the financial indicators?
No. The play is chosen from the job, the call notes and the household picture as a whole — never from income, net worth or credit, and never to set a price or decide what someone 'can afford.' House rules.
Keep reading
See a Scout Brief built on a real appointment from your schedule.
A 30-minute walkthrough. We pick a recent sales visit, build the brief and the audio, and walk through Today's Play as if your tech were about to knock. You decide if it changes the call.