How fast are you losing deals?

What good looks like

Most advice on lead handling comes down to two habits: reply fast, and keep following up over weeks rather than once. A Harvard Business Review study of online sales leads, by Oldroyd, McElheran and Elkington, concluded that most companies are not responding nearly fast enough. Treat that as a reason to check your own numbers, not as a promise about yours. Your CRM can tell you your actual average time to first contact and how many leads never got a second touch.

A self-grade is only as honest as your memory. To check it, send a test inquiry through your own website form or portal profile from a phone or email you control, and time how long the first reply takes. Do it once on a weekday afternoon and once on a weekend evening.

How the score works

There are 6 questions. Each answer is worth 0 points (not in place), 1 point (partly in place) or 2 points (in place), so the most you can score is 12 points. Every question counts the same, and the grade depends only on your total.

The grade lines sit at 85, 70, 50 and 30 percent of the available points, rounded up to whole points.

Areas

Your result also shows points for each area, so you can see where the gaps are concentrated: Speed to Lead (4 points), Follow-Up (4 points), Reputation (2 points) and Operations (2 points).

How the action list is ordered

Every question you scored below 2 becomes an item in your action list. Items you scored 0 come before items you scored 1, and items with the same score follow the order of the questions. The list is not weighted by how much each fix is worth in your business, because the quiz does not know that.

What this does not do

It is a self-assessment: it reflects how you described your setup, not an outside measurement, and it does not compare you with other businesses.

Your answers and your privacy

Nothing you answer is sent to OMII AI unless you submit the optional form under your result. Your answers are also kept in the web address of the page, so you can save or share the result. That address holds the answer numbers and nothing that identifies you, but the analytics tools on this site (Google Analytics and Microsoft Clarity) can see page addresses, so they can see those numbers too.

Methodology last reviewed: October 3, 2026 · OMII AI

What this audit checks, and how to fix each one

These 6 questions are the whole audit. Under each one is the answer that earns each score and the fix that goes into your action list if you score below 2.

1. Speed to Lead

   1. A new lead comes in from Zillow at 8pm. How soon do they hear from you?

   Be honest about what actually happens, not what should happen.

   • 0 pointsThe next morning, when I check my phone
   • 1 pointWithin a couple of hours, same day
   • 2 pointsWithin minutes, because an automated text goes out immediately

   If it is not fully in place: Automatic instant reply to every new lead. Connect your lead sources (Zillow, Realtor.com, website forms, ads) to your CRM and set an instant text and email reply that acknowledges the inquiry and offers times to talk. Then check your CRM for your real average time-to-first-contact and track it weekly.

   Time to first response is the number to move. Your CRM or phone log can show your real average.

2. Speed to Lead

   2. Your phone rings at 9pm on a Saturday. A buyer has a question about a listing. What happens?

   Evenings and weekends are when many buyers browse.

   • 0 pointsVoicemail, and I call back Monday or whenever I see it
   • 1 pointI try to answer but miss a lot of after-hours calls
   • 2 pointsSomeone or something answers, qualifies them and books a showing or callback

   If it is not fully in place: Cover after-hours and weekend calls. Decide who or what answers when you cannot: a team rotation, an answering service, or an AI receptionist that qualifies by budget and timeline and books a showing or callback on your calendar.

   Review your missed-call log for evenings and weekends to see how many calls this would have caught.

3. Follow-Up

   3. After an open house, when do sign-in sheet visitors get a follow-up?

   Think about the last open house you hosted.

   • 0 pointsI mean to follow up but usually do not reach everyone
   • 1 pointI send a group email or text within a day or two
   • 2 pointsEach visitor gets a personal text within a few hours, then a short sequence

   If it is not fully in place: Follow up with every open house visitor. Use a digital sign-in that drops visitors straight into your CRM, and send a personal text the same day. Follow with two or three spaced touches and flag anyone who replies.

   The Open House ROI Calculator shows what it is worth in your numbers.

4. Follow-Up

   4. How do you stay in touch with leads who are not ready to buy or sell yet?

   Many buyers take months between first search and closing.

   • 0 pointsI do not really have a system
   • 1 pointI have a CRM but do not keep up with it consistently
   • 2 pointsAutomated drips with market updates, listings and check-ins

   If it is not fully in place: A low-effort long-term nurture sequence. Tag leads as 'not ready yet' and enrol them in a monthly sequence: a market update, new listings that match their search, and an occasional personal check-in. Keep it short and let them opt out easily.

   This protects the leads you have already paid for, with very little ongoing work.

5. Reputation

   5. How do you collect Google and Zillow reviews from past clients?

   Reviews influence which agent online buyers choose to contact.

   • 0 pointsI sometimes ask but have no system
   • 1 pointI ask in person or text manually after closing
   • 2 pointsAn automated request goes out after every closing with a direct link

   If it is not fully in place: Ask every client for a review at closing. Send a text with your direct review link a few days after closing, plus one reminder if there is no response. Automate it so it happens for every deal.

   Track new reviews per quarter. Recent reviews are one of the first things a buyer sees on your profile.

6. Operations

   6. How do buyers book showings with you?

   From first interest to a confirmed appointment.

   • 0 pointsThey call or text and we go back and forth to find a time
   • 1 pointI share a calendar link but most still call or text
   • 2 pointsCalls and online booking both land on my calendar automatically

   If it is not fully in place: Self-serve showing booking. Add a booking link to listings, your site and every reply, and make sure phone bookings (yours or an assistant's) go to the same calendar so there are no double bookings.

   Fewer scheduling messages for you, and fewer buyers lost between interest and a confirmed showing.