You got the lead. They filled out your form, called your office, or sent you a message. Then what?

If you’re like most businesses, that lead sits in an inbox for a few hours. Maybe someone gets back to them tomorrow. Maybe.

By then, they’ve already called your competitor.

Speed wins. And most service businesses are way too slow.

1. The Five-Minute Rule

Studies show that if you respond to a lead within five minutes, you’re 100x more likely to convert them than if you wait an hour.

Five minutes.

Most businesses don’t even check their inbox that often. Meanwhile, the person who just reached out is searching Google for other options.

You don’t need a bigger sales team. You need a faster system.

2. Automate the First Touch

The first response doesn’t need to be personal. It just needs to be fast.

When someone fills out a form, send an instant confirmation:

“Thanks for reaching out. We got your message and someone will follow up within the hour. In the meantime, here’s what to expect…”

That buys you time. It keeps them engaged. And it shows you’re paying attention.

You can do this with a simple automation. Form submission triggers email. Takes 10 minutes to set up. Works 24/7.

3. Route Leads to the Right Person Immediately

A lead that lands in a general inbox is a lead that gets ignored.

Set up routing rules:

  • Website form? Goes to sales.
  • Service request? Goes to ops.
  • Pricing question? Goes to the closer.

And don’t just send an email. Send a Slack notification. A text. Whatever it takes to get eyes on it immediately.

Your system should assume that humans will miss things. Build in redundancy.

4. Follow Up Until They Respond or Opt Out

One email isn’t enough. One call isn’t enough.

Most people need 3 to 5 touches before they respond. Not because they’re not interested, because they’re busy.

Set up a sequence:

  • Day 1: Immediate auto-reply
  • Day 1 (1 hour later): Personal follow-up
  • Day 2: Check-in email
  • Day 4: “Still interested?” message
  • Day 7: Last follow-up with clear CTA

If they don’t respond after that, archive them or put them in a nurture sequence. But don’t give up after one try.

5. Track Your Response Time

You can’t improve what you don’t measure.

Most CRMs can show you average response time. If yours doesn’t, add a timestamp field when a lead comes in and when you first reply.

Set a goal. Track it weekly. Hold your team accountable.

If your average response time is over an hour, you’re losing deals. Period.

6. The Bottom Line

Your competitors are slow. Most service businesses are. That’s your advantage.

Build a system that responds instantly, routes correctly, and follows up relentlessly. You’ll close more deals without adding headcount.

Need help setting this up? We build lead response systems that run on autopilot. Book a call and we’ll show you what’s possible.