Guidance helps you shape how the AI sales agent communicates with prospects and how it handles common sales situations. By adding clear instructions, you can control the agent's tone, ensure it gathers the right qualification details, and define when to hand off conversations to your team.
Because the agent responds to first-touch sales inquiries, the goal of guidance is simple: help the agent understand what information to collect, how to communicate with prospects, and when a human should step in.
The most effective guidance is clear, short, and focused on one outcome. Overly complex instructions can confuse the model and lead to inconsistent responses.
Start with the outcome you want
Before writing guidance, decide what you want the agent to accomplish in that situation.
For example, do you want the agent to:
qualify the lead
guide the prospect to book a tour
collect information about an event
hand off complex inquiries to your sales team
Once the goal is clear, write guidance that tells the agent exactly how to achieve it.
Don't: "Make sure the agent understands what the lead wants.”
Do: "If a prospect asks about private offices but does not mention team size, ask how many people will need the space before suggesting options.”
Core principles for effective guidance
When you write guidance, structure it with clear steps and conditions so the agent can apply it consistently and correctly.
Because the agent uses a large language model to interpret your instructions, the clarity of your writing directly impacts its performance. Follow these best practices to ensure your agent stays on-brand, accurate, and helpful.
Speak directly to the agent
Write your instructions as if you are coaching a new team member. Use "you" to address the agent directly.
Don't: "The agent should be professional."
Do: "You must maintain a professional and welcoming tone."
Write each rule in a separate bullet point
In each guidance field, you can add multiple rules related to the guidance. To help the AI better understand your instructions, separate these rules using bullet points. Write each rule in a separate bullet point.
Don't: Write all your guidance rules in one paragraph.
Do: Write each guidance in a new bullet point.
Keep it simple
The agent works best when rules are short, direct, and easy to interpret. Overly complex or contradictory instructions are the primary cause of "hallucinations" (where the AI makes up information).
Don't (too complex): "If a prospect asks about meeting rooms and events and also asks about pricing but does not specify the number of attendees, ask follow-up questions and also offer suggestions depending on the event type."
Do (simple rule): "If a prospect asks about meeting rooms but does not mention the number of attendees, ask how many people will attend."
If you need multiple instructions, create separate pieces of guidance instead of combining everything into one.
Don't: Bundle five different "if/then" scenarios into a single paragraph.
Do: Write one clear instruction per rule.
Keep things simple. Don't create complex and overly detailed guidelines, as this might lead to hallucinations and poor results.
Use conditions to give context
The agent performs best when guidance includes clear conditions, such as if, when, or before. These cues help the model understand when the rule should apply.
Do: "If a prospect asks about pricing but does not specify a product type, ask whether they are interested in a private office, coworking membership, or meeting room."
Tone & Style guidance
Define how the agent communicates.
We recommend addressing the following points and using guidance similar to the provided example.
Define length:
"Keep your replies under 7 sentences."
"Don't write more than 3 paragraphs."
Set the vibe:
"Use a 'Helpful Peer' tone—authoritative but approachable. Avoid marketing jargon like 'best-in-class' or 'seamless'."
"Use a professional and friendly tone. Avoid overly formal language."
"Be nice and helpful."
Define structure:
"Write one or two sentences per paragraph. Use multiple paragraphs, but not more than 4 per email."
Use of emojis:
"Use 1-2 emojis per response to stay engaging."
"Never use emojis."
Instead of using vague words like "friendly," provide concrete formatting rules.
Required Qualification Information
The Required Qualification Information dropdown helps you ensure the agent gathers the details your sales team needs to qualify a lead.
Choose properties that help you understand the prospect's needs, such as:
Team size
Preferred location
Move-in date
Product type
Email
Avoid selecting too many properties. Asking too many questions can make conversations feel unnatural.
Start with the minimum information needed to move the conversation forward.
First Response guidance
Your first response is often the deal-breaker. Use these practices to structure that initial touchpoint.
Avoid redundancy: If your email template already includes a greeting, instruct the agent: "Do not repeat the greeting found in the template."
Dynamic subject lines: Use placeholders to make the email feel personal.
Example: "Subject Line: Thank you for your inquiry regarding [Location Name]!"
Address the "Ghost" questions: If a lead asks something already covered in your template, tell the agent: "If the user's question is already answered by the template text, do not repeat the information; focus on their unique questions instead."
Hand-Off Rules
Not every conversation should be handled by the agent. Clear hand-off rules ensure the agent escalates conversations when human input is required.
Common escalation triggers include:
The prospect asks to speak with a person
The request is too complex for the agent
No matching inventory is found
The prospect appears frustrated
The conversation goes outside sales topics
Example guidance:
"If the prospect asks for a phone or video call, escalate the conversation to the sales team."
"If no available inventory matches the prospect's request, escalate the conversation."