Most lost leads aren’t lost to a competitor. They are lost because nobody called back. A simple, consistent cadence fixes most of that.
Speed matters most at the start
An enquiry is warmest in the first minutes after it arrives. Aim to make the first call within 5 minutes during working hours. After that, what matters is persistence: most conversations happen after more than one attempt.
A starting cadence for a new lead
| Attempt | When | If no answer |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Within 5 minutes of the enquiry | Retry in 2 hours |
| 2 | Same day, 2 hours later | Retry next morning |
| 3 | Next day, 10–11 am | Retry the next evening |
| 4 | Day 2, 5–7 pm | Retry in 2 days |
| 5 | Day 4 | Retry in 3 days |
| 6 | Day 7 | Mark Not reachable; revisit in 30 days |
Adjust the timings to when your customers can actually pick up: working professionals in the evening, businesses mid-morning.
When someone answers
End every connected call with an agreed next step and a time: “I’ll call you Thursday at 11 after you’ve spoken to your family.” Then record it straight away.
Setting it up in VM CRM
- In the queue, choose the call outcome (e.g. No answer).
- Pick the next follow-up — the quick picks (+2 hours, Tomorrow 11 AM, Next week) cover most of the schedule above.
- Click Save & Next.
The lead comes back to the top of the queue when it is due, and overdue follow-ups are always shown first. You get a reminder before each follow-up and a morning digest of anything overdue.
Measuring it
Watch two numbers in the dashboard each week:
- Average attempts before first connect — if it’s below 3, agents are giving up too early.
- Overdue follow-ups — this should be close to zero at the end of every day.