A free site visit, and a budget that was never there
A homeowner fills in your contact form: 'We want to extend our kitchen, can you help?' The director calls back, has a pleasant twenty-minute conversation, and books a site visit. The visit takes the best part of an afternoon. At the house it turns out the owners want a large double-storey extension, a new kitchen and a loft conversion, and the figure they have in mind is closer to the cost of the kitchen alone. Or the house is in a conservation area and they want the build done by spring. Or they have already had drawings done by someone else and want an architect to 'just tidy them up'.
None of these are bad people or bad projects. They are just not projects your practice can do well, and the time spent finding that out is time not spent on the ones you can.
Why the right questions come too late
Most practice websites ask for name, email, phone and a message. Homeowners do not know what information an architect needs, and asking about budget feels awkward on both sides. So the first real facts arrive on a call or a visit. By then the practice has spent time, and the homeowner has had their hopes raised.
- The contact form collects no project information.
- Budget and timing are not discussed until the site visit.
- Every enquiry gets the same response, whatever its fit.
- Nobody records where enquiries came from or what happened to them.
What unfiltered enquiries cost a small practice
For a practice of a few people, a wasted afternoon is a meaningful share of the week's design time. Good enquiries wait while unsuitable ones get a visit. Homeowners who could have been pointed to a better option, such as a design and build firm or a permitted development route with a technician, are left waiting for a proposal that never quite fits. And without records, the practice cannot see which marketing brings the projects it actually wants.
An enquiry form that asks, and a triage that sorts
- We replace the contact form with a short, friendly enquiry form: type of project, property type and location, whether it is listed or in a conservation area if they know, rough size, when they would like to start building, a budget range, and what stage they are at.
- Each question has a short note explaining why you ask, which can make homeowners more comfortable answering about budget.
- The postcode is checked against publicly available planning designations where the data is available, so the practice knows at a glance whether it is in a conservation area.
- Enquiries are scored against the work you want, using rules you set, such as project types, locations, minimum construction budget and timing.
- Strong fits are offered a phone call slot straight away, booked into the director's calendar.
- Weaker fits receive a helpful reply you have written, perhaps suggesting a different route or inviting them to come back when plans firm up.
- Every enquiry is logged with its source, score and outcome, so you can see which channels bring work you want.
Triage never decides alone. The director sees every enquiry and can override the score. The aim is to decide faster which ones deserve an afternoon.
Which enquiries get what
| Enquiry | Today | With the form and triage |
|---|---|---|
| Good fit, ready to proceed | Call, then visit | Call booked the same day |
| Good project, unrealistic budget | Visit, then awkward proposal | Honest early conversation or helpful reply |
| Outside your area or type | Call, then decline | Polite, prompt reply with a suggestion |
| Not ready yet | Proposal chased for months | Invited to come back, kept on a list |
Site visits worth the afternoon
The director goes into each site visit already knowing the property, the ambition, the timing and the budget range. The conversation starts from reality rather than discovering it. Homeowners get a clear, prompt answer either way, which is kinder than a long wait. And over time you know which sources send the projects you want.
Does your inbox look like this?
- Your website form only asks for a name and a message.
- Budget first comes up at the site visit.
- Site visits regularly turn out to be for projects you cannot take on.
- You do not know which marketing brings your best projects.