Lead Response Time
Average time between a lead being assigned and the first SDR outreach attempt
What is Lead Response Time?
Lead response time is the average time between a lead being assigned and the first contact. It shows how quickly the sales team reaches new leads.
Response speed is one of the strongest drivers of conversion, since interest fades quickly.
How this KPI is measured
- Function
- Sales
- Sub-function
- Outbound Prospecting
- Industry
- All Industries
- Type
- Leading
- Impact
- Efficiency
- Unit
- hrs/min
- Measurement frequency
- Weekly / Monthly
- Formula
- Sum of time-to-first-touch across all assigned leads / Number of leads
How to calculate it
Add up the time to first touch across all assigned leads and divide by the number of leads.
For example, if 100 leads had a combined response time of 2,500 minutes, the average is 25 minutes.
Also look at the median and the share responded to within a target time, since a few very slow responses can distort the average.
Where it is used
Improving conversion
Faster contact wins more leads.
Managing performance
Compare reps and hours.
Designing routing
Assign leads instantly.
How to improve it
Tips and common mistakes
- Measure to first real contact, not an auto-reply.
- Use median as well as average.
- Link response time to conversion.
More Sales kpi library
Build better plans, faster
Join the waitlist for early access to curated insights, flexible templates, and rapid iteration across strategy, planning, and project management.