Why it matters
The math is brutal. Odds of contacting a lead drop 10x after just 5 minutes. After an hour, probability of conversion drops another 60%.
Addcox Heating had a 9-hour average response time on Yelp leads. In that window, a homeowner had already called three competitors, gotten quotes from two, and booked one. The lead wasn't bad. The response time was.
Eliseo, a roofing contractor, had 150 leads per month but only a 20% booking rate. Response time was the gap. That's 120 leads per month going to competitors — not because of price or quality, but because someone else called back first.
The speed to lead curve
- Under 5 minutes: You're in the game. High contact rates.
- 5 to 60 minutes: Contact rate drops significantly.
- 1 to 24 hours: Playing from behind. Most leads don't convert.
- 24+ hours: Effectively dead for most home service leads.
The fix is automation. A human can't respond to every lead in under 5 minutes, especially after hours or on weekends. An automated SMS can.
Example first-response text:
"Hey [Name], thanks for reaching out to [Company]. We got your request and someone from our team will call you shortly. What's the best time to reach you today?"
That fires within 60 seconds of form submission, before a competitor even sees the notification.
How CHIIRP handles it
When a new lead comes in from any connected source (website, Angi, Yelp, Google Local Services), CHIIRP fires an immediate SMS automatically, even at 2 AM on a Sunday. Non-responders stay in a follow-up sequence so no lead disappears.
FAQ
What is a good speed to lead time?
Under 5 minutes. Under 1 minute is achievable with automation and outperforms manual response at every data point.
How do small teams respond 24/7?
Automated SMS. A small HVAC company with two trucks can still have sub-60-second response time on every lead. Human follow-up happens during business hours. Automation holds the lead until then.
Does this apply to big-ticket jobs like HVAC replacement or roofing?
Especially. Higher-ticket decisions involve more comparison shopping. Whoever gets there first sets the anchor — first price, first relationship, first impression.
What's the connection between speed to lead and close rate?
Speed to lead determines whether you get the conversation at all. Close rate only matters if you make contact first. Most contractors think they have a closing problem when they actually have a response time problem.