How much are slow replies costing you?

Most businesses don’t lose leads to a better competitor. They lose them to silence. An inquiry arrives at 9 pm, on a Saturday, or while the team is busy with a client, and by the time someone replies, the person has already booked a call with whoever answered first.

The leak has two parts. Some inquiries never get a reply at all: they land in a spam folder, a marketplace inbox nobody checks, or a voicemail box. The rest get a reply, just too late. This calculator puts a number on both, using your own inquiry volume, booking value and close rate.

The research is consistent. A Harvard Business Review study of 2,241 US companies (2011) found that firms that tried to contact a lead within an hour were about 7 times more likely to qualify it than firms that waited even an hour longer. The same study found 23% of companies never replied at all.

In weddings, WeddingPro reports that up to 50% of bookings go to the first vendor to respond. An older MIT and InsideSales.com study (2007, a vendor study) found that calling within 5 minutes instead of 30 gave 21 times better odds of qualifying the lead.

The calculator uses much smaller effects than these studies, on purpose. We would rather show a number you believe than one that looks like a sales pitch.

• Wedding venues: couples send the same inquiry to several venues at once, often at night after work. WeddingPro reports that up to 50% of bookings go to the first vendor to respond, and one wedding is often worth five figures.
• Event venues: Tripleseat’s 2025 Consumer Event Planning Insights found 77% of people planning an event rate a venue’s responsiveness as highly important. Corporate and private event inquiries come in at all hours, so set the after-hours share to match your inbox.
• Hotel group sales: Cvent data shows 61% of group RFPs go to one of the first three hotels to respond. Use your monthly RFP count and your average group booking value.
• Med spas: Podium found 70% of consumers expect a reply to a text within an hour. Use your inquiry-to-client rate as the close rate, not your consult close rate: the leak is getting people to the consult.
• Dental practices: new patient requests arrive by phone, web form and booking pages while the front desk is busy. Use the first-year value of a new patient and the share of new patient inquiries that book a first visit.
• Law firms: the 2024 Clio Legal Trends Report tested 500 law firms, and only 33% answered the email and 40% answered the phone. Count last month’s forms, emails and missed calls, then how many got a reply.
• Home services: homeowners contact more than one business and book the one that calls back first with a time to visit. Calls missed while the team is on a job are the biggest leak for most contractors.

• Bookings lost to missed inquiries: inquiries that never got a reply, booked at your current close rate.
• Bookings lost to slow replies: inquiries that got a reply, minus the share a slower reply costs you (0% under 5 minutes, up to 30% for next day or later).
• After-hours and weekend inquiries always count as waiting until the next morning, unless your typical reply is already slower.
• The yearly cost is lost bookings × your value per booking × 12, rounded. The “won back” line shows a quarter or half of that, a cautious target.

• Reply to every new inquiry within 5 minutes, including nights and weekends. If a person can’t, an automatic reply that answers the question and offers a next step can.
• Answer the question they asked. Price, availability and next step in the first reply beat “thanks, we’ll be in touch”.
• Offer one clear next step: a tour, a consultation or a call, with a booking link.
• Follow up. Many inquiries don’t reply to the first message. A second and third touch by email and text wins a share of them back.
• Check every inbox where leads arrive: website form, email, phone, marketplaces and social messages.