You need to respond to a new lead within minutes, not hours. Moneypenny's 2026 caller-experience research finds that 72% of consumers are likely to choose the business that responds first, and responding within about five minutes makes you far more likely to win the lead, with every extra minute of delay lowering your odds. For a tradesperson, that means the enquiry you call back tomorrow morning has usually already booked someone who answered today.
Most trades think of a lead as something they will get to when they finish the job they are on. The data says that is exactly how you lose it.
The five-minute reality
The single most important number in winning work is how fast you respond. According to Moneypenny's 2026 caller-experience research, 72% of consumers are likely to choose the business that responds first, and responding within the first few minutes dramatically increases your chances, while every extra minute of delay chips away at them. It is not that the fastest quote is the cheapest or the best; it is that the first responder is the one still in the customer's mind when they decide.
Why trades lose on speed without meaning to
You are not slow because you do not care. You are slow because you are up a ladder, under a sink, or driving between jobs when the enquiry comes in, so "I'll call them back later" is the honest plan. But "later" is often hours, and by then the customer has rung two more people and booked the one who picked up. It is the same dynamic behind why calls get missed in the first place.
How to actually respond fast when you're on the tools
You cannot personally answer within five minutes while you are working, so the answer is to have something respond for you: an always-on front desk that answers the call and books it there and then, or a missed-call text-back that fires within seconds when you genuinely cannot pick up. Either way, the customer gets a response while they are still deciding, instead of a callback after they have chosen someone else.
Frequently asked questions
Within minutes. Most customers buy from the first company to respond, and responding within about five minutes makes you far more likely to win the job.
The lead has usually gone cold; the customer has often already booked whoever responded first.
Have a service answer the call for you, or an automatic text go out when you miss it. The maths on the jobs this saves is in what a missed call costs.
Want to respond in seconds without stopping work? Talk to Daisy.
Sources
Hear Daisy answer a call.
The AI front desk that answers every call, qualifies the job and books it while you stay on the tools. Try to catch her out.