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A response target helps only when the team can see when an enquiry arrived, who received it and what happened next. Start by measuring the current process. A single average response time can conceal unattended leads and overnight queues.
Define the timestamps
Record enquiry creation, assignment, first attempted contact and first two-way conversation separately. Preserve the original creation time when importing a lead from another system. A later CRM import should not make a delayed response look immediate.
Separate working-hour and out-of-hours enquiries. Review the median, slower cases and records with no attempt at all. Decide how the team handles weekends, leave and different time zones before setting a target.
Make responsibility explicit
Assign an owner and a backup. Route by language and relevant inventory where necessary. If nobody accepts an enquiry, the process needs an escalation path that a manager can see. Keep reassignment history so a lead cannot appear new each time it changes hands.
For a property team, an English enquiry should reach someone who can discuss the advertised project in English. A fast but unusable response does not resolve the buyer’s question.
Make the first contact recognisable
Identify the company, the enquiry and the person replying. Ask a relevant question or offer a specific next step. If a call is unanswered, use the contact channel the person requested or agreed to use, and record that attempt. Respect a request to stop contacting them.
An automated acknowledgement can confirm receipt, but it should not be counted as a completed sales conversation. If the team is unavailable, state the actual contact window rather than promising an unstaffed response time.
Give every open record a next step
After a conversation, save the qualification, the unresolved question and the agreed follow-up. A property viewing needs a time and host. A buyer who is considering a later purchase needs a reason for the pause and an agreed return point.
Avoid a fixed chase sequence for every person regardless of their replies. The next action should reflect the conversation and the team’s communication rules.
Check whether faster response improves the right outcome
Compare contacted and qualified leads, scheduled meetings and attendance for similar sources and offers. Changes in traffic quality can affect these rates independently of response time. Review examples alongside the numbers before attributing a change to a new workflow.
For implementation, see sales team development, CRM and sales quality control. For property-specific losses, read from enquiry to viewing.