Still doing founder-led sales? Handle leads without burnout

A coaching client recently shared a problem that many agency owners face in founder-led sales: “My biggest challenge is giving each lead the attention it deserves. I’m strapped for time, but I’m doing my best.”

Balancing responsiveness with efficiency is tough. You want to be attentive and win deals, but you can’t afford to spend hours on every sales inquiry.

Eventually, agency owners move away from founder-led sales by hiring a salesperson or building a full sales team. But if you’re still the sales “closer,” this challenge won’t go away entirely.

So, how do you ensure each lead gets the right amount of attention without overwhelming yourself? I assume you’re generally avoiding RFPs and pursuing a mix of inbound and outbound leads.

Here are six ways to manage leads effectively while keeping your sales process sustainable—including an AI shortcut to consider. And if you need more leads in the first place, you might like my “Diversify Your Lead-Gen Strategy” training.

1. Decide on your agency’s sales philosophy

What is your philosophy about sales at your agency? The answer informs how you structure your sales process—including the Values, Goals, and Resources you want your team to follow.

These aren’t mutually exclusive, but here are some questions to consider:

• Are you high-volume? If you can create proposals quickly, you may send lots of proposals—knowing that most won’t succeed but seeing the results as a good ROI.
• Are you consultative and/or picky? You’ll ask many questions, up front and during the entire sales process. You’ll ask lots of pre-qualifying questions before you get on a call. You’ll also gladly point people elsewhere if an inquiry isn’t a match for you instead of trying to “hoard” the opportunity. (This is my approach to sales.)
• Are you accessible? You might skip the pre-intake and go directly to a sales call.
• Are you about speed? Whatever your steps, you’ll ensure you move things along as quickly as possible. You might default to paid discovery, rather than starting with a custom project.
• Do you prioritize client-side consensus? You might plan on having a lot of sales meetings before getting to a contract. (In this case, you can improve your results via a paid discovery offering that helps create that alignment.)

Take some time to describe your ideal sales philosophy. It’ll save you time—and help you enlist your team’s help.

2. Triage leads to prioritize your best prospects

Not all leads deserve the same level of attention. Some inquiries will be high-value opportunities, while others won’t.

The solution? Use a simple triage system to “fast fail” leads based on key qualifying criteria, and then spend your time accordingly.

Get clear on your SQL standards

Dig deeper. Who’s your ideal match as a client? What should you—or someone you delegate to—nail down about a prospect before you move them forward? Here are 12 questions to consider.

High-growth agencies have a clear picture of their Sales Qualified Lead (SQL). And they use a framework like BANT or CRUX to qualify each opportunity, to decide where it fits.

I ask about SQLs in my Agency Growth Diagnostic project. A client and their #2 recently acknowledged they were fuzzy on their current SQL standards. That allowed us to dig into what they needed today.

Example: Prioritizing leads based on their growth goals

The first time I spoke at the INBOUND conference about agency growth, I mentioned my concept of Equity versus Lifestyle agencies. (At the time, I called it “high growth” versus lifestyle.)

It turns out I made an impression on the HubSpot sales team. After my talk, I met a sales leader who said he was telling others about my model. If a channel partner sales rep has a limited time for followups, they should focus on high-growth agencies because those are more likely to sell more HubSpot licenses.

That wasn’t my intention in sharing the model, but his prioritization makes sense.

Think about your agency. If you had to choose between two leads, what would help you know who’s the stronger match to need and want your help?

3. Chunk-out sales steps, to enlist a colleague to do the initial screening

There are 10 roles within the agency sales process. In the early days, you’ll do all 10. But over time, you’ll start enlisting others to help. To summarize:

1. Prospecting (connecting with prospective clients; less necessary with inbound leads)
2. Qualifying (determining if someone is a match, whether via BANT, CRUX, or another framework)
3. Consulting (identifying if your agency can help the client solve the real problems at hand)
4. Scoping (determining what to charge for your help, whether starting with Paid Discovery or something else)
5. Proposing (turning recommendations into a persuasive artifact—whether a document, a presentation, or just an email)
6. Closing (addressing the client’s concerns and getting to “yes”… or a quick “no”)
7. Onboarding (starting your work together, as the relationship lead shifts from sales to AM)
8. Supporting (this is about administrative support to your agency’s sellers, including the CRM and “pings”)
9. Managing (this is mostly AM—but if there’s a major misunderstanding, the “closer” comes back to help)
10. Retaining (keeping the client happy, and renewing—and ideally upselling—them)

Here are the sales roles you might delegate first:

• 2. Qualifying (where they compare inquiries to your list of criteria)
• 5. Proposing (where someone gives them the “sales opp strategy” and creates a proposal)
• 7. Onboarding (where your account managers lead the onboarding)
• 8. Supporting (since sales is easier when you have admin support)

If your colleague doesn’t have much experience, you’ll need to plan on more training and coaching—and you’ll want to create a ramp-up plan for their new responsibilities.

4. Set clear expectations upfront

Before a lead lands in your inbox or CRM, set expectations about response times. In your sales materials, let people know when they’ll hear from you (in contact forms, the pre-intake survey, conversations, and email auto-responders).

For example, your auto-responder or contact form confirmation might say:

“Thanks for reaching out! We review inquiries within two business days and will reach out with the next steps.”

This reduces the pressure to reply immediately while ensuring leads feel acknowledged. But make sure you can meet your promises.

Signal that you’re in demand

If a lead is a great fit but you’re booked up, let them know in a way that reinforces your value. For example:

“Glad to chat! Here’s my calendar link; I see openings next week.”

Or, if they’re asking about the kickoff timeline:

“We’re currently booked for the next month. But if you sign and pay next week, we could kick things off by [specific date].”

This subtly positions your agency as high-demand—making your services more desirable while giving you [some] breathing room.

If you need to delay things all the time, consider creating a client waitlist and/or whether to expand your team.

5. Be strategic about response speed

Many agency owners feel obligated to reply to all leads immediately, but not everyone should get a same-day (or next-day) callback. Instead, adjust your response time based on fit: focus on faster responses to better mutual matches.

• Ideal leads? Follow up in 1-2 days.
• Decent prospects? Respond within 3-4 days.
• Not a fit? Send a polite decline (or refer them elsewhere) and move on.

Prioritizing your time prevents unqualified leads from distracting you while ensuring your best prospects get the attention they deserve. This is a form of an agency Service Level Agreement (SLA).

Use a “Part 1” message if you can’t send an immediate detailed response

If you need extra time to craft a detailed response, send an interim “Part 1” email to buy time for you to craft “Part 2.” For example:

“Thanks for reaching out! I’m reviewing your info and will follow up by <day>. In the meantime, let me know if you have any specific questions.”

This small touch keeps leads engaged without making you scramble to respond immediately. Just be sure to track who’s where in the process so you don’t miss your followups.

Use follow-up questions if you need to buy time

A well-placed follow-up question can serve two purposes: buying you time and testing the lead’s level of interest. If they respond quickly and thoughtfully, they’re engaged. If they disappear, they likely weren’t serious in the first place.

For example, after reviewing their pre-intake responses, you could reply with:

“Thanks for sharing those details! You mentioned <XYZ>; could you elaborate on your goals there?”

Tools like your CRM and Boomerang (or built-in options within your email) can help you track follow-ups and avoid losing promising leads.

6. Fast-fail your poor-fit leads

If someone isn’t a good match, don’t waste your—or their—time. Let them know so you and they can move on. Here’s more about creating a fast-fail sales process.

If your sales pipeline is slow, you’ll be tempted to keep opportunities open. But if they’re unlikely to buy, cut your losses and move on.

Example: Say “no” to unlikely proposals

Several years ago, a client was stressed about his sales workload. He had five sales proposals to do before the end of the week.

There are ways to complete sales proposals faster. But sometimes, the fastest response is “no response.”

I reviewed his list. Two were unlikely to convert due to the prospect’s geographic preferences. Another was unlikely for a different reason.

That left just two proposals. I asked him which was more likely to be a match. He chose one. I said, “Great, do that first… and then the other one. You can do the third one we discussed if you still have time. But for the others, don’t do them at all.”

This conversation reduced his proposal workload by 60% without hurting his likely wins.

Save time with AI

I built a custom GPT to help me evaluate sales opportunities. It doesn’t solve everything for me, but it helps me structure my sales opportunity strategy—and sometimes catches things I might not notice the first time.

It also often surfaces if an opportunity isn’t a good match—for instance if it recommends solutions that aren’t a fit for how I help agencies. That helps me fast-fail things to refer them elsewhere, which eliminates a particular lead from my followup list.

The bottom line

Giving enough attention to each sales lead doesn’t mean treating everyone equally. Instead, focus on high-value opportunities. You’ll do this by setting expectations, triaging leads, and strategically managing your responses without burning out.

Question: What tweaks could improve your lead-gen process?