Slow lead response cost estimator
This works out what answering every lead quickly might be worth, from numbers you know: how many leads you get, how often a fast answer closes, how often a slow one does, and how many leads are answered slowly. The figures in the boxes are examples, not industry statistics.
How it works
Sales as things are: leads times the fast close rate for the share answered fast, plus leads times the late close rate for the share answered late. Sales if every lead were answered fast: leads times the fast close rate. The gap is the extra sales, and the extra gross is that gap times the average gross.
Be careful with it
Late leads are not a random sample. They are often the harder ones, such as a vague enquiry late on a Saturday. Answering them faster will not lift them all to the fast close rate, so treat the result as the top of a range.
Get real close rates by pulling last quarter's leads, splitting them by how long the first reply took, and counting the sales in each group. DealerStation, like many CRMs, shows the time from a lead arriving to the first text sent, so you can compare sources.
What to do with it
If the estimate is large, the next step is a routine, not a purchase. Our guide to dealership lead response time covers targets, assignment rules and what the first message should say.