# Speed to Lead Calculator

Speed to lead is how fast you respond to a new inquiry. Research on 1.25 million leads found firms that tried to reach leads within an hour were nearly seven times as likely to qualify them as firms that waited longer. To value it, compare booked jobs at your current and target response times.

## Key takeaways

- Extra revenue = leads × (target booking rate − current booking rate) × average ticket, where each booking rate is a mix of fast, medium and slow responses.
- Contact odds fall fast: one study found the odds of reaching a lead were 100 times lower at 30 minutes than at 5.
- Most of the gain comes from the leads that wait over an hour or never get a reply.
- After-hours and on-the-job leads are where response time breaks down for trades businesses.
- Track response time and booking rate by lead in your CRM, then replace the example rates with your own.

## How do you calculate the value of faster lead response?

Split last month's leads by how fast you first reached them: within 5 minutes, within the hour, or later (including never). Each group has its own booking rate. Your blended booking rate is the weighted average. Move more leads into the fast group, keep everything else the same, and the difference in booked jobs times your average ticket is what speed is worth.

**Formula**

```
Extra revenue per month = L × [(F′ × Rf + M′ × Rm + S′ × Rs) − (F × Rf + M × Rm + S × Rs)] × T
```

Where:
- L = leads per month that need a response (forms, marketplace leads, texts, missed calls)
- F, M, S = share of leads reached within 5 minutes, in 5–60 minutes, and after an hour or never, today
- F′, M′, S′ = the same shares at your target; M′ and S′ shrink in proportion as F′ grows
- Rf, Rm, Rs = booking rate for each response-time group
- T = average ticket

1. **List last month's leads that needed a response.** Web forms, Google and marketplace leads, texts and missed calls. Calls you answered live don't need a response time; leave them out.
2. **Note the first response time for each.** Your CRM, inbox and call log timestamps show when the lead came in and when you first called or texted back. Sort them into the three groups.
3. **Find each group's booking rate.** Divide booked jobs by leads in each group. If you can't, start with the example defaults and replace them once you've tracked a month.
4. **Set a realistic target.** Pick the share of leads you could reach within five minutes with an automatic text-back or someone answering every call.

> **Worked example**
>
> A roofing and gutter company gets 80 web, marketplace and missed-call leads a month. It reaches 20% within 5 minutes, 30% within the hour, and 50% later or never, usually because the crew is on a roof.
>
> Using example booking rates of 40%, 25% and 10% for those groups, it books 20.5% of leads: 16.4 jobs a month.
>
> If it reaches 80% of leads within 5 minutes, the slower groups shrink to 7.5% and 12.5%. The blended booking rate rises to 35.1%: 28.1 jobs a month.
>
> That's 11.7 extra jobs a month. At a $650 average ticket, **$7,605 a month, or $91,260 a year**, from the same leads.

> **About the default booking rates**
>
> The defaults (40%, 25%, 10%) are illustrative assumptions, not research findings. They are more conservative than the gaps in the studies below. Your own numbers will differ by trade, lead source and season, so replace them as soon as you've tracked them.

## What does the research say about speed to lead?

Two studies are behind most speed-to-lead numbers you'll see. Both are older and neither looked at trades businesses specifically, but both point the same way: the first minutes matter most.

**Key lead response research**

| Study | What was measured | Finding |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Oldroyd, McElheran and Elkington, *The Short Life of Online Sales Leads*, Harvard Business Review, March 2011 | Audit of 2,241 US companies' response to a web test lead; analysis of 1.25 million leads at 42 US companies | 37% responded within an hour, 23% never responded, and the average response among those that replied within 30 days was 42 hours. Firms that tried to contact leads within an hour were nearly 7 times as likely to qualify them as firms that waited longer, and over 60 times as likely as firms that waited 24 hours or more. |
| Oldroyd and InsideSales.com, *Lead Response Management Study*, 2007 | Three years of data at six companies: over 15,000 leads and over 100,000 call attempts | The odds of contacting a lead called in 5 minutes versus 30 minutes drop 100 times; the odds of qualifying drop 21 times. Contact odds fall by over 10 times in the first hour. The study did not measure close rates. |

_The HBR article is paywalled; its figures are as quoted in contemporaneous coverage of the article. The 2007 study is vendor data and was not peer reviewed._

## How fast should a contractor respond to a lead?

Within five minutes, every time, including nights and weekends. A homeowner who fills out three contractor forms on a Sunday night usually books whoever gets back first. Marketplace leads are often sold to several contractors at once, so a callback after lunch is a callback after the job was booked. If you can't call in five minutes, an automatic text that confirms you got the request and asks a qualifying question buys you time.

## Where trades businesses lose response time

**Common response-time gaps**

| Gap | What happens | Fix |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Owner on a job | Phone rings out while hands are busy; callback happens at the end of the day | Text back missed calls automatically; route calls to someone who can book |
| After hours and weekends | Web forms sit until Monday morning | Instant automatic reply plus a callback first thing, or 24/7 answering |
| Shared marketplace leads | Several contractors get the same lead at once | Respond in minutes; these leads reward speed more than any other |
| Busy season | Volume spikes exactly when crews are slammed | Overflow answering so leads don't queue behind service calls |
| No follow-up after the first try | One voicemail, then nothing | Follow up by call and text over several days |

## Common mistakes

- **Counting only answered calls.** Leads that never got a reply are the slow group, and usually the biggest one.
- **Measuring response time to the first attempt that reached voicemail.** What matters is how fast the customer heard from you, by any channel.
- **Ignoring lead source.** Referral leads wait patiently; marketplace leads don't. Track booking rate by source with the [cost per lead calculator](https://www.brix.so/tools/cost-per-lead-calculator).
- **Stopping at speed.** Fast first contact without a follow-up sequence still loses the leads who weren't ready on day one. See [lead follow-up automation](https://www.brix.so/features/sales-automation).

BRIX answers calls 24/7, texts back missed callers within seconds and follows up every web and marketplace lead automatically, so leads hear from you in minutes even when you're on a job.

- [AI receptionist](https://www.brix.so/features/ai-receptionist): Answers every call 24/7, qualifies the caller, books the job and texts back anyone it misses.
- [Missed-call text back](https://www.brix.so/features/missed-call-text-back): Texts a caller back within seconds when a call is missed, so the lead stays with you.
- [Sales automation](https://www.brix.so/features/sales-automation): Follows up every lead and open estimate automatically by text and email, and asks every customer for a review after the job.

## Frequently asked questions

### What is speed to lead?

Speed to lead is the time between a potential customer reaching out, by form, text, marketplace lead or missed call, and your first real response. Shorter is better, because the odds of reaching and booking a lead fall quickly in the first hour.

### How fast should you respond to a lead?

Aim for under five minutes. The 2007 Lead Response Management Study found the odds of contacting a lead were 100 times lower at 30 minutes than at 5 minutes. For trades businesses, an automatic text-back covers the minutes when nobody can pick up.

### What are the key speed to lead statistics?

Research published in Harvard Business Review in 2011 found firms that tried to contact leads within an hour were nearly seven times as likely to qualify them as firms that waited longer. In its audit of 2,241 companies, 23% never responded at all, and the average response time among those that replied within 30 days was 42 hours.

### Does speed to lead matter for contractors?

Yes, especially for web forms and shared marketplace leads, where homeowners contact several companies at once. The research wasn't done on contractors specifically, so track your own booking rate by response time and enter it in the calculator.

### How do I measure my lead response time?

Compare the timestamp when each lead arrived (form submission, missed call, message) with the timestamp of your first call or text back. Most CRMs, phone systems and inboxes record both. Average it weekly and look at the slowest 20%.

### Does a text count as a response?

Yes. A personal, specific text that confirms the request and asks a next-step question counts as first contact for most homeowners. It keeps the lead warm until someone can call.

## Related

- [What Is Speed to Lead?](https://www.brix.so/learn/speed-to-lead)
- [What Is Booking Rate?](https://www.brix.so/learn/booking-rate)
- [What Is AI Follow-Up?](https://www.brix.so/learn/ai-follow-up)
- [Booking Rate and Close Rate Calculator](https://www.brix.so/tools/booking-rate-calculator)
- [Missed Call Revenue Calculator](https://www.brix.so/tools/missed-call-calculator)
- [Cost Per Lead Calculator (and Marketing ROI)](https://www.brix.so/tools/cost-per-lead-calculator)
- [Lead Follow-Up Automation That Chases Every Lead and Estimate for You](https://www.brix.so/features/sales-automation)
- [Missed Call Text Back: Keep the Lead When You Can't Pick Up](https://www.brix.so/features/missed-call-text-back)
- [Customer Lifetime Value Calculator](https://www.brix.so/tools/customer-lifetime-value-calculator)
- [Customer Acquisition Cost Calculator](https://www.brix.so/tools/customer-acquisition-cost-calculator)

## Sources

- [Oldroyd, McElheran and Elkington, The Short Life of Online Sales Leads, Harvard Business Review (March 2011)](https://hbr.org/2011/03/the-short-life-of-online-sales-leads) (checked 2026-10-12)
- [Coverage quoting the HBR study's figures (SmartCompany, July 2011)](https://www.smartcompany.com.au/marketing/20110704-are-you-letting-online-leads-go-cold/) (checked 2026-10-12)
- [Oldroyd and InsideSales.com, Lead Response Management Study (2007), archived copy](https://www.mortech.com/hs-fs/hub/25649/file-13535879-pdf/docs/mit_study.pdf) (checked 2026-10-12)

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Written by BRIX Editorial Team. Last updated 2026-10-12.
Canonical: https://www.brix.so/tools/speed-to-lead-calculator