Speed to Lead for Remodelers: Reply in Under 60 Seconds

01 · Your free reply‑time test

How fast does your business really reply? We'll test it, free.

Tell us about your business. One short form, about two minutes.
With your OK, we test you the way a homeowner would. An inquiry on your website form and a call after hours, and we time the reply. Nothing goes to your customers.
You see exactly what came back. How long the first reply took, what it said, and what we'd fix first, on one 30‑minute call with your fix‑first plan.

Yours to keep: the test and the plan, whether you hire us or not. It's the first of the 4 tests in the free Missed Jobs Test, and you see all of them on one 30‑minute call.

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02 · Watch it in 2 minutes

For the love of God, answer your leads

A five‑second callback from a filmed test, a kitchen lead that waits until morning, what the research on response time really says, and how Booked replies to every new inquiry in your words. Sound on.

For the love of God, answer your leads1:45A five‑second callback from a filmed test, a kitchen lead that waits until morning, what the research on response time really says, and how Booked replies to every new inquiry in your words in under a minute, with the team that runs it.

Every person, business and number in the video is an example.

Get the free Missed Jobs Test from the video, starting with your reply time

03 · Speed to lead, explained

What is speed to lead, and what's a good time for a remodeler?

What it means, where most home‑service businesses stand, and five ways to get faster, with us or without us.

In one sentence

Speed to lead is the time between a homeowner's inquiry and your first real reply. A form, a missed call, a text or a Facebook message all start the clock. For a remodeler, aim for a first reply in under a minute and a real conversation the same day.

Same day60%of home‑service owners say they reply the same dayJobber, 2026
Within an hour20%say they reply within an hourJobber, 2026
Within 5 minutes8×higher conversion than at 6 minutes or more, in sales researchInsideSales, 2021
Under a minute60 sBooked's first reply, in your words, or that month is freeOur guarantee

Jobber's figures are owners' own answers (survey of 1,050 US owners). InsideSales studied business‑to‑business sales, so read it as a direction, not a remodeling number. Every speed to lead number, with its source

How to improve your speed to lead in 5 steps

Do it yourselfWith Booked
1Measure your real reply timeDo it yourselfFill in your own website form on a Saturday night and call after hours. Time what comes back.With BookedYour monthly report shows the first‑reply time of every lead.
2Reply in seconds, in your own wordsDo it yourselfSet up an instant text and email that sounds like you and asks one question about the job.With BookedWe write it with you, and it goes out in under a minute, day or night.
3Offer a time in the first replyDo it yourselfPut your booking link in it, so a yes turns into a visit, not a phone tag.With BookedA yes gets your booking link, then a confirmation and reminders.
4Talk while they're still lookingDo it yourselfCall back within 5 minutes when you can, and text back every call you miss.With BookedCall connect rings you at 2 minutes. Missed calls get a text back.
5Follow up until you hear yes or noDo it yourselfIf they go quiet, follow up for a week. After the estimate, keep checking in.With BookedNew leads for 7 days. Estimates on day 2, 5, 10 and 21.

04 · The race

The first reply gets the first conversation

Homeowners rarely wait for one remodeler. Every minute you wait, they're filling in someone else's form.

“For the love of God, please call your leads within 60 seconds.”

Alex Hormozi, who says a slow reply lets the lead shop around, drags you into a price war and makes every customer cost more.

One filmed test: Caleb Chae filled in Power Home Remodeling's form on camera and bet they wouldn't call within 60 seconds. Power, which reports $1.4 billion a year in revenue, called in 5. Watch the test

5 secondsPower Home Remodeling called backOne filmed test, 2026
60 secondsThe rule to beat, and Booked’s guaranteeA first reply in under a minute
1 hour46% lower chance of being hiredManagement Science, 2026
1 dayAbout 90% lowerSame study

Not to scale. The 5 seconds is one filmed test. The 1‑hour and 1‑day figures are from a study of 11.6 million interactions in freelance hiring (Management Science, 2026).

05 · What waiting costs

An hour late cuts your chance of being hired almost in half

The research is consistent: the longer the first reply takes, the less likely you are to win the work.

Chance of being hired, compared with a fast reply

Reply within minutes100
Reply after 1 hour54
Reply after 1 dayabout 10

From "Speed Is a Signal" (Management Science, 2026), a study of 11.6 million interactions in freelance hiring: a 1‑hour delay cut the chance of being hired by 46%, a full day by about 90%.

Every number, with its source: speed to lead statistics for contractors

06 · One lead, two afternoons

The same 2:40 PM inquiry, answered two ways

You can't answer from a ladder. Booked can, in your words, and it rings you the moment you can talk.

Reply after the job

Booked someone else

2:40 PMA form comes inYou’re up a ladder
2:41 PMNo answerShe fills in the next remodeler’s form
6:15 PMYou call backFrom the truck, after the job
6:16 PM“We already booked someone”The walkthrough went to the first reply

With Booked

Walkthrough booked

2:40 PMA form comes inYou’re up a ladder
22 seconds laterA text from you“Hi Sarah, it’s Mike from Larkmoor Remodeling. Is it a full remodel or a refresh?”
2:42 PMYour phone ringsPick up and it dials her for you
2:44 PMThursday, 10 AMShe picks a time on your booking link

Example business and times. With Booked the first reply goes out in your words within a minute, day or night, and your phone rings at 2 minutes if you choose.

07 · How it works

From new lead to booked estimate

Starts whenA new form, text or messageWebsite, Facebook, Google profile texts
Text and emailUnder a minute: a reply in your wordsText and email, with your calendar
CallNo reply in 2 minutes? Call connectYour phone rings first, then theirs
ChecksBooked a time?
YesConfirmation and remindersNoA nudge the next day
TextNext day: "Did you find a time that works?"
WaitDay 3 and day 7: one more each
AlertEvery message lands in your app
ResultHands off to you the moment they reply

How it runs by default. The timing and the words are set with you on the kickoff call, and texts go only to people who agreed to them.

New inquiries

A new form, text or Facebook message gets an answer in your words in under a minute, and keeps following up until they pick a time.

Saves youThe homeowner who would have called the next name on the list.

A website form, Sunday 8:52 PMExample

Form · Basement finish · Westfield

Hi James, it's Mike from Larkmoor Remodeling. Thanks for reaching out about your basement. Pick any open time for a free walkthrough here: [calendar]. Or reply with a question.

Monday 9:30 AM · Not booked yet

Morning James, did you find a time that works? Happy to fit around your schedule.

Wednesday after 5 works.

Booked · Wednesday 5:30 PM

Example business. Your messages go out in your name and your words, and a person sets them up and checks them.

08 · Why it matters

The first remodeler to reply gets the first conversation

72% of US consumers say they are likely to choose the business that responds first (Moneypenny, 2026).

79%of consumers say they'd switch to a faster competitor. After a slow response, 27% actually did.Invoca, 2026

52%of calls to home‑service businesses are answered by a person.Invoca, 2026

25%more likely to be hired when pros reply within 30 minutes instead of 3 hours, Thumbtack says.Thumbtack, 2025

We have also contacted customers within hours only to be told they already hired someone.

A pro reviewing Thumbtack on Trustpilot, September 2026. Source

Using the Chat button on your Google profile? A verified profile can point it at a number that takes texts, or at WhatsApp, where Google offers it. Point it at your Booked number and those texts get the same reply in under a minute. (Google Business Profile Help, checked 28 Oct 2026)

09 · What you get

Everything that makes you the first remodeler to reply, set up for you

Written in your words

We write every message with you on the kickoff call. A 2026 study found fast replies lose their edge when they look automated, so yours read like you.

Every source, one speed

Website forms, Facebook messages and texts all get the same reply in under a minute, day or night.

Call connect

Your phone rings at 2 minutes and dials the homeowner when you pick up. One switch turns it off for job‑site hours.

Measured every month

Your report shows the first‑reply time for every lead. Miss 60 seconds on more than 5% of them in a month and that month is free.

The booking link

A yes gets your calendar link, so the estimate is booked while they still care. How online booking works

Set up by a person

We register your texting number with the carriers on day 1, connect your forms and Facebook page, and test every path before it goes live.

10 · Plan and price

One signed bathroom job pays for about two years of it

One plan, every part

Booked

$297 a month

+ $477 one‑time setup, then month to month

Estimate follow‑up until you hear yes or no
Old leads and past clients brought back
A Google review request after every job
Instant replies, missed‑call text‑back and booking
One inbox and the app, 1,000 texts and 300 call minutes a month

Order Booked

Need more calls too?

Found

from $885 a month

No setup fee, a 3‑month first term

Your market researched, your Google profile managed
3 or 5 new SEO pages a month, written for you
No setup fee, a 3‑month first term

See Found

Booked also follows up every quiet estimate on day 2, 5, 10 and 21. How estimate follow‑up works

11 · Can you afford it?

“I can’t afford another monthly bill.” Fair. Put one job next to it.

Illustrative numbers first, then yours. Nothing here promises that Booked wins you a job.

One project Example

$30,000contract

25%gross margin

$7,500gross profit, if won

A first year of Booked

$4,041

$477 setup + 12 months at $297

If faster replies and steady follow‑up win you one genuinely additional project like that in a year, it covers a first year of Booked with room to spare. They might not. It depends on three numbers in your business:

How many inquiries you get a month
How many of them you win today
Whether you have room for more work

The free Missed Jobs Test measures these first. If the numbers don't make sense, we'll tell you.

Stop losing jobs

12 · Works with the rest of Booked

Every other place you're losing jobs, closed at the same time

Questions

Questions about speed to lead

Start with Booked

Can't I just buy software for this?

You can. Software alone costs less, but you set it up, write the replies and watch it yourself. With Booked, a person sets it up, writes the replies in your words and checks it every month, we guarantee the reply time, and estimate follow‑up, old‑lead campaigns and review requests come with it.

How fast should a contractor respond to a new lead?

Within a minute if you can. Alex Hormozi's rule is 60 seconds, and in one filmed test a big remodeler called back in 5. The research points the same way: a lead contacted within an hour was nearly 7 times as likely to qualify as one contacted later (Harvard Business Review, 2011), and in a 2026 study a one‑hour delay cut the chance of being hired by 46%. Every number, explained

Does replying fast help my Google Local Services Ads?

It can. Google ranks Local Services Ads partly on how responsive you are and on your average response time, and its ranking page says missed calls may count against you. It also charges for a business‑hours call you miss when the caller stays on the line more than 20 seconds. Google doesn't say how much each one weighs. What Google ranks you on

Can you test my reply time before I buy anything?

Yes, free. It's the first part of the free Missed Jobs Test: with your OK, we send your website a test inquiry and call after hours, like a homeowner would, then show you what came back and how fast. Nothing goes to your customers, and you keep the results whether you hire us or not. Ask for the test

Will homeowners think it is a robot?

It comes from your business, uses your name and asks one real question about their job. We write the messages with you. A 2026 study in Management Science found fast replies lose their advantage when they look automated, which is why we don't send canned blasts.

What if I'm on a job when they reply?

You get a notification in the app. Call connect only rings you if it's on, and you can switch it off for the hours you're on site. The homeowner already has your text, so they know who's calling back.

Which leads does it cover?

Forms on your website, Facebook messages, and texts to your business number, including texts from the Chat button on your Google profile, where Google offers it. Missed calls get their own text. Missed‑call text‑back Calls after hours can be answered too: answering service for contractors.

Do I have to change my job software?

No. Booked runs next to it: Booked handles the first reply, the follow‑up and the review request, and Jobber, ServiceTitan, Buildertrend or a spreadsheet keeps running the job. One tap on 'Estimate sent' in the Booked app starts an estimate's follow‑up.

How fast is it live?

Your website and lead follow‑up are live within 14 days, or your next month is free. Texting starts once the carriers approve your number, which we file on day 1. Until then, forms get an email reply.

Ali Kashif, who runs Booked Remodelers — **Ali Kashif**Your call is with him

Free Missed Jobs Test

Find out how fast you reply. Then get a plan to fix it.

We test your business the way a homeowner does, then show you in dollars which jobs you're losing and who gets them. One 30‑minute call, with your fix‑first plan.