The First Company to Answer Usually Wins — Here's Why

You're not competing on skill.

You're not competing on price.

You're not even really competing on reviews.

You're competing on who picks up the phone first.

This sounds wrong. Unfair, even. But it's how customers actually behave.

And once you understand it, you can use it.

The Data Is Clear

Studies on lead response show:

78% of customers buy from the first company that responds.

In home services, where urgency is high and patience is low, this number is probably higher.

According to BrightLocal's consumer survey, when someone's basement is flooding, they don't carefully compare 5 plumbers. They call until someone answers. That someone gets the job.

Why Speed Beats Everything

Let's break down what's happening in the customer's mind.

They Have a Problem Right Now

Home service calls are almost never "let me research this for a few weeks."

They're:

• Water on the floor


• No heat in January


• Outlet sparking


• AC dead in August

The problem is immediate. The desire for relief is urgent.

Calling Multiple Companies Is Exhausting

Put yourself in their shoes.

They find 3-5 companies. They start calling. Each call that goes to voicemail or gets "he'll call you back" increases frustration.

By the time they reach someone who can actually help, they're relieved. They want to book and move on.

They're not thinking: "Let me keep calling to compare options." They're thinking: "Thank God, someone can help."

The First Answer Creates an Anchor

When you answer and handle the call well, you become the baseline.

Every subsequent call is compared to you. And most people don't want to keep shopping once they have a solution in hand.

This is basic psychology. We satisfice—we choose the first option that's "good enough" rather than optimizing endlessly.

Momentum Matters

Once a customer has explained their problem and gotten a response, they've invested effort.

Calling another company means:

• Explaining the problem again


• Processing new information


• Making another decision

Most people won't do it. The first good conversation wins.

Real-World Example

Here's how this plays out:

6:15 PM — Problem Emerges

Homeowner notices AC isn't cooling. It's July. 95 degrees. Kids are complaining.

6:17 PM — Search and Call

Searches "HVAC repair near me." Clicks the first result. Calls.

Voicemail. Hangs up.

6:18 PM — Second Call

Calls second result. Rings twice. Someone answers.

"Thanks for calling Cool Air HVAC, this is Tom. How can I help you?"

Customer explains. Tom offers a slot tomorrow morning. Customer books.

6:22 PM — Done

Problem handled. Customer is relieved.

6:45 PM — First Company Calls Back

First HVAC company sees missed call. Calls back.

Customer: "Oh, thanks, but we already booked someone for tomorrow."

First company had a 30-minute head start on reviews and reputation. Lost the job in 3 minutes of response time.

The Uncomfortable Implication

This means some jobs go to worse contractors.

A less experienced plumber who answers beats a master plumber who doesn't.

Is that fair? No. Does it matter? Also no.

This is how the game works. You can complain about it or adapt to it.

The contractors who adapt—who treat phone response as a competitive advantage—build bigger businesses.

The ones who don't stay stuck, wondering why they're always busy but never growing.

Speed-to-Lead Statistics

Let's look at more data:

Responding within 5 minutes: 100x more likely to connect and qualify the lead (Source: Harvard Business Review)

After 10 minutes: Response rates drop by 80%

Benchmark your response speed →

After 30 minutes: Lead is effectively dead (for urgent service calls)

For home services, these windows are even tighter. Someone with a burst pipe isn't waiting 30 minutes.

What This Means for How You Operate

If first-to-answer wins, then your phone strategy isn't a nice-to-have. It's core to your business model.

Ask yourself:

• What happens when I'm on a job and the phone rings?


• What happens after 5pm when most emergencies occur?


• What happens on weekends when homeowners are actually home to discover problems?

If the answer to any of these is "voicemail," you're losing jobs daily.

How Top Contractors Handle This

The most successful service pros I've talked to have one thing in common:

They've figured out phone coverage.

Different approaches, same outcome:

The Spouse Model: Partner handles calls during the day. Pro handles the work.

The Office Manager Model: Someone dedicated to phones and scheduling.

The Team Model: Rotate who's on phone duty each day.

The AI Model: AI agent answers and books 24/7.

The Hybrid Model: Some combination of the above.

The method matters less than the commitment. These people decided that answering the phone was non-negotiable for their business growth.

The Math of Being First

Let's say you and a competitor are roughly equal:

• Same quality work


• Same pricing


• Same reviews

You answer 100% of calls. They answer 60%.

You will grow faster. Period.

Not because you're better. Because you're there.

Over a year, that 40% gap compounds. More jobs = more reviews = better rankings = more calls = more jobs.

The rich get richer. Because they answered the phone.

Practical Takeaways

1. Know Your Miss Rate

Check your call logs. How many calls are you missing per day? Week? Month?

You can't improve what you don't measure.

2. Identify Your Vulnerable Hours

When do missed calls happen?

• Driving between jobs?


• During lunch?


• After 5pm?


• Weekends?

Focus your coverage there.

3. Remove Friction

Make it easy for someone to help you.

If your spouse can answer, set up call forwarding.
If you want to try AI, spend 10 minutes setting it up.
If you want a service, do the research this week.

Small friction = never done. Remove the friction.

4. Treat It Like Marketing

You probably spend money on ads, truck wraps, Google profile optimization.

Those generate calls.

Answering the phone converts calls to jobs.

Why invest in generating calls if you can't convert them?

Where Fixly Fits

Fixly is an AI that answers your calls when you can't.

It doesn't replace you. It catches the calls you'd otherwise miss.

Customer calls → AI answers → Understands the need → Books into your Google Calendar → You get an SMS notification

The customer got helped. You got the job. No missed opportunity.

You only pay when it works ($1 per job booked). No monthly fees.

If you're curious, you can try it free at fixlyai.com. No card required.

The Bottom Line

"First to answer wins" isn't a slogan. It's a statistical reality.

You can fight it or use it.

The contractors who understand this build systems around it. They make sure someone (or something) always answers.

The ones who don't keep losing jobs to faster competitors.

Not better competitors. Faster ones.

In a commodity service business, that's the edge.

Be there when they call.