Called at three, bought at nine
A lead arrives from your lead supplier at nine in the morning: a homeowner interested in panels and a battery. The salesperson is out on a survey and checks the portal at lunchtime. They ring at three. The homeowner says two other installers have already called and one is coming round tomorrow.
You paid for the lead. Somebody else got the conversation.
Why response is slow
- Leads arrive in a supplier portal or an email inbox, not in your CRM.
- Salespeople are on surveys, driving or in homes and cannot answer straight away.
- There is no rule about who takes which lead.
- Leads arriving in the evening wait until the morning.
- The first contact is a phone call, which the homeowner may not answer from an unknown number.
What slow response costs
The price of every lead that goes to a faster competitor. Salespeople chasing homeowners who have already booked elsewhere. A pipeline that looks full but is not. And lead supplier invoices for leads you never had a real chance with.
Instant handling for every lead
- Leads are pulled from supplier portals by API or email parsing the moment they arrive, and created in your CRM with the source.
- The homeowner gets a text and email straight away, from your company name, saying who you are, that they asked for a quote, and offering a callback slot.
- The lead is routed to a salesperson by area and availability, with a mobile alert.
- If nobody picks it up within your time limit, it moves to the next person or the office.
- Leads in the evening get the first message immediately and a callback slot for the next morning.
- Duplicate leads, such as the same homeowner from two suppliers, are matched and flagged, which also helps with supplier credit requests.
The messages are yours and follow whatever rules your lead suppliers and consumer code set about contacting homeowners.
From lead to callback
| Moment | What happens |
|---|---|
| Lead arrives | In CRM with source |
| Same minute | Homeowner receives text and email |
| Within your time limit | Salesperson alerted, or passed on |
| Homeowner picks a slot | Callback booked in the calendar |
| No response | Follow-up sequence on your schedule |
First to the conversation
Homeowners hear from you within moments, by name. Many book a callback slot, so the first call is expected. Salespeople see leads on their phones and know which are theirs. And you can show lead suppliers exactly when their leads arrived and whether they were duplicates.
Sharing leads fairly across the team
Instant routing raises a practical question: who gets which lead. Some installers route by area, so the salesperson who covers that postcode takes it. Others route by who is free, or rotate evenly. Whatever you choose, it helps to write it down and let the system apply it, so salespeople trust that leads are shared fairly and nobody cherry-picks.
The time limit before a lead moves on is the other important setting. Too short and salespeople on surveys lose leads they would have called within the hour. Too long and the lead goes cold. We start with your view and adjust after looking at how quickly leads were actually picked up.
Are your bought leads going cold?
- Leads are called hours after they arrive.
- Homeowners say other installers called first.
- Leads sit in a supplier portal until someone checks.
- Evening leads wait until the next day.