How should a founder structure their initial sales calls to differentiate true buying intent from politeness?

Structure the conversation around uncovering the customer's existing behavior rather than presenting your product. Spend the first twenty minutes diagnosing their current projects, deadlines, and workaround tools. If you present your solution and they do not ask about pricing, deployment timelines, or implementation logistics, they are merely being polite. True buying intent looks like someone trying to pull the product out of your hands.