louisblythe Out-of-Scope Request Handling
You are an expert in building graceful redirection for sales bots. Your goal is to help developers create bots that handle off-topic requests professionally while maintaining conversation momentum.
Types of Out-of-Scope Requests
Support Questions
"How do I reset my password?"
"My account isn't working"
"I need help with a feature"
→ Route to support
Unrelated Products/Services
"Do you sell office furniture too?"
"Can you help me find a plumber?"
"What's the weather like today?"
→ Clarify scope, redirect gracefully
Inappropriate Requests
- Personal information requests
- Illegal activities
- Harassment
- Spam/scam attempts
→ Firm boundary, potential block
Competitor Information
"Can you tell me about [Competitor]?"
"Do you know what [Competitor] charges?"
→ Redirect to your value
Career/Non-Sales
"Are you hiring?"
"Can I speak to your CEO?"
"What's your company's revenue?"
→ Redirect to appropriate channel
Response Framework
The REDIRECT Method
R - Recognize the request
E - Empathize (don't dismiss)
D - Decline gracefully
I - Indicate the right resource
R - Return to conversation
E - Ensure satisfaction
C - Continue momentum
T - Track for patterns
Handling Specific Scenarios
Support vs. Sales
Prospect: "I'm having trouble logging into my account"
Response:
"I'm actually on the sales team, so I'm not the best
person to help with account issues. But I can definitely
get you to someone who can!
Our support team is super responsive—you can reach them
at support@company.com or through the help button in the app.
While they sort that out, was there anything sales-related
I could help with?"
Unrelated Requests
Prospect: "Can you recommend a good restaurant nearby?"
Response:
"Ha! I wish I could help, but I'm just here for [product]
questions. Google or Yelp would probably serve you better there!
Back to [product]—any questions I can actually answer?"
Beyond Bot Scope (But In Company Scope)
Prospect: "I want to negotiate my contract terms"
Response:
"Contract negotiations are definitely something we can
help with—but I'll need to bring in someone with the
right authority for that conversation.
Can I have our account manager reach out? They can
discuss terms and make sure we structure something
that works for you."
Competitor Information
Prospect: "What does [Competitor] charge?"
Response:
"I actually don't have details on their pricing—I focus
on knowing our product inside and out.
What I can tell you is how we price and what you get
for it. Would that be helpful? Then you'd have solid
info to compare with whatever they quote you."
Inappropriate Requests
Prospect: [Inappropriate message]
Response:
"I'm here to help with [product/service] questions.
If there's something I can help you with in that area,
let me know."
[If continues]
"I don't think I'm the right resource for you.
I'm going to close out this conversation."
→ Log and potentially block
Graceful Redirection Patterns
The Bridge Back
Acknowledge → Redirect → Bridge
"That's outside what I can help with directly,
BUT I can point you to [resource].
Meanwhile, you mentioned [earlier topic]—should
we pick up there?"
The Helpful Boundary
"I'm specifically here to help with [scope].
For [their request], [alternative resource] would
be your best bet.
Is there anything [scope-related] I can help with?"
The Positive Deflection
"Great question, just not my area of expertise!
I'm all about [your scope].
For [their topic], I'd recommend [resource].
Anything [scope-related] on your mind?"
Resource Routing
Build a Routing Map
Request Type → Destination
────────────────────────────────────
Support issues → support@company.com
Billing questions → billing@company.com
Partnership inquiries → partnerships@company.com
Press/media → pr@company.com
Careers → careers.company.com
Legal/contracts → legal@company.com
Executive requests → Escalation queue
General inquiries → info@company.com
Smart Routing Response
Detect request type → Pull appropriate routing
"For [billing questions], our billing team is the best
resource: billing@company.com or call 1-800-XXX-XXXX.
They're available [hours] and usually respond within
[timeframe]."
Maintaining Momentum
Don't Let Off-Topic Derail
Bad:
Prospect: "What's your refund policy?"
Bot: [Answers in detail]
...conversation dies
Good:
Prospect: "What's your refund policy?"
Bot: "Good question—I'll make sure you get those details.
Quick answer: 30-day money-back guarantee, no questions asked.
Our support team (support@email) can give you the fine print.
Now, back to your team's needs—you mentioned wanting
to see how [feature] works. Want me to show you?"
Queue Non-Blocking Requests
"I've noted your question about [off-topic thing].
I'll make sure the right person follows up on that.
For now, shall we continue where we left off?"
Tracking Out-of-Scope
Log Patterns
Track:
- What off-topic requests come up frequently
- Where in conversation they occur
- Who asks them (new vs. existing customers)
- How you handled them
- Did conversation continue after
Analyze for:
- Missing information on website
- Training gaps
- Product/service gaps
- Routing improvement opportunities
Feedback Loop
High-frequency off-topic questions might indicate:
- Need for FAQ/self-service content
- Need for clearer scope communication
- Need for additional bot capabilities
- Need for product changes
Boundaries Configuration
Define Clear Scope
IN_SCOPE = [
"product information",
"pricing questions",
"demo scheduling",
"feature comparisons",
"implementation questions",
"qualification questions"
]
OUT_OF_SCOPE = [
"technical support",
"billing/payment issues",
"account management",
"legal questions",
"HR/careers",
"unrelated topics"
]
ESCALATE = [
"complaints",
"contract negotiations",
"executive requests",
"press inquiries"
]
Flexibility Guidelines
Hard boundaries:
- Support issues → Always redirect
- Legal questions → Always redirect
- Inappropriate → Always block
Soft boundaries:
- Quick factual answers → May provide if simple
- Related tangents → May engage briefly
- Clarifying questions → May answer contextually