How fast should you answer a new lead?

Why does speed matter so much?

• The person is still holding their phone. The researchers behind the 5-minute study call this “presence”.
• An hour later, they have moved on. They are back at work, making dinner, or talking to another company.
• Most businesses are slow. So being fast is a cheap way to stand out.

What do the studies actually say?

Most posts on this repeat 3 or 4 famous numbers. Some are solid. One has no source we could find. Here is each one, checked at the source.

Two traps to avoid:

1. The 7-times number and the 2,241-company test are two different studies. They sit in the same HBR article, and many posts merge them.
2. Fast teams may also be better-run teams. So part of the lift is the team, not only the clock. None of these studies was a controlled experiment. The direction is still clear.

How do you answer in 5 minutes when you are on a job?

You do not need to drop your tools. You need a fast first reply, and a real callback soon after.

1. Time yourself first. Run the 15-minute test below. You cannot fix a number you have not seen.
2. Send an instant first reply on every channel. A missed call gets a text. A web form gets an email and a text. Say who you are and when you will call.
3. Put every lead in one list. Not 4 inboxes, a voicemail box and a sticky note. One list, with the time each lead came in.
4. Give every lead one owner and one deadline. “Someone” means no one. Name the person and the time.
5. Plan more than one try. In one large vendor study (Velocify, about 3.5 million leads), the 6th call “equals success 93% of the time.” Plan the next tries before the first one fails.
6. Check the number every week. Track 2 things: the median minutes to first reply, and the share of leads answered within 1 hour.

The 15-minute lead test

Do this today. Use a phone number and an email address your business does not know. Send one message on each channel. Write down when the first real reply arrives.

How to score it:

• Pass 5 minutes or less.
• Fix this month 5 to 60 minutes.
• Fix this week Over 60 minutes, or no reply.

An auto-reply counts only if it tells the person what happens next, and when.

What should the first reply say?

3 short replies you can copy. Change the words so they sound like you.

Never promise a time you will not keep. In our view, a broken promise costs more trust than an honest “tomorrow at 9”.

What does a slow reply cost you?

Use your own numbers:

Late or missed leads last month × your close rate × your average job = money at risk

Example (made-up numbers, not a benchmark): 12 leads × 25% × $2,000 = $6,000 a month at risk.

It is an estimate. Not every late lead was lost. It tells you whether the problem is worth an afternoon.

When does speed matter less?

• Your calendar is already full. Faster replies will not help if you cannot take the work. Fix capacity first.
• Big, slow decisions. A buyer comparing bids over weeks may care more about a clear quote than a 5-minute reply.
• Low-intent sign-ups. Someone who downloaded a guide is not asking for a quote. Answer the quote requests first.

How we help

If your leads land in 4 places and your phone is in your pocket on a job, we connect them. Every lead goes into one list, gets an instant first reply, and puts a callback on someone’s calendar with a deadline.

Read next: How do you answer every lead? · The 5 moves every business runs on · The small business KPI dashboard