How quickly should you respond to a lead?
Straight away. A short first reply, even an automatic one, tells the customer their enquiry arrived and when they’ll hear from you. Then reply personally as soon as you honestly can, and keep whatever you promised.
Why the first reply matters
Someone who sends an enquiry has usually just decided to get the job done, and plenty of people ask more than one business at once.
Silence doesn’t read as busy. It reads as not interested, or as a business that will be just as slow once the work starts. A quick reply shows the enquiry landed and someone is on it.
A Harvard Business Review article from 2011 makes the point in its title, “The Short Life of Online Sales Leads”, and its authors concluded that most companies don’t respond nearly fast enough.
This guide covers that first reply. For chasing a quote you’ve already sent, see how to automate quote follow up; if enquiries aren’t arriving at all, start with why a website doesn’t get leads.
How quickly is quick enough?
Think of it as two replies. The first goes out straight away, can be automatic and says what happens next. The second is the real conversation with you: within the hour when you can, and the same working day at the latest.
When the enquiry arrives changes what’s realistic:
| When it arrives | First reply | Personal reply |
|---|---|---|
| Working hours, near your phone | Straight away, by hand | Within the hour, or in that first reply |
| Working hours, out on a job | Straight away, automatically | At your next break, and the same working day at the latest |
| Evenings and weekends | Straight away, automatically | By the next working morning |
| On holiday or fully booked | Straight away, saying so honestly | When you said you would |
What the first reply should say
Keep it short. It has three jobs:
- Confirm it arrived. Thank them, and if you’re writing by hand, mention the job.
- Say what happens next, and when. “We’ll call you this afternoon” or “by tomorrow morning”, whichever is true.
- Give a way to reach you sooner. A phone number for anything urgent, and a reply address someone reads.
It can also ask for one thing that helps, such as photos of the job. An automatic version might say:
Thanks for getting in touch. We’ve got your enquiry and we’ll call you back today, or first thing the next working day if it came in after hours. If it’s urgent, ring us on the number below. Photos of the job help, so feel free to reply with a few.
Make the first reply automatic
You don’t need new software. Start with what you have:
- Your voicemail message. Say when you return calls, such as at lunchtime and after work, and that a text is fine too.
- Your website form. Show a thank you page that says what happens next. Many form tools can also email the person a confirmation, so check yours.
- Your email. Gmail can send a saved template as an automatic reply to messages that match a filter. If your form’s emails come from the form tool, the reply may go to the tool instead of the customer, so test it with an enquiry of your own. Outlook’s automatic replies are made for time away: each sender gets one reply, and they answer either everyone, newsletters and junk included, or only your contacts, which leaves out new customers.
Make the personal reply easy
- Keep a saved reply. With it in a note on your phone, replying by hand only needs a name and the job.
- Check at set times. Your breaks and the end of each job, rather than every time the phone buzzes.
- Keep enquiries in one place. Whether it came by phone, email, form or social media, note each enquiry in a single list so none gets missed.
- Automate it when it’s worth it. A custom automation can send the first reply to website enquiries and put each one where you’ll see it. That’s the kind of thing we build under admin that runs itself, as part of a Leapr Growth project.
An example
Say a block paving firm sets up an automatic reply that goes out as soon as an enquiry arrives through its website. The reply thanks the customer by first name, repeats what they asked about and says someone will call them back, usually the same day. It then sets out what happens next: a call, a free visit to measure up and a fixed price in writing. A phone number, WhatsApp and an email address cover anything urgent, and replies go to the firm’s own address, not a no reply one. There are no offers in it, and it says it isn’t marketing.
The firm’s enquiry form lets customers add photos of the job, and every enquiry it sends lands in one list with its status, from new through to won or lost. Each one can carry a next action with a date, and an admin screen shows what needs doing today, including new enquiries nobody has rung yet. The automatic reply tells the customer what to expect; the list puts the promised call in front of someone.
When a fast reply isn’t possible
Some days you’re on a roof, driving between jobs or fully booked. What matters is that the first reply tells the truth.
A promise you can’t keep does more damage than a slower honest one. If your automatic reply says you’ll call within the hour and you ring the next evening, the customer has spent that time waiting, and your first real conversation starts with an apology. “We’ll call you by tomorrow morning”, kept, builds the trust a quote needs.
If you can’t start for a while, say so in the first reply, so the customer can decide whether to wait. And if the job isn’t for you, say that quickly too: a polite no is kinder than silence.
Questions people ask
Is an automatic reply better than no reply?
Yes, if it’s short, honest about timing and sent from an address that accepts replies. It doesn’t replace the personal reply, though.
Should I call back or reply by email?
If they left a number and asked for a call, call. Otherwise reply the way they got in touch. If you can’t call yet, a short email saying when you will covers the gap.
Do I need consent to reply to an enquiry?
Generally, no. Under UK GDPR, the contract basis covers steps someone asks you to take before any contract exists, such as giving a quote to the person who asked, and the ICO says this applies even if they never go ahead. Marketing is different: the ICO says a service message with marketing in it counts as direct marketing. Marketing emails and texts also have their own rules under PECR, the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations.
What about enquiries at the weekend?
An automatic reply that says you’ll call on Monday morning is fine, as long as you then call on Monday morning. If you do answer at weekends, say so instead.
Sources
- A guide to lawful basis: contract, ICO
- Identify direct marketing, ICO
- The Short Life of Online Sales Leads, Harvard Business Review