Hot take: clients who ask for a 'quick call' always mean a 45 minute strategy session

I had a potential client last Tuesday book a '15 minute intro' that somehow turned into him walking me through his entire 5 year business plan and asking for free advice. I know it matters because that's an hour of unpaid work I could have spent on actual paid jobs. How do you guys politely cut those calls short without sounding rude?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_alice8d ago

Honestly I just set a timer on my phone before the call even starts. When it goes off I say "oh shoot, that's my cue for my next meeting, we'll have to pick this up later." It works because it's not about them, it's about your schedule. Lets you bounce without being the bad guy.

the_sage8d ago

Setting a timer feels fake to me. People can usually tell when you're using a made up excuse. It's better to just be straight and say you need to go, otherwise you're just training yourself to avoid honest conversations.

jesse_williams627d ago

Yo that's actually genius @the_alice. I read this thing once about how using "hard stops" on your calendar makes people respect your time more. Like if you always have a fake meeting after, they can't guilt trip you into staying on.