Speed-to-lead ROI calculator
What is slow follow-up costing you?
Four inputs, your own numbers. The model is deliberately conservative, and every assumption is on the page.
Revenue you’re likely leaving on the table
$0
$0 a month · That is revenue from leads you are already paying for.
Conservative by design. Harvard Business Review found firms that contacted a lead within an hour were nearly 7× as likely to qualify it; the 2007 MIT/InsideSales study found qualification odds 21× higher at 5 minutes than at 30. We assume a small fraction of that. Your real number comes from the assessment.
Why response time matters this much
In a 2011 Harvard Business Review study, researchers submitted test leads to 2,241 U.S. companies. The average response, among those that replied, took 42 hours; 23% never replied at all. Firms that contacted a lead within an hour were nearly seven times as likely to qualify it as those that waited even an hour longer.
An earlier 2007 MIT/InsideSales study of more than 15,000 leads found the odds of qualifying a lead were 21 times higher when called within 5 minutes rather than 30. InsideSales sells software for this problem, so weigh it accordingly — but the direction has held in every study since.
The leads were already paid for. The gap is coverage: the lead arrives while everyone is busy doing the work. That is exactly what a speed-to-lead agent or AI receptionist closes.
How is the estimate calculated?
Leads per month × 12 × your current close rate gives the jobs you win today. We apply an assumed lift in close rate from answering every lead in under a minute, and multiply the extra jobs by your average job value.
Where does the assumed lift come from?
Research consistently shows faster response wins more deals: Harvard Business Review found firms contacting a lead within an hour were nearly 7 times as likely to qualify it, and the 2007 MIT/InsideSales study found qualification odds 21 times higher at 5 minutes than at 30. We default to a fraction of that, and you can adjust it.
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