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What do marketing leads, the Olympic Games, and 1990s Keanu Reeves films have in common? They’re all examples of moments when speed absolutely matters.
Of course, these days, we’re all being urged to slip away from the nonstop hustle and bustle of the rat race and to take it slowly instead. Going slowly certainly has its advantages when you’re aging Scotch whisky, enjoying a romantic dance, or taking part in a tortoise-and-hare metaphor. But responding to inbound leads is a time to hit fast-forward—not the pause button.
Increasingly, as a sales team, you’ll live and die by your lead response time. However, speaking of the pause button, let’s hit it right here for a moment and revisit exactly what we mean by “lead response time,” and examine why it’s such a vital metric.
Lead response time explained
Lead response time = the elapsed time from lead creation to your first meaningful touch (reply, call, or booked meeting). An inbound lead is any contact from a potential customer indicating an interest in your company’s products or services. This could arrive via a form on your website, an email, a phone call, or, increasingly, a message via social media.
Inbound leads are often the result of marketing efforts, such as SEO, paid search, advertising, social, or content marketing. As they’re inbound—that is, the prospect has proactively contacted your company to communicate their interest—these leads are typically more qualified than outbound leads uncovered by the sales team. They’re actively looking for a solution, so they are likely further along in the decision journey, making them more likely to be won—and won faster. With all of this in mind, minimizing the time between a lead coming into your business and the first contact between the prospect and a member of your sales team is crucial. The faster you respond, the higher your connect and conversion rates. A decade ago, a Harvard Business Review study highlighted the importance of the one-hour rule. In short, when a salesperson contacted a prospect within one hour of their first contact, they were 60× more likely to turn the opportunity into a customer than if they waited a full 24 hours before following up. This study made lead response time a vital metric for all sales organizations to track and improve.
The sweet spot is now even shorter
While most sales leaders will be aware of the importance of lead response time, many still don’t prioritize it. More than half of companies still take more than an entire business week to respond to inbound leads. That’s a potential customer who has received a referral, seen an advertisement or a piece of content, found you via a web search and actively contacted your company. Too many companies leave them waiting for days.
Of course, not all companies are quite so casual when it comes to turning leads into business. The HBR study we discussed earlier revealed that the average response time was 42 hours. Less than two full days sounds pretty good until you consider that most prospects have researched options long before contacting vendors and are ready to take the next step—a demo, discovery call, or even a quote.
They’re itching to buy. This goes a long way to explaining why 78% of customers buy from the first company to respond. If that’s not enough to keep most salespeople up at night, then try this one on for size: only 7% of sales teams contact new inbound leads within five minutes. Seven percent may not be a high figure, but it’s just high enough to make it likely that one of your competitors is there, beating you to the punch.
How to respond to leads
Studies bear out the new five-minute rule:
Contact new inbounds within five minutes. You’ll be ~100× more likely to reach them and ~21× more likely to qualify them than if you wait 30 minutes.
Start human. Ask your lead how they are. It’ll increase your chance of booking a follow-up by almost 350%.
Set the next step before you hang up. It takes an average of eight touches to turn leads into customers and only ~2% of sales occur in the first meeting. Therefore, the goal of the first contact is to secure a follow-up quickly.
The same principles behind the five-minute rule apply to any follow-up meetings or product demonstrations. Just because you got in there first while your competitors were still making coffee doesn’t mean you can ease off. Staying ahead and striking while interest is highest is key to turning them into a happy and valued customer.
Use Doodle so every five-minute response becomes a booked meeting in ten.
How Doodle helps you win fast
Booking Page (1:1): share one link and let prospects pick times that fit your rules (work hours, buffers, minimum notice).
Group Poll (multi-stakeholder demos): propose times and lock the slot the whole buying committee can attend.
Sign-up Sheet (webinars/office hours): cap seats and fill sessions without manual coordination.
SDR → AE handoff: secure the next step before you hang up by sharing the AE’s Booking Page live on the call.
Failure to schedule meetings promptly, or allowing leads to fall away after they need to reschedule, are some of the most common—and avoidable—causes of lost business. Use a quality scheduling tool to turn fast responses into fast bookings. Account managers and product teams can publish a Doodle Booking Page that SDRs can share with leads, avoiding the usual back-and-forth. Once booked, both calendars update automatically, the video link (Zoom/Teams/Meet) is added, time zones are handled, and automated reminders reduce no-shows. Even better, embed your Doodle Booking Page on your thank-you page or forms so prospects self-book instantly—a true zero-minute response.
So, while we all agree that some things in life—a summer walk on the beach, brewing the perfect cup of coffee, or cooking a rack of ribs—are best performed at a slow and leisurely pace, when it comes to inbound response, speed-to-lead is a decisive advantage. Are you looking to book more appointments with your customers but keep getting caught up with other tasks? Here are some tips that might help you out.
