Gauge sellers interest in offer before making it?

[Jeff Mills]

I've read a number of times that if you want to scale you need to be making offers regularly. I'd like to be able to do that without having to contact my agent every time, especially since most offers will be rejected. Is it a bad idea to first talk to the seller to find out if your offer is in the ballpark they would accept and then get my agent involved if the seller is interested?

Is this a good use for letters of intent?