This answer applies 3 methods from the guide, led by one.
Make the next step observable
Give each instruction, dependency and promise an owner, date and completion test.
- 1Confirm the instruction and who has authority.
- 2Name the next action, dependency, owner and date.
- 3Explain what evidence will show completion.
- 4Update the client when the expected state changes.
Hold when: Do not call a message, booking or intention complete. Do not leave a promise without an owner.
Read it in Broker Brain →Listen for the decision
Use open questions, attentive listening and reflection before proposing an answer.
Read it in Broker Brain →Start with the repeated problem
Measure the task before selecting a tool, then choose the smallest intervention that could help.
Read it in Broker Brain →What speed to lead actually measures
The guide's ‘Make the next step observable’ method has one rule that settles this: do not call a message, booking or intention complete. An automatic “Thanks, we'll be in touch” is a message, not an answer. Speed to lead runs until the person has an answer to the question they asked, from the agent who will look after them.
So measure two things separately: how long until the enquiry has one named owner, and how long until that owner has replied with something useful. Agencies that only measure the second never find out that the delay happens before anyone has picked it up.
Why the first hour matters
Someone who enquires is usually looking at the listing on their phone right now, and may have the same question out with other agents. A reply that arrives that evening often lands after they have made plans with someone else.
There is a cost side too. Every enquiry from a portal or an ad has already been paid for. An enquiry that waits half a day is marketing spend the agency bought and then left on the table.
Why agencies are slow: ownership, not effort
The usual pattern is a shared inbox. Three agents open the enquiry, each assumes one of the others has it, and nobody replies. Or the listing agent is in viewings all afternoon and the enquiry sits until they get back to the car.
That is a promise with no owner, which the method says never to leave. The other slowdown is facts: if answering “What are the running costs?” means digging through files, the reply waits for a quiet moment that never comes. Agents are not lazy; the system gives them no owner, no backup and no answer ready.
Give every enquiry an owner, a due time and a test for done
Applied to enquiries, the method's steps become a written routing rule. Agree it with the team, write it down and apply it the same way to every enquiry.
- 01Write the rule for who owns an enquiry: by listing, by area, by language or in turn. One enquiry gets one owner.
- 02Name the owner and the time a reply is due the moment the enquiry arrives, and make both visible to everyone.
- 03Set a backup: if the owner hasn't replied within an hour, it goes to the team leader or the next agent in turn.
- 04Agree the test for done: the enquiry is answered when the person has a useful reply to their question, not when an auto-reply has gone.
- 05Keep the facts for each listing ready (availability, price guide, running costs, viewing times), each with its source and date, so the reply can be written between viewings.
- 06Outside working hours, send an honest acknowledgement that says who will reply and when, then have that person reply first thing.
- 07Check a morning board: which enquiries are still waiting, for how long, and who owns them.
A first reply that listens for the decision
Fast and useless is no better than slow. The guide's ‘Listen for the decision’ method shapes a good first reply: answer what they asked, add the one fact they will need next, then ask what they are trying to achieve before you start advising.
In plain words: “Hi James, it's Priya from Hillside Property. Yes, the two-bed on Hill Street is still available, and the running costs are on the latest statement, which I've attached. I can show you Thursday at 5.30 or Saturday at 10. Are you buying to live in or to rent out?”
Keep it to one question. The method's boundary is not to turn discovery into an interrogation. The rest of the picture, timing, who else is involved and what could stop them, comes on the phone or at the viewing, reflected back in their words so they can correct it.
Measure the problem before you buy a fix
The guide's ‘Start with the repeated problem’ method applies before anyone shops for software. Take a baseline for two weeks: enquiries in, time to owner, time to first useful reply, and how many are still waiting each morning. Name who owns those numbers.
Then choose the smallest fix that could help. A written rule, a backup and a morning check usually come before any new tool. Review the same numbers every week in a short team meeting, and if a tool is still needed, you will know exactly which part of the problem it has to solve.
What gets in the way
Agents saving new enquiries to answer in the evening.
A two-line reply from between viewings beats a perfect one at 9pm: answer the question, offer a time, and say the details will follow.
Blaming agents for slow replies.
Fix ownership first: one owner per enquiry in the first minute, a backup after an hour, and a board everyone can see.
Deciding reply times can't be measured because agents reply from their own phones.
Measure what you can see: time to owner, and the owner marking each enquiry as answered. Some portals already show your response times, so start there.
Using speed-to-lead numbers to rank and police your top producers.
Show enquiries waiting, not agents ranked, and use it to send help where it is needed. Decide with the team who sees each agent's numbers.
Questions agents ask next
How fast should a real estate agent reply to an enquiry?
Within minutes during working hours, and always the same day. The goal is to answer while the person still has the listing open, before they have made plans with someone else.
Is an automatic reply good enough?
Only as an honest acknowledgement that says who will reply and when. It doesn't answer their question, so it doesn't count as speed to lead, and it should never pretend to be the agent.
What's a fair way to distribute leads in a real estate team?
A written rule everyone agreed: by listing, area, language or turn, with a backup if the owner hasn't replied within an hour. Fair means predictable, not equal on every day.
How do I see which enquiries are still waiting each morning?
Keep one board of open enquiries with their owner and how long each has waited, and look at it at the same time every morning. If your CRM can't show that, a shared list you check at 10am will do to start.
Do we need a new CRM to fix speed to lead?
Usually not. Measure the delay first, then fix it with a routing rule, a backup, ready facts and a daily check, all of which can sit alongside the CRM you already use.