Free contractor tool
The contractor who calls back first usually wins. Enter your numbers below to see how much revenue slow follow-up is costing you every month and every year.
Your estimated lost revenue from slow follow-up
Why speed to lead matters for contractors
A homeowner filling out a quote form is often submitting to two or three contractors at once. The first person to call back has a huge advantage. By the time the second contractor reaches out, the homeowner has often already committed mentally, even if they have not signed anything yet.
Most contractor businesses lose jobs not because their price is wrong or their work is bad, but because they let too much time pass. Even a 30-minute delay can cut your close rate significantly. A same-day system, whether you handle it manually or automate the first touch, is one of the highest-ROI changes a contractor can make.
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Real result, not a projection
per month running the full system: website, Google Ads, and content, all pulling in the same direction.
Common questions
Speed to lead is how quickly you contact a new inbound lead after they submit a form or call. Homeowners often submit quote requests to two or three contractors at the same time. The first contractor to call back has a significant advantage because the homeowner is still in decision mode and has not mentally committed to anyone yet. A same-day or faster response gives you a material edge over competitors who call the next day or later.
It depends on your monthly lead volume, what share of leads get slow responses, and the gap between your fast and slow close rates. As a rough example, if you receive 30 leads per month and 40 percent get contacted slowly, and your fast close rate is 35 percent versus your slow close rate of 15 percent, you are losing several jobs per month. This calculator shows the dollar value of that gap using your specific numbers and average job value.
As an industry estimate, responding within the same hour is considered fast. Responding the same day is acceptable. Anything beyond that risks losing the job to a faster competitor. The defaults in this calculator use a fast close rate of 35 percent and a slow close rate of 15 percent as estimates to illustrate the gap. Your actual close rates at each speed will depend on your trade, market, and how well you handle the conversation.
Enter your monthly leads, the percentage of those leads that get contacted slowly, your close rate on fast contacts, your close rate on slow contacts, and your average job value. The calculator computes how many leads are handled slowly, how many jobs are lost due to the slower close rate, and the revenue lost per month and per year from that gap.
More free tools
This is one of several free tools built for residential contractors. Browse the full contractor marketing tools library or get a custom strategy video that uses your real numbers.
Ready to stop losing jobs to slow follow-up?
The calculator shows you the problem. A strategy video gives you the plan: which channels to run, how to set up follow-up so leads get contacted fast, and what results we would actually target for your market. No cost, no obligation.
