I tried the 5-minute response rule for 30 days - here's what happened

[westerngrant2013]

I've been in car sales for 4 years, and I decided to test something after reading about the "5-minute rule" in a sales blog.

**The experiment:** For 30 days, I committed to responding to EVERY lead (text, email, phone) within 5 minutes of receiving it - no exceptions.

**The challenge:** This is HARD when you're on the floor, handling ups, and managing your existing customer database. I was literally dropping what I was doing to respond.

**The results after 30 days:**

• Lead response time: Down from 47 minutes average to 3 minutes
• Conversion rate: Went from 12% to 19% (yes, almost 60% improvement)
• Deals closed: 14 vs my usual 9-10 per month
• The weird part? I wasn't doing anything different - just responding faster

**Why it works:** The first person to respond usually gets the sale. It's not about being pushy - it's about being PRESENT when the customer is still in "shopping mode."

**The secret weapon:** I started using AI to help me personalize responses quickly. Tools like AutoBeaconAI let me send customized follow-ups in seconds rather than typing template responses. This meant I could respond in 2 minutes instead of 5.

My question for the group: What's YOUR average response time? Have you tried tracking it? I'd love to hear if others have had similar results or if I'm just late to the party on this one.

*(Not sponsored - just a regular salesperson who's excited about the results)*