How fast should you respond to a prospect?

The short answer is: before your competitors. The useful answer is that a realistic, sustained commitment beats an occasional record.

Define your internal promise

Pick a commitment you can keep every time, even in your worst week: for example, acknowledgement within one working hour and a considered reply within a day. Whatever can't be met on your busiest Tuesday isn't a promise, it's a wish.

Separate acknowledging from answering

Confirming you've received the enquiry, saying when you'll respond and asking for what you need to assess it can all be automated without losing anything human. The considered reply still comes from a person.

• Instant acknowledgement with a clear timeframe.
• Specific questions to help assess the case.
• An internal alert if an enquiry goes past the promised timeframe.
• A weekly review of what came in and what got answered.

Measure it with two numbers

Average first-response time and the percentage of enquiries answered within your target window. That's enough to know whether the promise is being kept. If you can't get those numbers without opening five different apps, that's your first finding.

A modest commitment kept every time sells better than an ambitious one kept sometimes.