In 2007, an MIT professor and the CEO of a sales software company went through three years of data from six companies: more than fifteen thousand leads and over one hundred thousand call attempts. They wanted to know one thing. Does it matter how fast you call?
It mattered more than anyone expected. Calling within 5 minutes instead of 30, the odds of reaching the lead were 100 times higher, and the odds of qualifying them were 21 times higher (Lead Response Management study).
Four years later, Harvard Business Review sent test leads to 2,241 US companies. The average reply took 42 hours, and 23% never replied at all. Firms that tried to reach a lead within an hour were nearly seven times as likely to qualify it as firms that waited even an hour longer (HBR, quoted in SmartCompany).
Neither study looked at movers specifically, and both are years old. But the pattern fits moving better than almost any business: the person asking for a quote is planning a stressful day, they're asking several companies at once, and they want it handled. The first mover who answers starts the conversation. Everyone else is catching up.
higher odds of reaching a lead at 5 minutes vs 30
higher odds of qualifying them
average reply time in HBR's test of 2,241 companies
of those companies never replied
Test Your Own Speed
Be your own mystery shopper. Use a phone number your team doesn't know, fill out your own quote form or call your own number, then press start. Press stop when someone from your company replies. You can close this page in between. The timer keeps running on this device.
Send your test lead, then start the clock.
Why Movers Lose The Race
The owner is on a truck
Calls go to voicemail while the person who quotes is carrying a couch. The lead waits until the end of the day.
Forms land in an inbox nobody watches
A quote request sits next to supplier invoices and newsletters until someone has time to check.
Leads arrive after hours
Evenings and weekends are when many people plan their move. If nothing happens until Monday morning, someone else replied on Saturday.
Missed calls cost twice
With paid leads, a missed call can still be a charged lead. We cover how Google's Local Services Ads treat missed calls in best moving lead providers.
How To Reply In Under 5 Minutes
An instant text for every form
The moment a form comes in, an automatic text goes out: who you are, that you got the request, and when you'll call. It buys you time and shows you're real. Our CRM guide has the exact message.
Text back every missed call
"Sorry we missed you, we're on a job. What's the best time to call you back today?" Most phone systems and CRMs can do this automatically.
Send leads to a phone, not an inbox
Every new lead should ping the phone of whoever is on duty, with the customer's details ready to call.
Name one person per shift
When everyone is responsible for leads, nobody is. One name, one phone, for every hour you're open.
Have an after hours plan
An evening text reply, a booking link for a call tomorrow, or a shared on call phone. Something better than silence until Monday.
Measure it every week
Run the stopwatch test above once a week, on different channels and times. What gets measured gets faster.
The First 60 Seconds Of The Call
Speed only wins if the first call moves things forward. Keep it short and get to a next step:
1. Thank them and say who you are. "Hi, this is [name] from [company]. You just asked about a move on [date], is now a good time?"
2. Ask three things. Where from, where to, and how big is the home.
3. Book the next step on the call. A 10 minute video walkthrough today, or a price by a set time. Never end with "we'll get back to you."
Fast replies bring people into the conversation. Turning them into booked moves is the next step, and we cover where quotes leak in how to get more moving jobs. If you want a lead system where every lead is yours and tracked from the first second, see our moving company lead generation page.
FAQ
What is speed to lead?
Speed to lead is how long it takes your company to reply after someone asks for a quote, by form, call or message. The faster you reply, the more likely you are to reach the customer while they are still deciding.
How fast should a moving company respond to a lead?
Within 5 minutes if you can. In a 2007 study of over fifteen thousand leads, the odds of reaching a lead were 100 times higher at 5 minutes than at 30. An automatic text the moment a form arrives, followed by a call, is the easiest way to get there.
Does responding faster really win more moving jobs?
The research points that way. Harvard Business Review found that companies that tried to reach a lead within an hour were nearly seven times as likely to qualify it as companies that waited even an hour longer. Neither study looked at movers specifically, but moving customers usually ask several companies at once, which makes speed even more important.
How can a small moving company reply to leads fast while on jobs?
Send an automatic text to every new form, text back every missed call, send new leads to the phone of whoever is on duty, name one person responsible per shift, and have an after hours plan instead of waiting until the next business day.
How do I test my moving company's response time?
Use a number your team does not know to fill out your own quote form or call your own line, then time how long it takes for someone to reply. Test different channels and times, including evenings and weekends, every week.
What should I say on the first call with a moving lead?
Thank them and say who you are, ask where they are moving from, where to and how big the home is, then book the next step on the same call, like a 10 minute video walkthrough or a price by a set time.
Goran is co-founder of Move Accelerator, a marketing agency that works only with moving and junk removal companies. Before marketing, he spent 10 years in customer service, where how fast you answer decides how the customer feels about everything that follows. He writes about what's working for movers right now, including the parts most agencies keep quiet.
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