The follow-up speed thing is real

Lender · Pickerington, OH · Member since 2026 · 49 posts · 39 votes

2mo

Yes, this is so true. I think people underestimate how much that quick first touch matters. Even just a simple text right away can make someone feel like they’re not being ignored.

I’ve been using GoHighLevel and like it so far for that reason. It’s nice being able to get an auto text or email out quickly, then follow up personally from there. The automation doesn’t build the relationship, but it definitely helps keep the door open long enough to start one.

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Travis Goodwin

Wholesaler · Charleston WV · Member since 2026 · 233 posts · 124 votes

2mo

I think the biggest takeaway is that speed alone is not the advantage. Consistent follow up is. Most investors lose deals because they respond once, then disappear. A fast first response gets you in the door, but the real money is made by staying in touch after everyone else gives up. The investor who follows up professionally for weeks or even months is usually the one who gets the contract, not just the one who replied first.

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Rauph Souleimanov
Investor · FL · Member since 2023 · 36 posts · 11 votes
2mo
Quote from @Travis Goodwin:

I think the biggest takeaway is that speed alone is not the advantage. Consistent follow up is. Most investors lose deals because they respond once, then disappear. A fast first response gets you in the door, but the real money is made by staying in touch after everyone else gives up. The investor who follows up professionally for weeks or even months is usually the one who gets the contract, not just the one who replied first.

his is the part I'd underline for anyone reading. Speed gets you in the door but consistency is what actually wins the contract, and it's the harder of the two to pull off.

Here's what I'd add though. The reason speed and follow up usually get talked about as two separate things is that most people solve them as two separate things. They automate the first text, then go back to following up by hand after that. And following up by hand is exactly where it falls apart, not because anyone forgets it matters, but because manually staying on top of 50 leads across three months is basically impossible to sustain. Week one everybody follows up. Week six is where almost everyone quietly drops off, and that's the exact window where deals actually come loose.

So to me it's less speed versus consistency and more that both come from the same place, which is taking the follow up off of human memory entirely. The same setup that makes your first response instant is what makes sure lead 200 still gets touched on day 45. Once it's not depending on willpower, consistency stops being the thing you lose.
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Andrea Fernandes

Specialist · Goa, India · Member since 2026 · 175 posts · 36 votes

2mo

@Travis Goodwin point is the one that'll matter more over time. Speed is a real edge right now because most people are still slow, but as more wholesalers automate the first response, that edge shrinks fast; everyone gets fast, and then it's back to who actually stays in touch after week three. Speed gets you in the door, consistency is what closes it.

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Rauph Souleimanov

Investor · FL · Member since 2023 · 36 posts · 11 votes

2mo

Quote from @Eugene Agoh:

This is more of a confirmation post than a strategy post but I think it's worth sharing because it made a bigger difference than I expected.

We had a lead response time problem for a long time. New leads would come in and get routed to whoever was available which meant sometimes they got called back within an hour and sometimes it was the next morning.

Set up automated routing — every form fill triggers an immediate CRM entry, an automated first text, and a notification to whoever is on call. Average response time went from 4+ hours to under 6 minutes.

Lead to appointment rate went up noticeably. Same leads, same channels, same market. Just faster response.

The research says a lead contacted in 5 minutes converts at roughly 10 times the rate of one contacted 5 hours later. I always thought that number sounded inflated but after seeing our own data I believe it.

The motivated seller who fills out a form at 7pm and doesn't hear back until 9am the next day has called three other buyers in the meantime. You're not competing on price at that point — you're competing on who responded and built rapport first.

Automated first response doesn't close deals. But it keeps you in the conversation long enough for a human to take over and close deals.

What CRM are people using for lead routing? We're on Salesforce but curious what others have found works well for fast routing.

on your CRM question, honestly the CRM matters less for routing speed than people expect. Salesforce can absolutely do fast routing with Flow, it's just heavier to set up. GHL comes up a lot here because it bundles the instant first touch simply out of the box. But the actual speed doesn't come from the brand, it comes from that first automated response firing the second the form hits, before it ever routes to a person. If Salesforce is already working for you I wouldn't switch, I'd just make sure that first touch is fully automated and independent of whoever's on call.

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Igor Ganapolsky

Coral Springs, FL · Member since 2018 · 464 posts · 95 votes

3w

Travis Goodwin's consistency point (202 posts, 111 votes) is the real insight here, but there's a layer underneath it that makes consistency work better: what you say in follow-up matters more than how often you follow up.

Rauph Souleimanov nailed it — taking follow-up off human memory entirely. But the reason consistency converts isn't just "they remember you." It's that their situation is deteriorating while you're following up, and you can reference specific changes.

Here's what I mean: if you're calling someone from a generic absentee owner list, your follow-up is "just checking in, still interested in buying?" That gets old fast. But if you pulled that lead from 3 county data sources (Tax Collector + Code Enforcement + Clerk of Court), your follow-up becomes:

"Hi [name], I noticed the code enforcement violation was issued last week for the overgrown vegetation. I also saw the tax lien filing from last month. I know you're dealing with a lot right now — I can close in 14 days and take care of all of it."

That's not "just checking in." That's "I'm watching your situation get worse and I'm still here to help." The convergence data gives you specific, timely reasons to follow up that show you understand their deteriorating situation.

In Cook County, you have all 3 sources online: Cook County Treasurer (tax delinquent), Chicago Code Enforcement (violations), Cook County Clerk of Court (probate/liens). When the same property shows up on all 3 lists, you know the owner has financial pressure AND physical distress AND legal pressure converging. Your follow-up isn't generic — it's surgical.

Speed gets you in the door. Consistency keeps you there. But converged data makes your consistency relevant because you're referencing real changes in their situation, not just "still interested?"

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Jonathan KlemmBusiness Member

Moderator

Contractor · Chicago, IL · Member since 2016 · 4k+ posts · 2k+ votes

3w

Hey @Eugene Agoh - My good friend @Zach Shepard uses REIsimply which i really like and he claims it has some awesome AI stuff.

We use hubspot, but it doesnt have a great text integration so we have to add on salemsg.

We are both in Chicago so if you ever want to connect let me know!

[email protected]

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The follow-up speed thing is real

The follow-up speed thing is real

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