Most paving companies do not lose jobs because they are bad at paving. They lose jobs because they are slow at the part that happens before the paving. The phone rings, the crew is busy, and the lead goes somewhere else.
Five minutes sounds dramatic. You might think, "No one expects a paving contractor to call back in five minutes." But the market does not care what feels reasonable to you. The market cares about what the buyer does next. And what the buyer does next is usually call another contractor.
The five minute window is real, and it is backed by data. In the InsideSales and MIT lead response research, the odds of contacting a lead if called in five minutes versus thirty minutes dropped one hundred times, and the odds of qualifying dropped twenty one times.
That study looked at web leads, but it maps cleanly onto paving because the same human behavior is at play. When a person raises their hand, they have a short burst of motivation. If you catch it, you move the job forward. If you miss it, motivation shifts to whoever answers first.
Here is what actually happens when you wait
Let's walk through a common scenario. A homeowner searches "asphalt driveway paving near me" at 7:30 pm. They click a few listings. They see your photos and call your number. You miss the call because you are eating dinner or loading equipment for tomorrow.
Minute 1: They try again or leave a voicemail. Many do not. Voicemail is dying. They do not want to talk to a machine. They want a person.
Minute 3: They call another contractor. That contractor does not answer either. They call a third.
Minute 5: One of those contractors responds, even if it is just a text that says, "Got it, what address is the project at?" Now the buyer feels taken care of. They are already in a conversation.
Minute 10: You call back. The lead picks up, but their tone is different. They are no longer excited. They are comparing you to the other company they are already talking to. You are now behind, even though you did nothing wrong.
Minute 30: The lead has scheduled an estimate with someone else. They might still take your call, but you are now fighting for a slot.
The same thing happens in commercial work. A property manager may be calling between meetings. If you miss the first call, you may miss the only window you had to talk to them that day. Later, they are back in meetings and your call goes to voicemail.
Slow response does not just delay the sale. It changes the frame
The biggest hidden cost of slow response is not only losing the lead. It is losing trust.
Responsiveness is one of the few signals a buyer has before they see your work. When you respond quickly, you feel professional. When you respond slowly, you feel disorganized. The buyer assumes that the communication will be painful, the schedule will shift, and the project will be stressful.
That assumption pushes them toward the contractor who made the process easy.
What if you truly cannot call back in five minutes?
Most paving owners cannot. That is normal.
The goal is not that you personally call back in five minutes every time. The goal is that the lead receives a meaningful first response in that window, and that response moves them toward a next step.
There are three layers to making that happen.
Layer one is instant acknowledgment.
If someone calls and you miss it, a missed call text back should fire immediately. Keep it short and human. Do not write a paragraph. Ask one question.
"Sorry we missed your call. This is [Company]. What kind of paving work is this for and what address is it at?"
Layer two is a clear next step.
Once they reply, you can either call them back or send a booking link for an estimate. For many contractors, the fastest path is to send a scheduling link that shows your available estimate slots. That prevents phone tag and gets the lead into your calendar.
"Thanks. Here is the link to book an estimate: [link]. If you prefer, tell me a good time to call you and I will ring you."
Layer three is a short follow up loop.
If the lead does not reply, do not assume they are not interested. They might be driving, putting kids to bed, or working. A simple follow up the next morning can recover a lot of jobs.
"Just checking in. Do you want an estimate for that paving project? Reply with the address and we will get you scheduled."
This is not spam. It is service. You are making it easy for a busy person to take the next step.
Where most contractors go wrong after the delay
If you call back late and the lead answers, you might try to "win them back" by talking too much. That often backfires.
Instead, your job is to move the conversation to the next step quickly. Ask qualifying questions in a calm way, then schedule the estimate.
Ask what type of project it is. Ask the address. Ask what the timeline is. Ask if they are the property owner or manager. Then schedule.
If you cannot schedule immediately, set an expectation. "We can be there Wednesday afternoon or Thursday morning. Which is better?"
Do not end the call with "I will call you later." End it with a date and time.
How to make five minute response happen in the real world
The easiest way to do this is to stop treating lead response as a personal habit and start treating it as an automated workflow.
A paving specific system like GoPave is designed to make the first response automatic. When a lead calls and you miss it, the system responds. When a form is submitted, the system responds. When a lead books an estimate, the system confirms and reminds. When you send a quote, the system follows up until you get a yes or no.
That is not about being fancy. It is about being consistent. Humans are inconsistent when they are busy. Systems are consistent.
If you want to prove this to yourself, test your own process
Pick any day this week and have a friend call your business number at a random time. Do it once during work, once during dinner, and once early in the morning. See what happens. Do you answer? Do you miss it? If you miss it, do you respond with anything that keeps the lead warm?
Most contractors are surprised by the answer, because they assume they are doing better than they are.
Then run the same test with a missed call text back in place. The difference in lead experience is immediate.
You can do incredible paving work. None of it matters if the customer never makes it onto your schedule. Five minutes is not a rule to shame you. It is a reminder that lead response is part of production now. If you want more jobs, make your first response automatic and make your next step easy.