Measure follow-up: speed to lead, attempts per lead and contact rate

Why it matters

These three numbers explain each other. Fast with few attempts means you call once and give up. Many attempts with a low contact rate means wrong numbers or the wrong channel. A rising opt-out rate means your texts are too frequent or too generic. Watching them together tells you which chapter to revisit.

Step by step

1. 01

   Follow Up Boss: pull speed and attempts from Reporting > Lead Sources

   Set Lead Type to web, the time frame to last week, and choose these report options:

   • How quickly we follow up on leads per lead source: Avg. Speed to Action, Avg. Speed to First Call, Avg. Speed to First Text Message.
   • How many times we try to contact each lead per lead source: Avg. Contact Attempts, Avg. Call Attempts, Avg. Text Message Attempts.
   • What lead source has the most lead responses: % of Leads Responding. Use it as your contact rate.
   • How many leads have we not acted on: Leads Not Acted On. This should be zero.

   Repeat in Reporting > Agent activity for the per-agent view. Export with Export Report if you keep the scorecard in a sheet.

   Check: Your scorecard row for last week has speed, attempts, % responding and leads not acted on for each source.

2. 02

   HighLevel: run the 20-lead sample for speed and attempts

   HighLevel's help center does not describe a single per-lead speed-to-lead report, so sample it. Filter opportunities created last week, take the first 20 (or all of them if fewer), and for each open the contact's conversation and activity:

   1. Write down the created time and the time of the first outbound call or personal text (skip the automated instant text).
   2. Count personal calls, texts and emails in the first 10 days.
   3. Mark Y if there was a two-way conversation.

   The scorecard sheet computes median minutes, attempts per lead and contact rate. Add the number of contacts tagged sla-missed by the chapter 5 escalation branch: that is your count of leads nobody texted within 5 minutes.

   Check: The sample tab of the scorecard has 20 rows and the three formulas show values.

3. 03

   HighLevel: pull contact rate by stage and source from the dashboard

   Add the Lead Source Report widget (under the General category). It shows, per source, total leads (opportunities) and how many are open, won, lost or abandoned, with values. For contact rate, open the pipeline and count opportunities from last week's cohort that reached Contacted or later. SMS widgets (filter by Direction and Sent by) and Reporting > Call Reporting add volume context.

   Check: You can name your best and worst source by contact rate for last week.

4. 04

   Change one thing, then measure for four weeks

   Pick the worst number and the chapter that fixes it: slow speed (chapter 5), few attempts (chapter 6), low contact with many attempts (check phone validity, try calling at different hours, review the first text), rising opt-outs (chapter 2 and fewer text touches). Change one thing, write the date in the scorecard notes, and leave it alone for four weekly readings.

   Check: The scorecard has a dated note for the one change you made and four rows after it.

Copyable templates

Minutes to first touch (F2, fill down):   =IF(C2="", "", (C2-B2)*1440)
Median speed to lead (minutes):            =MEDIAN(F2:F21)
Leads never touched:                        =COUNTBLANK(C2:C21)
Attempts per lead:                          =AVERAGE(D2:D21)
Contact rate:                               =COUNTIF(E2:E21,"Y")/COUNTA(A2:A21)

Try it

How to test it

1. Pick 3 leads from last week. Compute their minutes to first touch by hand from the activity history.
2. Compare with the report (Follow Up Boss) or your sample row (HighLevel). They must match within a minute or two.
3. If they do not, find out why (automated text counted, teammate called, wrong time zone) and write the rule in the scorecard notes.

Troubleshooting

Advanced technical details

Optional. You can follow every step above without these.