A lead told me they need to think about it. Where do I put them?

If the person had a real conversation with you, asked specific questions about the procedure, mentioned their timeline, or said they wanted to talk to a spouse or partner, drag the card to the Hot Lead column. They're not cold — they're in a deliberation phase. Hot Lead is the right signal that this person needs a human follow-up, not just more automation.

If you haven't actually reached them — the form came in, automation fired, but you haven't had a two-way conversation — leave the card in Lead Received. The 45-day nurture sequence will keep sending value. Don't move to Hot Lead without a real human interaction; it misrepresents the lead's actual engagement state.

Open the contact record and write a note immediately after the call: what their hesitation was ("needs to check with spouse," "waiting until after summer," "concerned about cost") and the specific timeframe they gave you ("check back in two weeks"). This note is your trigger for a personal follow-up call, separate from whatever the automation is sending.

If they said "I'll know in a week," set a mental (or physical calendar) reminder to call in six days — one day early. A personal follow-up call at exactly the right moment, with a callback to what they told you last time, closes more consults than any automated sequence. "Hi Michael, I remember you mentioned you'd be checking with your wife this week — wanted to see if you had a chance to talk." That call converts.