ROI calculator
What slow replies could be costing your store
Enter your own lead volume, reply time, after-hours share, close rate and gross. The calculator shows how many leads wait, and what replying within five minutes could be worth, with every formula on the page.
Calculator
Estimate it with your own numbers
Use last month's numbers from your CRM or BDC report. Nothing you type leaves this page.
The calculator needs JavaScript
If it doesn't load, you can work the estimate by hand with the formulas in How the estimate works below.
Method
How the estimate works
Six inputs, seven steps, no hidden figures. The only number we supply is the five-minute line between a fast and a slow reply.
The steps
-
Leads that arrive after hours wait until you open.
after-hours leads = monthly leads × after-hours share -
Leads that arrive while you're open wait as long as your typical
first reply. If that is more than five minutes, we count them as
waiting too.
waiting leads = after-hours leads + (business-hours leads if reply time > 5 minutes) -
Your close rate today blends the fast-answered and the waiting
leads.
fast share = 1 − waiting leads ÷ monthly leads -
Your uplift assumption says how much more likely a fast-answered
lead is to buy. We split today's close rate so it still adds up
to the rate you entered.
slow close rate = close rate ÷ (1 + fast share × uplift)fast close rate = slow close rate × (1 + uplift), at most 100% -
If every waiting lead were answered within five minutes, it
would close at the fast rate.
extra vehicles a month = waiting leads × (fast close rate − slow close rate) -
extra gross a month = extra vehicles × average gross per vehicle -
extra gross a year = extra gross a month (rounded to $10) × 12
What the estimate leaves out
- The uplift is your assumption. No study measures how much faster replies lift sales at your store, so the calculator never fills it in for you. It also shows the result at half and double your number, so you can see how much the answer depends on it.
- Fast or slow is a simple line. A lead answered in six minutes counts the same as one answered the next morning. Real results vary with how good the reply is, not only how fast.
- Costs are not subtracted. The figure is extra gross before any cost of software, staff or advertising.
- It is not a QualiFlow result. No dealership's QualiFlow results are published yet. Treat the figure as a way to size the problem, not a promise.
Context
What the research says about reply speed
Industry research, not QualiFlow results. None of these figures is used in the calculation.
42 hours
average response time to a web inquiry among U.S. companies that responded within 30 days (cross-industry audit of 2,241 companies)
19%
of 1,700+ dealers took more than an hour to respond to a lead; 61% responded within 15 minutes
14%
of dealerships failed to personally respond to a website shopper in 2026 mystery shops of 3,290 dealership websites
36%
of dealers responded to leads submitted after hours, in a 2018 mystery shop of 1,500 dealerships
The 2011 HBR audit covered many industries, not only dealerships. The 2018 Digital Air Strike study is older and vendor-run; we show its year so you can weigh it. The average franchised dealership also spent an estimated $586,246 on advertising in 2025 (NADA Data, 2025 (opens in a new tab)): those leads are already paid for.
See how Aria would answer your leads
Aria, QualiFlow's AI agent, is designed to reply to texts within 5 to 10 seconds, day or night, in English, Spanish or French. That is a design target, not a measured result. Book a demo to walk through your own numbers with our team.
FAQ
Questions about the calculator
Is this a QualiFlow result?
No. It is an estimate built only from the numbers you enter, including your own uplift assumption. No dealership's QualiFlow results are published yet.
Why does the uplift start empty?
Because no study measures it for your store. Speed-to-lead research measures contact and qualification rates, often across many industries, not your close rate. Pre-filling a number would make the estimate look more certain than it is.
Why is five minutes the line?
It is a common speed-to-lead benchmark and is easy to check in your own reports. The calculator treats it as a simple threshold; it does not claim that minute six is very different from minute five.
What counts as an after-hours lead?
Any lead that arrives when nobody at your store is answering: nights, weekends and holidays. Your CRM's lead timestamps against your opening hours give you the share.
Do you store what I type?
No. The calculator runs in your browser and sends nothing to QualiFlow. Reloading the page clears it.
Every lead gets a reply
Never leave a lead waiting until morning.
Aria answers, qualifies and books test drives around the clock, in English, Spanish and French, inside the rules you set.
Smart Flow · Card required. Subscription charges automatically after seven days unless cancelled; optional guided onboarding is charged upfront. Nothing goes out to customers until you connect your channels and approve Aria’s go-live checklist.
