What should happen in the first 5 minutes after a lead comes in?
Two things. The lead gets a short reply that answers what they asked, names the agent and the brokerage, and offers one easy next step. And the agent who owns the lead finds out it arrived. Everything else can wait a few minutes.
This post is about the content of that first reply and the hour after it. Speed matters, but a fast message that says nothing useful doesn't start a conversation.
Why do the first minutes matter so much?
Because many people hire the first agent they talk to. In Zillow's Consumer Housing Trends Report for Agents (December 2025, US data), 47% of buyers and 59% of sellers hired the first agent they spoke with. Zillow did not publish its sample size in the release, and we found no Canadian survey asking the same question.
Notice the words "spoke with". The goal of the first five minutes is not a ping. It is the start of a real conversation, and a useful first message makes that much more likely.
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What should the first message say?
Keep it short enough to read on a lock screen. A good first reply includes:
- The person's first name, if you have it.
- The home or question they asked about, so they know it's not a form letter.
- A direct answer, if the answer is a known fact, such as whether the home is still available.
- One next step: two showing times, or one simple question.
- The agent's name and the brokerage name, as registered.
- A way to opt out, such as reply STOP.
What does a good first reply look like?
Here is an illustrative example, with a made-up lead, agent and address:
"Hi Priya, it's Dan Morris with [Your Brokerage Name]. Yes, 18 Cedar is still available. Would Thursday at 6 or Saturday at 11 work for a showing? Reply STOP to opt out."
It answers the question in the second sentence and asks for one small decision. It doesn't ask the person to call, fill in another form, or explain their whole situation.
What should the first message leave out?
A few things make a first reply worse, not better:
- "Thanks for your interest, an agent will be in touch." It confirms nothing and asks for nothing.
- A list of ten other listings before you know what they want.
- Price opinions or claims about the home that nobody has checked.
- Several questions at once. Pick one.
- Any suggestion that an automated message is a live chat with the agent.
What should happen between minute 5 and the first hour?
The owning agent should see an alert with the lead's name, source and question. If they can call, a call within the hour is a strong next step, especially for a seller. If they can't, a backup person or the on-call agent should be named in advance, so the lead never waits without an owner.
If the lead replies to the first message, that reply goes to a person. If they don't reply, the next follow-up goes out later that day or the next morning, in approved wording.
How can you check your own first five minutes?
Send three test inquiries to your own team this week: one from your website, one on a listing, one by text. For each one, note when the first reply arrived, read it out loud, and ask whether it answered the question. Then check when the owning agent knew about it. If any step takes more than a few minutes, or the reply doesn't answer anything, that's the first thing to fix.
Questions
Is a 5-minute reply realistic for a small team?
For the first message, yes, if it is set up to go out automatically in wording the team approved. A personal call can follow within the hour. Small teams usually struggle with the reply to the reply, so plan who handles that.
Won't an instant reply feel robotic?
It can, if it is generic. A reply that names the home, answers the question and offers real times reads like a person who was paying attention. Keep it short and specific.
Want to see what your own first five minutes look like? Book an AI Review. We look at your first replies and what happens next, and you choose the three jobs you'd most like off your plate. It's a short screen share, and you leave with a short written summary of your top three.
Sources
Brendon Bellerose, founderToronto, Ontario