Reply In 10 Minutes Or Lose Them: Why Speed-to-Lead Decides Your Deals

Respond In Five Minutes Or Lose 90% Of Your Odds

If shoppers can configure a car, get insurance quotes, and apply for finance on their phones in under five minutes, waiting hours for a callback feels ancient.

Studies show you’re up to 100 times more likely to convert a lead if you reply within five minutes. Wait ten minutes, and conversion odds drop by around 30%. After thirty minutes, you’re 21 times less likely to qualify that lead.

In short, speed sells. The fastest response almost always wins the deal.

What Fast Means In Car Finance

More than half of UK car buyers expect a reply within three hours, and many expect it far faster. The top-performing dealers and brokers now aim to reply within one minute, and they’re seeing higher appointment and close rates to match.

At Marsh Finance, we’ve seen the same pattern across dealer groups nationwide. Speed isn’t a “nice to have”, it’s the conversion lever. Respond fast, personalise your message, and lock the conversation before the shopper clicks the next listing.

Why Speed Beats Everything Else

Fast response does three things that slower competitors can’t:

1. Locks the conversation before the shopper moves on.
2. Builds trust by showing you’re easy to deal with.
3. Anchors the conversation around your monthly payment and next steps.

But speed alone isn’t enough. Buyers punish empty auto-replies. Benchmarks show that speed must come with substance, model-specific answers, finance examples, and appointment options.

Speed With Substance: The New Standard

What Excellent Looks Like for Dealers and Brokers

• SLA: <5 minutes during opening hours, <15 minutes out-of-hours (via SMS + next-day slot).

• First touch: personalised message, three bullet answers to the query, a finance example (term, deposit, APR, total payable), and a soft-search link for instant eligibility.

• Fallback: if they don’t reply, send a 30-second SMS with the same link.

• Escalation: if there’s no response after 10 minutes, trigger another channel (email or WhatsApp) with two test-drive slots.

Dealers operating near the one-minute mark consistently report higher appointment and close rates, because they’re first with something useful.

The Playbook You Can Ship This Week

1. Publish a Real SLA (and Measure It)

Put “5 minutes (open hours) / 15 minutes (out-of-hours)” into your sales huddles and dashboards.
Track by source (Auto Trader, Meta, website, phone) and by person.
Benchmarks: first response under 5 minutes, first call within 10.

2. Make ‘First Reply’ a Template, Not a Scramble

Your first message should always include:

• A direct answer to their question (availability, condition, part-ex guidance).

• Representative finance: “HP from £X/m, 48 months, 10% deposit, APR Y%, total payable £Z.”

• A soft-search link (“check eligibility in seconds, no mark on your credit file”).

• Two viewing or test-drive slots.

This beats a generic “Thanks, we’ll be in touch” every day of the week.

3. Use Routing and Overflow Like a Call Centre

• Round-robin live leads to the next available agent.

• Overflow to a central BDC if the showroom’s busy.

• Out-of-hours: send an immediate SMS confirming availability and offering a slot.

Studies show response odds plummet after five minutes, don’t let webforms sit in inboxes.

4. Embrace Video and Voice Notes (30–45 Seconds)

A quick walk-round or short voice note proves the car is real, you’re real, and you’ve listened.
Dealers using short video in first contact consistently see higher visit and close rates.

5. Automate the Boring Bits, Keep Humans for the Close

• Let automation acknowledge and book slots; route complex questions to humans.

• Keep a human-in-the-loop rule, a person should check any finance messaging for clarity and compliance.

Automation helps you hit the five-minute window without sacrificing personality or accuracy.

6. Fix the Leakiest Pipe First

Review last month’s missed SLAs by hour and day.
You’ll often see two spikes - late morning and late afternoon.
Staff those peaks; it’s cheaper than another ad campaign.

Scripts Your Team Can Steal

First Reply (Email or SMS)

Hi [Name] — yes, the [Year Make Model] is available. Two owners, full history, new tyres last month.
HP from £X/m (10% deposit, 48 months, APR Y%, total payable £Z).
Check eligibility (no impact on your credit file): [soft-search link].
I can hold a slot today 5:30 or tomorrow 10:30 - what suits?

Call Opener

“Thanks for the enquiry. Do you have 60 seconds now? If yes, I’ll confirm the history, share the monthly, and book a time that works for you.”

If They’re Price-Checking a Competitor

“No problem — here’s why ours is priced here: recent service (£___), four tyres at ___mm, two keys, MOT to ___, HP example above. Want me to pencil a slot while you compare?”

How Speed Touches Finance (And Why Marsh Cares)

• Payment anchors first: the first dealer to show a credible monthly and total payable frames the decision.
• Near-prime wins the ‘maybe’ buyer: fast, fair decisions keep them off a captive landing page.
• Soft-search reduces drop-off: instant pre-qual removes fear and gets more applications started.

At Marsh Finance, we support partners with soft-search journeys, fast HP & PCP decisions, and near-prime coverage, so your first reply isn’t just quick, it’s useful.

Common Blockers (And Quick Fixes)

The Bottom Line

• Speed-to-lead decides your next 100 deals.
• A five-minute reply can multiply your odds by 100.
• A delay of ten minutes can cost you a third of your conversions.

Build systems that let your team reply fast, reply personally, and reply with value.
That’s how today’s best-performing dealers turn online interest into sold cars.

Partner With Marsh Finance

At Marsh Finance, we can deliver soft-search car finance decision in seconds, enabling you to deliver a super fast journey that converts.

Let’s shorten your time-to-yes. Partner with Marsh Finance today!

FAQs

How quickly should you respond to website leads?

Respond within five minutes to maximise conversion chances. A ten-minute delay can reduce your odds by around 30%, and after half an hour, most leads go cold.

Why is speed-to-lead important in car finance?

Fast replies build trust, lock in conversations, and frame payment discussions early, which is key to closing near-prime and ready-to-buy customers.

What tools help improve lead response time?

Combine chatbots, live chat, CRM routing, and SMS automation to cover every lead instantly, then follow up with a real person.

What’s a good SLA for car finance enquiries?

Aim for under 5 minutes during open hours and under 15 minutes out-of-hours. Set alerts and dashboards to measure response times.

How do automation and humans work together effectively?

Automation handles the first reply; humans handle context, pricing, and compliance… keeping responses fast, accurate, and personal.