Speed-to-Lead Revenue Impact Model

By Tune (AS_Tune)Google Ads & SEO practitioner since 2014

Updated Oct 27, 2026

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Quantify the exact pipeline revenue lost by 15-minute, 1-hour, and 24-hour lead response delays.

Empirical Conversion Decay Rates

Response time	Likelihood of qualifying the lead
Within 1 hour	Baseline: the best odds in the study
An hour later	Nearly 7 times less likely than within the first hour
24 hours or more	About 60 times less likely than within the first hour

Source: Oldroyd, McElheran and Elkington, “The Short Life of Online Sales Leads”, Harvard Business Review, March 2011.

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The science: Answer new leads within the hour

Firms that tried to contact a web lead within an hour were nearly seven times as likely to qualify it as firms that waited longer. (Source: Oldroyd, McElheran & Elkington, Harvard Business Review, 2011)

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