What is the ideal lead response time and how to achieve it efficiently

One of the most common and most critical reasons your leads don’t respond to you is slow lead response time. Even if your outreach is well-crafted, delays in reaching out can lead to new leads losing interest entirely.

Whether you’re generating leads through ads, online forms, or social media, there’s a reason they reached out or shared their details – they’re interested in a solution. But that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re interested in your business. They’ll likely respond to whoever contacts them first. That’s why lead response time is crucial, not just to move your sales process forward, but to increase your chances of converting those leads.

So, what is the ideal lead response time, and how can you ensure your team consistently follows up at the right moment?

This article will help you maintain a perfect lead response time across your entire team, quickly, efficiently, and automatically.

What is lead response time? 

Lead response time refers to the time it takes you or your sales team to respond to a new lead after they’ve shared their contact details through sources like lead ads, online forms, or social media.

Your lead response time can vary based on the lead source, lead type, and your sales process. For example, if you’re using platforms that don’t notify you of new leads, you’ll need to manually check for updates, import the leads into a spreadsheet or CRM, and then follow up. The lead response time is significantly higher in this case compared to a situation where you use a tool that automatically imports leads and alerts you instantly. 

Similarly, B2B lead response times are often longer than inbound lead response times by design. This is because B2B outreach typically happens during office hours and uses more formal communication channels, like email or scheduled calls, rather than messaging apps. Still, responding promptly can give you a competitive edge, even in B2B sales.   

Ultimately, the goal of lead response time is to reach out while the lead still remembers you and is actively interested in your offer. Always measure your lead response time from the moment a lead is captured to the moment you send your first message or make the first call. 

Suggested read: 4 reasons your leads aren’t replying to your messages.

What is considered an ideal lead response time?

The ideal lead response time can vary depending on your business model, industry, and sales strategy. However the general benchmark is within 5 minutes of capturing a new lead. This short window dramatically increases your chances of hearing back from the prospect since their interest is still fresh.

In B2C businesses, speed is even more critical. Here, the ideal lead response time is essentially as fast as possible. Consumers expect instant replies, especially when they’re actively exploring solutions. Delays often lead to lost opportunities as the customer might go with the first business that responds.

According to a Harvard Business Review study, companies that respond to leads within the first minute are seven times more likely to qualify the lead than those that respond after an hour, and can experience up to a 391% increase in conversion rates. The same study found that only 37% of businesses respond to leads within an hour, and the average response time is a shocking 42 hours.

At Privyr, we ran an A/B experiment to compare how leads respond to follow-up messages sent within 5 minutes versus those sent after an hour. Unsurprisingly, response rates were twice as high when we followed up within 5 minutes compared to waiting an hour.

Reaching out immediately keeps you top-of-mind. The prospect still remembers who you are and why they submitted their details. This makes them far more likely to engage with your message, boosting your reply rates and ultimately your conversion rate.

How to ensure a perfect lead response time

Lead response time can make or break your conversion rate. But when leads are pouring in from multiple sources, keeping your response timely requires a system. Here are the steps you can take to manually maintain your ideal lead response time:

• Start by immediately downloading leads from all your sources whether it’s Facebook Lead Ads, website forms, or marketplace platforms. Delays result in missed opportunities. 
• Next, store all leads in a central location, such as a CRM or your spreadsheet. This ensures your team can access and act on every lead without anything slipping through the cracks.
• Once new leads are centralised, assign them quickly to the right sales rep based on location, expertise, or availability. Speed of follow-up often depends on clarity of ownership. 
• Finally, contact leads through the right channels. For B2C, the right channel is often messaging apps like WhatsApp or SMS for faster replies. In contrast, email or phone calls usually perform better for B2B.

An automation tool or CRM can be incredibly helpful to maintain a perfect lead response time. However, it’s important to choose a solution that’s simple to use and to minimise the number of tools involved, so you avoid confusion and clutter. 

How Privyr helps you maintain a perfect lead response time

Ensuring the ideal lead response time requires more than just speed. It requires automating time-consuming, repetitive tasks. For instance, most lead sources don’t notify you when a new lead comes in. You have to check these platforms manually and frequently. Not only does that waste time and effort, but it also risks losing leads due to delays in follow-up, especially since you never know exactly when your campaign will generate a lead.

Secondly, if you manage a sales team, immediately assigning leads to the right sales rep is another major challenge. Even if you’re tracking leads in real time, doing this step manually introduces delays, particularly when handling high lead volumes. You’ll likely need a separate tool to automate this part of the process.

In general, maintaining a perfect lead response time may require multiple tools. That’s why finding the right solution to manage your sales process is essential, not just for efficiency, but for effectiveness too.

Enter Privyr, a mobile-first CRM built for sales teams that not only helps you maintain a perfect lead response time but also boosts your sales by up to 300%. Privyr integrates with all major lead sources and communication channels, allowing you to automatically import leads and instantly assign them to your team members, so they can reach out within one minute.       

Privyr helps you maintain a perfect response time by 

• Integrating with lead sources.
• Automatically downloading and alerting about new leads in real time.
• Immediately and automatically assigning new leads to your team members.
• Allowing sales reps to contact leads in the most preferred communication channels in a few taps.
• Allowing you to monitor and run the entire sales process on the go with a fully-featured mobile app.  

Privyr offers two ways to automatically respond to leads.

1. WhatsApp Autoresponder: Set up a fully automated reply through the Privyr app if you primarily use WhatsApp communicate with clients. This requires a Privyr Pro subscription, WhatsApp Business app on your phone, and a pay-per-message fee.

2. Regular Privyr features: With just a Privyr Pro subscription (starting at $30/user/month), you’ll receive instant lead notifications. You can respond to the lead instantly with an auto-personalised message or a phone call within a few taps. This works for all communication channels.

Method 1 

Privyr can help you automatically send a WhatsApp message from your number to new leads as soon as they’re captured on your lead sources. This process is fully automated and runs 24/7 once you’ve activated it. Here’s how to set it up. 

Step 1. Visit privyr.com and sign in. If you don’t already have an account, sign up for a new account. Then download the Privyr app on your phone.

Step 2. On your web app on. Go to Integrations and click on Configure Lead Automations

Step 3. Click on WhatsApp Autoresponder, and then Login with Facebook.

Step 4. On the new window, Click continue. You’ll be prompted to connect your Privyr account. Click on Get started. 

Step 5. Add your business portfolio and then select the first option to connect your existing WhatsApp business app.

Step 6. Add your phone number and your WhatsApp business account name.  

Once you click next, you’ll see the summary of the access required to complete the set up. Go ahead and click continue. You’ll see a QR code and receive a message on your WhatsApp Business with instructions.   

Step 7. Switch over to your mobile and open the message. Then click on Connect to the business platform. 

Next, click on connect to the business platform and then choose whether or not to share your chat history. Select either option and click confirm.  

Step 8. Scan the QR code on your laptop. This process may take some time (up to 1 minute) 

Step 9. Switch back to your laptop and complete the process. You’ll see a message that confirms your WhatsApp Business number is successfully connected to Privyr. Click on Finish. 

Step 10. The final step includes setting up your Autoresponder message that will be automatically sent to new leads. The new message will be automatically and instantly sent to new leads that you capture on any of your lead sources that’s connected to Privyr. To create a custom message, scroll down and add your message in the message template box. 

Then, click on Submit for approval. This will submit your message template to WhatsApp for a review. Once approved, the autoresponder will automatically start sending messages to new leads. 

It usually takes less than a minute for WhatsApp to approve your custom message. Note that you’ll be charged for each automated message successfully sent by this autoresponder. 

Here’s a video tutorial for setting up automatic WhatsApp responder with Privyr. 

Method 2 

If you’d rather not pay extra for each automated message, you can still achieve perfect response times with Privyr. Instead of automatically sending WhatsApp messages to new leads, this step includes instant notification of each lead so you can reply in just a few taps using auto-personalised messages. Here’s how to set it up:   

Step 1. Create your Privyr account and download the mobile app

Go to www.privyr.com and create your account. Once you’ve created your account, download the Privyr app on your phone. Privyr is available on both Android and iOS

Step 2. Integrate with your lead sources

The next step is to integrate with your lead sources, so the app automatically detects and imports leads as they are captured. Here’s how to do it. 

In the app, tap on Account and select Integrations. 

Under the Lead Sources tab, you’ll find a list of lead sources that you can connect with Privyr to automatically receive instant mobile alerts for new leads. Select your lead source and tap on Configure/connect. 

This will redirect you to the lead source’s app or website. Click on Continue. This will integrate Privyr with your lead source. Repeat the same process for other lead sources if you have more.    

The process of integrating a lead source may differ depending on the platform. Select the lead source to view the instructions. 

Step 3. Invite your team and set up automatic lead assignment   

The next step includes inviting your team members and setting up rules so your new leads get automatically sent or assigned to the right sales rep. This step also allows you to easily monitor overall and individual progress through a dashboard. 

Go to the Team tab and tap on INVITE TEAM. You can invite your team members via their email address. 

Once your team members accept your invite, go to Teams and create your lead assignment rule(s). 

New leads will be automatically distributed to your team members the moment they’re generated. There will be no need to manually save contact details as Privyr will instantly send the lead information to your sales rep’s phones. All leads will be also stored in a central location, complete with automatic follow-up schedules, so you can easily monitor progress.

With just a few taps, your team will be able to reach out to new leads via WhatsApp, SMS, or even a phone call – instantly.

Privyr provides one of the most efficient and effective solutions to maintain perfect lead response times and sales process, even if your team is always out and about.  

Try Privyr for free today!