Industry best practice is to follow up with a franchise lead in under 5 minutes — and FranFunnel does it in under 60 seconds. According to the FranFunnel Franchise Lead Response Time Study, Q1 2025 · 500+ brands · 14 franchise categories, the majority of franchise leads who don't hear back quickly either go cold or move on to another brand. Every minute you wait, your odds of starting a real conversation drop.
The data in franchise is stark: according to the FranFunnel Franchise Lead Response Time Study, Q1 2025 · 500+ brands · 14 franchise categories, the average email response time across 500+ brands was 8.8 hours — and 35% never responded at all. That's not a sales problem. It's a structural one. Leads are most engaged in the first few minutes after they submit a form. A response 8 hours later lands when the moment has already passed and a competitor has already started the conversation.
Text is the right channel for that first touch. It's immediate, it doesn't require the lead to be at a desk, and it signals that your brand moves fast. A short, direct text within the first minute of inquiry creates a conversation. A voicemail left the next morning creates a task the lead never gets back to.
See how FranFunnel responds to every lead in under 60 seconds — book a demo. Or see the speed-to-lead data behind the benchmark.