For most roofing companies, growth conversations focus on marketing spend, closing percentages, or hiring better sales reps. According to Jim Ahlin, those conversations are missing the biggest revenue leak hiding in plain sight. The real problem is what happens in the first five minutes after a lead comes in.
In this episode, Jim breaks down why speed to lead is the most overlooked and most profitable lever in a roofing business. If you fix your intake process, your phone response, and your appointment setting speed, you can unlock massive revenue gains without buying a single extra lead.
The Most Expensive Gap in the Roofing Customer Journey
Jim has spent years studying the full customer journey across roofing companies nationwide. One gap shows up over and over again. The intake process.
Calls go unanswered. Web forms sit untouched. Leads are blamed instead of systems. Meanwhile, homeowners are not waiting.
Roofing companies often assume marketing is the problem when the real issue is that nearly 40 percent of inbound leads never receive a response at all. That means thousands of dollars in ad spend and countless opportunities simply disappear.
As Jim puts it, “Leads equal missed millions if you do not fix the first five minutes.”
Why Speed to Lead Matters More Than Closing Skill
Modern homeowners are impatient. Amazon trained consumers to expect instant responses, and that expectation applies to roofing contractors too.
Data shows that 78 percent of customers choose the first company that makes contact. That means if you answer first, you are already winning before the sales conversation even begins.
The critical tipping point is five minutes. After that window, your chances of ever reaching the homeowner drop by roughly 80 percent. It is not that they chose a competitor yet. It is that you may never speak to them at all.
This is why Jim believes improving speed to lead produces a bigger return than improving closing rates. You cannot close leads you never talk to.
The Conversion Cliff and the Five Minute Rule
Jim calls this drop off the conversion cliff. Once five minutes pass, your ability to qualify and connect with a lead collapses.
Studies show that calling within the first five minutes makes you up to 100 times more likely to reach the homeowner than waiting even 30 minutes. Responding within 60 seconds can increase conversion rates by nearly 400 percent.
Only about 7 percent of companies respond within five minutes. Even fewer respond within one minute. That gap is your competitive advantage.
Being faster than your competitors is one of the simplest ways to differentiate in a crowded roofing market.
You Are Competing Against the Clock
Roofers like to say they are referral based, but even referral leads expect fast answers when they have an urgent problem. If you do not respond quickly, homeowners move on. They call another referral. They search Google. They ask AI tools for recommendations.
You are not just competing with other contractors. You are competing with time.
The faster you respond, the more control you have over the customer experience. Fast response creates trust, professionalism, and momentum before a competitor ever gets a chance.
Building an Immediate Response System
Speed does not require heroics. It requires systems.
Jim recommends instant response automation that triggers the moment a form is submitted or a call is missed. This can include immediate outbound calls, instant text messages, and follow up emails.
Texting is especially powerful, with open rates near 98 percent. A simple message that is specific, personal, and expects a response can stop a homeowner from calling the next company.
After hours response matters just as much. AI chat tools, overflow call handling, and self scheduling links allow homeowners to book inspections even at night. The goal is to remove friction and make it easy for them to take the next step immediately.
Speed to Lead Only Works If Scheduling Is Simple
Fast response means nothing if booking takes multiple calls.
Self scheduling tools let homeowners lock in an inspection instantly. If that is not possible, structured scheduling systems like morning or afternoon booking still eliminate back and forth delays.
Jim also discusses lead distribution strategies like the shark tank method, where the first sales rep to respond wins the lead, or assigning leads to the best closer to maximize return on ad spend.
Accountability Turns Speed Into Revenue
Speed to lead must be measured. Jim recommends tracking time to first contact as a primary KPI for your office or intake team.
If you do not measure it, you cannot improve it.
Weekly secret shopper tests help expose gaps in real conditions, including nights and weekends. Reviewing actual timestamps inside your CRM reveals how much revenue is leaking through slow response.
Roofing companies that improve response time consistently see revenue increases of 26 to 36 percent without increasing lead volume.
The Bottom Line
Your sales process should not have more leaks than the roofs you fix.
The technology already exists. The opportunity is massive. The only question is whether you are willing to commit to the five minute rule and make speed a non negotiable part of your business.
Fix the first five minutes, and the rest of the funnel gets easier.
