The Best Days and Times to Follow Up with Car Leads (According to Data)
When following up with dealership sales leads, timing is the key to conversions. Reaching out at the right moment can mean the difference between closing a deal and losing a customer to a competitor. While many dealerships understand the importance of lead follow-up, some still don’t truly grasp when follow-ups are most effective and the importance of frequency.
Using CRM analytics to improve sales follow-up, this blog examines the optimal days and times to follow up with car leads, aiming to increase replies, foster better engagement, and expedite sales. Read on to learn more about:
Why Timing Matters in Automotive Lead Follow-Up
Before we dive into specific days and times, let’s look at why timing plays such a critical role in the sales process:
Response Rates Drop Quickly: Studies show that a lead is 21 times more likely to enter the sales cycle when contacted within five minutes, compared to 30 minutes, after an inquiry.
Customer Attention is Fleeting: Consumers often browse multiple dealership websites and contact more than one salesperson. Your timely follow-up could make you the first and last point of contact.
Trust and Convenience: Reaching out when customers are most likely to be available improves the likelihood of a positive, low-pressure interaction.
Additional informative follow-up statistics to take into account, according to The Sherpa Group marketing solutions, include:
%
Response increase when contacting the lead within the first five minutes of interaction (e.g., inquiry, download, form fill)
%
Chance of making contact on 1st attempt
%
Chance of making contact by the 6th attempt
%
of Sales reps trying six times
These statistics indicate that attempting to contact a customer at least six times yields the best outcome, but only a minimal number of salespeople will make that many attempts.
Want Better Lead Response? It’s All About the Timing
Not getting replies from your leads? It might not be what you’re saying—it could be when and how you’re reaching out. Let’s break down the best times, days, and channels to increase the likelihood of getting a response.
Q: What are the Best Days to Follow-Up with Car Leads?
A: Tuesday and Thursday Are Prime Follow-Up Days
Data consistently shows that Tuesdays and Thursdays yield the highest response rates.
- Why Tuesday? By Tuesday, customers have had time to settle into their week. They’re often more focused and responsive than on Mondays.
- Why Thursday? Thursdays often mark the beginning of car-buying decision windows, especially for weekend shoppers who are researching before visiting dealerships.
Pro Tip: If you generated leads over the weekend, your Tuesday follow-up can hit just as those leads begin turning intent into action.
Q: What Days Should Follow-Up be Avoided?
A: Mondays and Fridays (But Not Always)
While it may seem logical to hit the ground running on Monday, many customers are busy catching up on work or recovering from the weekend. As a result, open and reply rates tend to be lower.
Fridays present a different challenge: while some buyers are preparing for weekend visits, many are mentally checking out and less likely to engage seriously unless they’re highly motivated.
When Monday or Friday Works: If your lead has shown high intent (e.g., submitted a financing application or requested a test drive), don’t wait. Strike while the iron is hot, regardless of the day.
Q: What are the Best Times of Day to Follow Up?
A: Late Morning: 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and Early Evening: 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
- Late morning is widely regarded as the “sweet spot” for contacting leads because most people have cleared early-morning tasks and they’re not yet caught in the lunch break shuffle.
- Another optimal window is early evening. At this time, people are wrapping up their workday and are more likely to check personal emails, listen to voicemails, or answer texts.
Q: What Times Should Follow-Up Be Avoided?
A: Lunchtime and Early Morning
- 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. – Too early for most people to engage unless it’s urgent.
- 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. – During lunch hours, people are often away from their devices or distracted, leading to lower engagement.
Q: What About Weekends?
A: Saturday Mornings Are Gold for Follow-Up and Appointments
While most BDC teams and salespeople focus heavily on weekday follow-ups, Saturday mornings (from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.) exhibit high engagement and response rates, particularly via phone and text.
Customers often have the time and mental space to make decisions, and they’re likely planning dealership visits.
Sunday Strategies (If Applicable)
In areas where Sunday car sales are permitted, Sundays can also be valuable—but keep your outreach minimal and respectful. Try sending personalized texts or emails instead of making phone calls.
Q: What are the Best Channels to Use at Different Times?
Q: How Many Follow-Ups Is Too Many?
A: Even at the right time, too many messages can turn a warm lead into a cold one
Here’s a simple, effective cadence:
- Day 1: Respond within 5–10 minutes of inquiry (email + call or text)
- Day 2: Follow-up in the late morning
- Day 4: Call + email in early evening
- Day 7: Final follow-up message (mention limited-time offers or availability)
- Week 2+: Move to a nurturing sequence if no response
Consistency is key, but so is respecting the customer’s space. If you’d like additional information to help propel the value of follow-up, check out AutoAlert’s Guide to Dealership Follow-Up.
Record and Analyze, Then Strategize
You can’t know where you want to go without knowing where you are right now. Recording sales follow-up numbers and percentages, then reflecting on them as a dealership team, gives you the data-backed knowledge to implement strategies that boost the numbers that are headed in the right direction, and counteract the ones that are not.
Use these sales stats from ZoomInfo marketing intelligence to help you frame which outputs to record on an ongoing basis.
Automation Makes It Easy
How to get sales reps to consistently use your CRM is often the golden question. Much of the incentive to utilize a CRM to its fullest lies in its ease of use and the proactive results that are achieved. When a CRM incorporates automated processes and workflows, personalized messages are triggered at optimal times. At this level, the CRM becomes more than a database and more like a customer experience management tool.
Automated follow-up sequences that factor in time and lead behavior create such effective results that it doesn’t take long to start seeing the benefits by way of hotter leads and better vehicle matches. Sales reps will start to experience increased success with each use of the CRM; they won’t want to return to previous processes that were based more on luck than data-backed strategy.
When selling cars, it’s not just what you say that matters, but when you say it. By aligning your lead follow-up strategy with data from leading dealership CRM platforms and automotive sales analytics, you can increase your response rates, shorten your sales cycle, and foster stronger relationships with your leads.
