Momentum answers
How fast should you respond to a new lead?
Within five minutes when possible, and within the hour at the latest. Most people requesting quotes contact several businesses around the same time, and tend to move forward with whichever one replies first — response speed is one of the strongest predictors of whether a lead converts.
The value of speed comes from where the lead's attention is: right after submitting a form, they're still actively thinking about the problem. A day later, that urgency has usually passed, and your message is competing with whatever else has happened since.