Avoiding Time-Wasters & Tire-Kickers

Getting leads is great — but wasting time on prospects who will never convert or end up being a huge pain in the ass is nothing but wasted resources.

That’s why having a thorough and thoughtful qualification process is vital as your marketing efforts start to bear fruit.

Today, I thought I’d share some of my most helpful questions, processes, and systems for qualifying leads and avoiding the time-wasters.

1. Publish Your Prerequisites

Not every prospect is going to visit your website, and even fewer will read every word — but I’ve still had plenty of prospects come to my intro call quoting numbers off my pricing page.

By publishing your project prerequisites on your website, you’ll at least avoid some of the people that think you’ll match their nephew’s $500 quote.

I don’t publish an exact price list (custom work makes that tricky), but I do list a project minimum and average price.

But it’s not just price — there could be other qualifications:

• Industry/Niche – If you work in a specific industry or niche, people should know that.
• Platform/Stack – Most prospects don’t care about the stack, but if they want Webflow and you WordPress, it’s not a good fit. Same if you don’t offer eCommerce, for example.
• Services Offered – Seems obvious, but it should be clear which services you offer (and don’t).
• Timeline – Can you start projects immediately, or do you have a waiting list?
• Location/Availability – Yes, even in 2025, some clients want to meet in person.

Publishing this info doesn’t just filter bad leads — it also sets clear expectations. People are much more likely to believe what’s published than what you tell them on a call.

If it’s on your website, it feels like a policy. If you say it in conversation, it can feel negotiable.

2. Know Your Red Flags

If you’ve worked with the public for more than 5 minutes, then you have already experienced just how awful people can be. It’s one thing to waste time on awful prospects, but it’s a whole other level of pain to be tied to them long-term (which, much of our work ends up being).

Thankfully, there are usually signs.

There are some universal red flags — like saying “I’ll know it when I see it” or “every web developer I’ve worked with has been a nightmare”… Um, name the common denominator in that equation. But red flags can be personal to your process, personality, or ethics.

I treat my red flags as if they are chiseled in stone. Every time I’ve knowingly ignored them, I’ve ended up kicking myself in regret.

Here are a few things you might want to consider (and don’t hesitate to actually write down your red flag list for future reference):

• Personal values & ethics
• Process & collaboration
• Communication
• Decision-making & authority
• Expectations

There was a great thread where everyone shared their red flags in the group (over 171 comments on this thread alone) if you need a bit of inspiration — but knowing your personal red flags is crucial before you talk to prospects.

3. Strategic Inquiry Questions

Whether a prospect finds me online or we meet at a networking event, all new leads must go through my project inquiry form.

Not only does this keep my process (and sanity) in check — as that form triggers several automations that start my process — it ensures I get the same baseline information on everyone.

Inquiry forms are a balancing act. Too many questions, and people act like you’re demanding their Social Security number and firstborn child. Too few, and you’ll end up on a call with someone who just wants ‘a little website, nothing complicated’—aka a full e-commerce store with a $200 budget.

I’m always tweaking my process, but the best thing I did was make a conditional form that asks certain questions only when necessary.

As an example, I ask if they already have a website. If they answer yes, I can ask them for the URL, what issues they are experiencing with it, etc. If they don’t there’s no reason to even show those fields.

Beyond the basics (name, email, etc.), I include a few qualifiers to gauge lead quality fast. These could align nicely with the prerequisites we already talked about, but a couple of my favorites are:

• Why did you reach out to me specifically?
• Why is now the right time to get started?

These questions are simple and easy for the prospect to answer, but the answers can reveal a lot.

Knowing why they chose me gives me a sense of my chances to win this project. If they found my site through a random Google search, I’m going to have to do a lot more “convincing” than if they say they’ve been following my YouTube channel for years.

Asking why they’re writing me now (and not a month ago or a month from now) will expose the seriousness and urgency of the project. In my experience, tire-kickers have obviously thoughtless responses to this question that make it clear they’re only there to waste time.

4. Introduction Call

If a prospect ticks all the basic boxes from the inquiry form, the next step in my process is to invite them to an introduction call.

These calls, which are strictly limited to 30 minutes, are the maximum amount of time I’m going to give someone that hasn’t hired me.

One of the biggest advantages to doing this on a live Zoom call is that it makes it really easy to get a “vibe check” from the client. Are they on time? Friendly? Have their shit together? Or are they late, demanding, and clueless?

An introduction call is the best version of this person you will ever see. If they’re rude, late, or disorganized now, imagine them six months into a project when they’re ‘too busy’ to get you content but somehow not too busy to demand daily status updates.

Beyond the vibes, 30 minutes is more than enough time to get a good sense of the scope of the project and the quality of their business/offer.

Of course, the scope of the project needs to be in your wheelhouse, but you don’t want to tie yourself to an anchor either. If they can’t make their business sound exciting (or at least somewhat interesting), you’re going to have a really hard time making their website do it.

If you’re busy polishing that turd, you’re not out there working with people that you can actually help.

With your experience and a decent sense of the project (and client), it’s not too difficult to come up with a price range on the fly at that point.

And, in my experience, it’s critical that you do. There’s no point in putting together a proposal (or even a detailed quote) if you and the prospect are playing in two different leagues.

I’ll say something like: “Based on what you’ve told me, I’ve done similar projects for between $8,000 and $15,000. Is that what you were anticipating in investing in this project?”

Even their non-verbal communication will tell you everything you need to know at that point. If they immediately clutch their pearls, gasp for air, and suddenly remember they ‘just need a few more quotes first’, that’s best to know now and not after you spend a few hours writing a proposal.

But if they confirm or seem unaffected by the ballpark, you can move forward knowing your proposal won’t be a shock and a total waste of your time.

Qualification Is Critical

It’s tempting to say yes to anyone who shows interest — especially when you need the money. But a bad client will end up costing you a whole lot more than you’ll ever make from them. Not only in the time, but the mental energy it takes to fight through it.

Bad clients drain you—and your good clients (and even your family) pay the price.

It’s just not worth it.

That’s why having a qualification process is critical, but it doesn’t have to be complicated.

The key is being faithful to yourself and actually following through with your process and disqualifications.