How fast do you respond to your Thumbtack leads?

bayareahaul

Fellow Pros — quick question. I've noticed the jobs I win almost always come down to who replies first. If a lead sits even 10–15 minutes, they've usually already booked someone else.

I got tired of losing jobs that way, so I built a system that automatically responds to new Thumbtack leads the second they come in so you're always the first reply, even when you're on a job or asleep.

Curious how everyone else handles this do you reply to leads manually, or have you found a way to automate it?

ArvinC

Tagging some top pros who may have insights to share on this:

@ShaquealThomas @Juliano_50 @Jack_Marquardt @AntilleanRestoration @CodyRisner @Bretdouglas @Cliff @JWC @AR2i @_Nura101 @Nick_Bennett

Thank you in advance!

Cliff

well thought out question. I get to leads when I can. But with that being said I have two other people that handle leads for me. (Family business) most of my leads are caught within a min or so. I personally think landing a lead is a 50/50 shot either way you look at it. I do know almost everyone appreciates you getting back to them quickly. Majority are concerned about budget. I like to think my charm lands leads 😂.

Nick_Bennett

We keep our average response time around 1 min. If it ever takes longer it's likely because we got a lead that should have been sent to us. I have 3 team members and myself that monitor it 24/7. We've tried auto responders but for most clients it seems like they can tell it's a bot and they don't engage in the same ways as if one of us is communicating. I've also not found one that answers as quickly as we can manually. For us and our market it does also matter who replies first or if the client only choose us responding quickly can keep the client from selecting multiple contractors. Given how competitive everything is these days it's a task we've found we can't afford to entrust to anything but a member of our core team.

Juliano_50

Speed matters, but we're also targeting customers who look beyond just the first response. Many of our clients value quality work, professionalism, insurance coverage, and a reliable warranty. Typically, customers who hire the first pro to reply without comparing companies aren't the best fit for the type of service we provide or the pricing that comes with it.

ArvinC

Thanks for sharing, @Nick_Bennett , @Juliano_50 , and @Cliff . It's great to see different perspectives on how response time, customer experience, and team support all play a role in winning jobs.

_Nura101

The faster you respond the better (generally) for new leads but also for your rank. I would combine your automated responses (which should "feel" like it's authentic, with call of action) with a follow up when you actually see the message. On thumbtack it's important to capitalize on the leads you get because they're so expensive - so you cant really afford to sit around and wait for your team to respond after their coffee break, by that time the lead will get in touch with another pro. So formula that works is authentic automated response right away + a follow up from a human when you can. Hope that helps :)

ArvinC

Thanks for sharing, @_Nura101 ! I appreciate you adding your perspective and explaining the balance you've found between quick responses and personal follow-up.