Brokers: You have 24 hours. Most wait 72.

Quick: A buyer’s email arrives in your inbox. Their phone call hits your voicemail. Their referral lands in your lap. How fast do you reply?

Think fast, it matters more than you think.

• 61% of equipment financing customers who don’t receive a substantive response within 72 hours of their initial inquiry begin exploring alternative lenders—even if they liked the original broker. (That’s according to surveys from our research partner, Sawbux Marketing.)

Why it matters: To buyers, speed of communication signals reliability. Silence signals the opposite.

• Business owners are busy, impatient, and have options.
• When a broker goes quiet—even for legitimate reasons—customers assume the worst. They don’t call to follow up; they just ask Google or ChatGPT for more options.
• By the time you respond, they’ve already started conversations with your competitors.

Three insights to guide your best practices: It’s not hard to stay on top of communications to buyers if you keep these principles in mind:

• A fast first response time sets up a positive dynamic going forward. Customers who receive a same-day acknowledgment from a broker are three times more likely to remain exclusive with that same broker throughout the process, even if subsequent steps take more time.
• Updates matter as much as answers. A quick “Still processing, will have an answer tomorrow” retains customers better than silence (provided you follow up with a comprehensive response shortly).
• Speed perception affects value perception. Responsive brokers are perceived as more professional and trustworthy. Customers assume the rest of the process will match the initial experience