How fast do you have to reply?

By JP, who runs Ralphio. Updated 1 October 2026.

Before they've rung anyone else, which usually means minutes rather than hours. Most people looking for a trade have a few numbers to try and work through them in order. Ring back at the end of the day and the job has normally gone to whoever answered first.

Why does it have to be that quick?

Because they've got a list. If you're third on it and you miss them, then by the time you ring at six they've spoken to the other two, and one of them has probably been round already.

The research on speed is thinner than most people selling this will tell you. The figure that gets quoted everywhere is from the Harvard Business Review in 2011: firms that got back within an hour were about seven times more likely to have a proper conversation with the enquiry. It's a real study, but it's old, and it looked at American sales teams rather than trades.

A more recent survey points the same way. More than half of people say they won't leave a voicemail if they can't get through (Moneypenny and Censuswide, 2,000 UK and US adults, 2023), and if they won't leave a message, the only reply that counts is one that reaches them before somebody else does.

What actually counts as a reply?

Something that reaches the customer and asks them a question. A voicemail greeting doesn't count: it asks them to wait, and they've got other numbers to try.

A text saying "Sorry we missed you, we're on a job. What do you need doing?" does count, and most people answer it, because it's about their problem rather than your diary.

What's realistic when you're working?

Not replying within five minutes yourself, and advice that starts with "just answer more calls" has never been up a scaffold. The reply has to go out without you: somebody answers on your behalf, or a text goes out for you and you pick up the replies at your next break.