If you’re in B2B sales, you already know this: slow replies kill deals. But it’s not enough to just say “let’s be faster.” You need to know how you’re doing, spot the bottlenecks, and actually get your team responding quicker—without burning everyone out or drowning in tools. This guide is for folks using Crisp as their chat and messaging platform, but most of these ideas work anywhere you care about response time.
Let’s cut through the fluff and get you some real answers.
Why response times matter so much in B2B sales
You don’t need a stat to know faster replies win more deals, but here’s the reality:
- Prospects usually reach out to several vendors at once.
- The first company to respond (with a real answer, not a bot) often gets the meeting—or at least earns trust.
- Waiting hours (or days) tells buyers you’re slow, or worse, that you don’t care.
But you can’t fix what you don’t measure. Let’s get into how to actually track and improve your response times using Crisp.
Step 1: Get clear on what you want to measure
Crisp tracks a few different “response time” metrics. Each one tells a different story. Don’t just use whatever shows up by default—pick the one that actually matters for sales.
- First response time: How long it takes for anyone on your team to reply to a new inbound message.
- Why it matters: This is the “do they care?” test. For sales, this is the big one.
- Average response time: How fast you reply to all messages, not just the first.
- Why it matters: Good for support, but less telling for sales, where the prospect’s first impression is everything.
- Resolution time: Time to close the conversation or ticket.
- Why it matters: Not a direct sales metric, but can show if deals are stalling.
Honest take: For B2B sales, focus on first response time. That’s the number that correlates to booked meetings and happy prospects.
Step 2: Find your current response times in Crisp
Crisp actually makes this pretty easy, but there’s some nuance. Here’s how to get what you need:
- Login and go to the Analytics section.
- Look for “First Response Time” in the dashboard. If you don’t see it, check under “Conversations” or “Team Performance.”
- Pick a realistic time frame.
- 7 days is good for spotting trends, but 30 days gives you a better baseline.
- Filter by relevant channels.
- If you use Crisp for both sales and support, split these out. Otherwise, your numbers get skewed by support tickets.
- Export the data if you need to dig deeper.
- Crisp lets you export CSVs. Pull the raw numbers if you want to slice by rep, time of day, or anything else.
Pro tip: Don’t obsess over a single bad day. Look for patterns—are you always slow on Mondays? Is one shift lagging behind?
Step 3: Set a response time goal (that’s actually doable)
It’s tempting to say “We’ll reply in 5 minutes!” But unless you have people glued to their screens 24/7, that’s not realistic. Here’s how to set a goal that works:
- Benchmark against your industry. For B2B, under 30 minutes during business hours is excellent. Under 1 hour is good. Anything over 2 hours, you’re losing deals.
- Factor in your team size and hours. If you’re a small team, set a business-hours goal. If you promise 24/7, expect to rotate weekends and holidays.
- Put the goal in writing. Make it visible—on a dashboard, in your team chat, or above the coffee machine.
What NOT to do: Don’t set a goal you know you’ll miss every day. It just burns out your team and kills morale.
Step 4: Figure out what’s actually slowing you down
This is where most teams mess up. They see “response time is slow” and just yell “be faster!” That’s not a fix. Dig into why:
- Are messages sitting unassigned?
- If nobody picks up new chats, they’ll rot. Set up auto-assignment or a round-robin.
- Are reps missing notifications?
- Crisp’s browser notifications are easy to miss. Make sure people get pinged where they’ll see it (desktop, mobile, even email if needed).
- Is there confusion about who handles what?
- Sales chats shouldn’t get buried under support noise. Use Crisp’s routing or tags to separate sales leads.
- Do reps have to hunt for info?
- If every reply needs a manager’s sign-off or someone’s digging for pricing, you’ll always be slow. Give reps the resources to answer common questions fast.
Pro tip: Have each rep flag their own biggest blockers for a week. You’ll spot trends (and easy fixes) quickly.
Step 5: Use Crisp features to speed things up (without sounding robotic)
Crisp isn’t magic, but it’s got tools that do help—if you use them wisely.
1. Assign conversations automatically
- Set up rules so new sales chats go straight to the right people.
- If you’re small, even a simple “who’s on” rotation is better than chaos.
2. Use canned responses (sparingly)
- Save replies for common questions—pricing, feature lists, scheduling a demo.
- Don’t overdo it. Personalize the first two lines, so you don’t sound like a robot.
3. Enable mobile notifications
- For sales teams that move around, Crisp’s mobile app is a lifesaver.
- Just don’t expect instant replies at 10pm unless you’ve paid people for it.
4. Set up office hours (and communicate them)
- If you’re not a 24/7 shop, make your hours clear in Crisp’s chat widget.
- Use the “auto-responder” to set expectations when you’re away (“We reply fast during business hours—hang tight and we’ll be with you soon!”).
5. Route leads by priority
- Tag high-value leads (maybe those from your pricing page) and alert your best reps.
- Don’t treat every chat like it’s equally urgent.
What to ignore: Don’t waste time on over-complicated bots or AI that promise to “handle everything.” Most prospects see through it, and it usually makes things slower for real sales conversations.
Step 6: Track your progress (and adjust before you burn out)
Once you’ve set your goal and made changes, keep an eye on your numbers. But don’t turn this into a spreadsheet Olympics. Here’s what works:
- Weekly check-ins: Review response times as a team. Celebrate improvements, swap tips, and call out “what slowed us down” honestly.
- Watch for trade-offs: If response times are faster but the quality of replies drops, you’re just rushing. Quick and helpful wins deals.
- Adjust as you grow: As your team or inbound volume grows, revisit your process. What worked with three reps may break at ten.
Honest take: Don’t automate your way out of real conversations. Speed matters, but substance closes deals.
Step 7: Keep it simple, and keep iterating
Improving response times isn’t a “set it and forget it” thing. It’s about building habits and tweaking as you go. Don’t obsess over perfect numbers—just make sure you’re faster and more helpful than last quarter.
- Start by measuring honestly.
- Fix obvious blockers.
- Use Crisp’s tools, but don’t let them run the show.
- Talk to your team.
That’s it. Keep it simple, stay human, and you’ll close more deals—no magic required.