How Fast Should You Follow Up With a Lead?
Speed-to-lead is the cheapest growth lever in your business. Studies across industries consistently show the same pattern: the company that responds first usually books the job — even if they're not the cheapest, the closest, or the highest reviewed.
The 5-minute window
Research from Harvard Business Review and InsideSales has shown that contacting a lead within 5 minutes makes you up to 100x more likely to qualify them than waiting 30 minutes.
Wait an hour and you're competing with everyone else they called next.
Wait until the next morning and you're explaining why you're late.
Why most service businesses lose this race
You're on a job. You're driving. You're with another customer. Picking up every call within 5 minutes is physically impossible for a working owner.
The fix isn't trying harder — it's automating the first response. An instant text-back buys you 30–60 minutes of breathing room because the lead now knows you exist and will reply.