What is average lead response time?
Average lead response time is a sales metric that measures the average amount of time it takes for a sales rep to follow up with a potential client or lead after they have shown interest in your business (submitting their email, filling a form, downloading an ebook, etc.)
How to calculate average lead response time?
To calculate average lead response time, first of all, the sum total the ‘time taken to respond to all leads’. Then, divide the total time by the ‘number of leads’ your sales rep responded to and you shall get the average lead response time.
Formula for calculating average lead response time
Real-life example of average lead response time
You run an online business and have a total of 150 leads at hand who’ve shown some interest in your business. It took your sales rep 2,400 minutes to follow up with all the leads.
Then, your average lead response time will be: 2400/150 = 16 minutes
This means, on average, you follow up with your leads within 16 minutes of their interaction with your company.
What’s considered a good lead response time? (benchmark)
A good lead response time is considered to be five minutes. Your average lead response time depends on the industry and size of your company.
Forbes cites the average lead response time as 47 hours, which isn’t good at all. Most businesses don’t pay attention to their response time and hence lose leads to their competitors.
With an average lead response time of 2 hours and 5 minutes, healthcare was the slowest, while telecommunications performed best with an average response time of 16 minutes.
Ways to reduce your average lead response time
- Employ live chat software: Live chatting is the quickest way to reach out to your prospects. Whenever your customers contact you via a chat window, your reps can provide them with immediate assistance and information. Take it a step further by leveraging a lead generation chatbot.
- Employ automated email follow-ups: Segment your leads based on their on-site behaviours and send automated email follow-ups post those actions. This will ensure your prospects get personalized responses ASAP.
- Prioritize response time in training: Stress the importance of fast lead response and cross-channel communication strategies in team training. Provide micro-coaching sessions to your sales rep team to improve your lead response time. Read: Tips on How to Coach More Successful Agents