Guide

How fast do your reps really respond to a new lead?

Salesforce has no built-in lead response time. You can still measure it from what it does keep: the first call, email or meeting logged against each lead.

The measure

For each new lead, response time is the gap between CreatedDate and the first task or event on it. A lead with neither has not been touched.

The mistakes that flatter the number

• Counting automated tasks. A task an automation or a sequence tool creates on arrival is not a response. Count only tasks a person created.
• Ignoring working hours. A lead arriving at 11pm and answered at 9am is a different story from one ignored for ten working hours. Measure in business hours if your SLA is written that way.
• Averages. A few very slow leads hide behind a healthy average. Look at how many breach the target, not the mean.

Check it yourself

SELECT Id, OwnerId, CreatedDate,
  (SELECT CreatedDate, CreatedById FROM Tasks ORDER BY CreatedDate ASC LIMIT 20),
  (SELECT CreatedDate, CreatedById FROM Events ORDER BY CreatedDate ASC LIMIT 20)
FROM Lead WHERE CreatedDate = LAST_N_DAYS:7 AND IsConverted = false

Export it, take the first activity a person created on each lead, and compare with your target. The leads with nothing at all are the ones to chase first.