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The average contractor responds to leads in 47 hours. The industry average close rate drops 391% after 5 minutes. Enter your response time and find out exactly what that gap is costing you every month.
No email required to see your benchmark
Results in under 30 seconds
Based on Harvard & MIT lead response research
The #1 reason contractors lose leads isn't price — it's response time. See exactly how much slow follow-up is costing your business.
Tell us your average lead response time, how many inbound leads you get per month, your average job value, and your current close rate.
We compare your response time against the 5-minute optimal window and the 47-hour industry average — no email required to see your basic benchmark position.
Enter your name and email to see your estimated monthly and annual revenue loss, your response score, what IBP's AI Receptionist recovers for you, and 3 actions to close the gap.
A Harvard Business Review study found that companies responding to leads within 1 hour were 7x more likely to have a meaningful conversation than those that waited even 2 hours. MIT research found that the odds of qualifying a lead drop 21x if you wait more than 30 minutes. For contractors, where most jobs are won by whoever calls back first, response time isn't a soft metric — it's the single biggest revenue lever in your business.
Response Time
Estimated Close Rate
Under 5 min
Optimal
1 hour
-35% vs. optimal
24 hours
-67% vs. optimal
47+ hours
-78% vs. optimal
Estimates normalized from HBR, MIT, and InsideSales.com lead response studies. Actual results vary by trade, market, and lead quality.
When a lead comes in - from a form, an ad, a missed call, or a text - IBP's AI Receptionist responds immediately, qualifies the lead, and books the appointment without you touching your phone. You stop bleeding jobs to faster competitors, and you never miss a lead again.
Our benchmark methodology is rooted in published research and real-world contractor data. Here are the answers to the most common questions about our calculations and estimates.
This figure is widely cited in sales and marketing research, most notably from studies by Harvard Business Review and InsideSales.com tracking B2C service businesses. For contractors specifically, mystery-shopper audits by various home services research firms have consistently found response times averaging 24-72 hours. We use 47 hours as the conservative midpoint.
Multiple studies (MIT, Kellogg School, InsideSales.com) show that lead conversion rates drop dramatically after the first 5 minutes of inactivity. This is because leads are most engaged at the moment they fill out a form or call: they're often simultaneously contacting 2-3 competitors. Whoever responds first wins the conversation.
No estimate can be exact: but it is methodology-backed. We use your inputs (response time, leads/month, job value, close rate) and apply a decay curve built from the published research above. The methodology is disclosed inside the tool. Consider it a directional floor, not a ceiling.
Your basic benchmark position is free and instant. The full revenue loss figure, response score, and IBP ROI estimate require your email so we can send you a follow-up copy and, if you're interested, connect you with our team.
Yes. If your response time is already under 5 minutes, the tool will confirm that and redirect your focus to the next biggest gap in your pipeline: usually follow-up sequences, review volume, or close rate optimization.
Find out exactly how many 5-star reviews you need to outrank your top local competitor on Google.
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Stop guessing what better systems are worth. Enter your trade, job value, and lead volume — and see your projected annual revenue gain from faster follow-up, stronger reviews, and consistent lead capture. Takes 90 seconds. No fluff.
IBP's AI Receptionist responds to every lead in under 60 seconds, around the clock : so you're always the first contractor to respond, even when you're on the roof.
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