Consulting
How James's consulting shop screens out tire-kickers
James · 2-person team
The moment
James used to take every "15-minute intro call" that landed in his inbox. Half of them were people who couldn't afford his work or didn't have a real project. He'd lose six hours a week to coffee chats that went nowhere. He couldn't say no to a qualified lead, and he couldn't tell the difference up front. So he stopped doing intro calls cold.
What the agent does
Now the chat agent runs the first conversation. It asks four short questions in plain English: what's the project, what's the rough budget range, how big is the team, and when do you need it done. No long form. No drop-downs.
If the answers fit James's work — projects over $15k, teams of 10 to 200, timeline in the next quarter — the agent offers his calendar and books the call. If they don't fit, the agent says so kindly and points the visitor to a free guide on his site.
Either way, the lead lands in the dashboard with a tag: WARM, MAYBE, or NOT A FIT. James reads them in batches over morning coffee instead of reacting to every email.
What happens next
Six weeks in, James has 12 booked calls and zero tire-kickers. The agent turned away nine inquiries that would have eaten his Tuesdays. The MAYBE leads get a monthly check-in email he writes once and sends to the whole list. He's billing more, talking less.
If you sell your time like James, the agent screens leads so your calendar stays clean. Free to try.
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