How Top Investors Save Hours Weekly With One Simple Pre-Screening Shift
Smart investors pre-screen their 1:1 meetings to save hours every week, ask better questions, and focus their time on qualified prospects, not tire kickers.
✍️ By Debbie Balfour | WBN News | December 19, 2025 | Click HERE for your FREE Subscription to WBN News and/or to be a Contributor.
Real estate investors often pride themselves on maximizing return, but one resource too many still waste is time. If you’re taking every 1:1 meeting without knowing who’s on the other end, you’re losing hours every week that could have been spent analyzing deals, raising capital, or scaling your portfolio. The fastest way to take back control? A simple pre-screening shift.
Pre-screening isn’t about eliminating people or turning them away. It’s about preparing yourself to walk into every conversation with clarity. When someone books a call, a few quick questions: investment experience, goals, timeline, capacity, and why they want to meet, give you instant insight into who they are and how you can best serve them.
This tiny adjustment helps you identify whether the person is a potential investor, a strategic partner, a total beginner, or just a curious tire kicker. And when you know this before the meeting, you can adapt the depth, direction, and even the length of the conversation.
Instead of using the first 15 minutes to figure out who they are, you can start with the questions that matter most:
- What challenge are they currently trying to solve?
- Are they actively deploying capital or gathering information?
- Do their goals align with your investment strategies?
- Are they someone who should be slotted into 15 minutes or 45?
- Should they meet with you at all, or would a resource be a better fit?
Pre-screening transforms your meetings from exploratory to intentional. It elevates you from “reactive networker” to “strategic investor.” And it helps ensure your energy is focused on the right conversations, not the ones that drain you.
It also protects your calendar. Investors often feel obligated to give everyone time, but not every inquiry deserves a full 1:1. When you know in advance who’s coming to the table, you can confidently provide the right level of engagement without overextending yourself.
Most importantly, pre-screening enhances the experience for the other person. You show up prepared. You ask tailored questions. You deliver value quickly. And you build trust faster because you’ve done your homework.
Top investors don’t spend more time; they spend their time better. And this one simple shift can save you hours every week while increasing the quality and impact of every single meeting.
Smart investors don’t just schedule conversations. They curate them.
Debbie Balfour | Real Estate Investing Success Coach + Podcast Host
📍 Website: www.DebbieBalfour.com
📧 Email: Debbie@DebbieBalfour.com
🔗 LinkedIn: Debbie Balfour
▶️ YouTube Channel: youtube.com/@DebbieBalfour
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Meta Title: Why Smart Investors Pre-Screen Meetings
Meta Tag: Learn how top investors save time and increase results by pre-screening their 1:1 meetings before they begin.
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