How fast should a car salesman respond to an internet lead?
Short answer
As fast as you can, ideally within minutes. In a study of 2,241 US companies published in Harvard Business Review, firms that tried to contact a web lead within an hour were nearly seven times as likely to qualify it as firms that waited longer, and 23% never responded at all. A shopper who sent an inquiry is often talking to more than one store, so the first useful reply has an edge.
What the research found
In 2011 Harvard Business Review published an audit of 2,241 US companies that measured how fast they followed up on web leads. It is not car-specific, and it is old, but it is one of the few published studies with a large sample.
| Finding | Result |
|---|---|
| Responded within one hour | 37% of companies |
| Responded within 24 hours | 16% |
| Took longer than 24 hours | 24% |
| Never responded | 23% |
| Contact attempted within an hour vs an hour later | Nearly 7 times as likely to qualify the lead |
| Within an hour vs 24 hours or more | More than 60 times as likely |
What that means on a sales floor
- Internet shoppers often contact more than one store. The first useful reply starts the conversation.
- The leads you miss come when you are busy: a test drive, a delivery, a Saturday rush, after hours.
- Speed only helps if the reply is useful. Answer the question, then offer a time.
- Respect the clock: sales texts belong between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. in the customer's time zone.
Relay Solo answers your leads within seconds during those hours, from your own number, and hands price and trade questions to you.
Common questions
How fast should I answer an internet car lead?
Within minutes if you can, and inside an hour at most. The HBR study found contact within an hour made qualifying a lead nearly seven times as likely as waiting longer.
Is the 21 times stat real?
It comes from a 2007 MIT and InsideSales lead response study, mostly business-to-business web leads. We cite the 2011 HBR audit here because its method and sample are published.
Sources
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