How fast do you have to reply before the job is gone?

Someone with a broken hot water system does not shortlist three plumbers and sleep on it. They ring down the Google results until a human answers or a text comes back. Whoever replies first usually gets the job. Everyone in the trade knows this. The only question is how fast is fast enough.

The honest version of the answer

You will see big claims thrown around about reply speed. Ignore the decimal points. The pattern every tradie has lived is simple: reply while the problem is still in front of them and you are in the running. Reply after they have booked someone else and you are not. For urgent work that window is minutes. For quotes it is the same afternoon.

The maths, with assumptions you can change

• Enquiries per week you cannot answer live: 5
• Share who book the first responder: 50%
• Your average job value after costs: $850

If a fast reply makes you the first responder on even half of those five, that is roughly $1,000 a week in work decided by nothing but speed. Halve every assumption and it is still $250 a week — for a reply you did not have to send yourself.

Why "I call back at smoko" loses

Smoko is two hours away. The customer's problem is now. They are not offended that you are working — they just cannot tell the difference between a tradie who is flat out and one who is not coming. A text back in under a minute tells them which one you are, and asks what the job is while they are still standing in front of it.

What to send

Not a robot voice. Not a form. A text, from your business name: "G'day, you just tried Dave's Plumbing — on the tools right now. What's the job? If it's urgent reply URGENT and I'll call you back." That is enough to hold most jobs until your hands are free.

Deskhand sends that text automatically inside sixty seconds, with your booking link, every time you miss a call or a web enquiry lands. You stay on the tools.

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