Sponsored Content by AnswerConnect.

In today’s world, speed is a signal. It tells your customers: we see you, we’re ready, and you matter.

When a potential client calls your brand, even a few seconds of silence can feel like being ignored. Fast call answering feels like being heard. And for franchisors, that signal carries even more weight.

Why fast call answering matters for your franchise

A slow response doesn’t just frustrate callers – it quietly pushes them away.

• 85% of leads will call a competitor rather than leave a voicemail. (Forbes)
• When placed on hold: 5% hang up immediately, 28% hang up within five minutes, and another 26% leave within 6-10 minutes. (Invoca)

That’s not impatience, it’s reality. In the digital age, anything slower than now can feel like never. And one slow location can give your entire brand a reputation problem.

A missed call isn’t just a lost opportunity – it’s a missed human connection, a missed sale, a lost moment of trust. Speed means showing up before your customer has mentally, or literally, checked out.

But callers don’t just want speed – they want a real, human connection.

Speed + humanity = the experience people remember

We’ve all been stuck in the phone tree maze: Press 1 for sales, press 2 to scream into the void…

Quick answers matter, but they’re only half the story. Answering in a single ring doesn’t mean much if the voice on the line sounds robotic or rushed.

In a recent 6,000-person survey we commissioned with OnePoll, we found: Nearly one-third of callers will hang up immediately if they’re connected to a bot.

Don’t lose customers before you even speak to them. Speed is valuable, but speed delivered by a bot? That’s speed that costs you sales.

Real people listen. They empathize, solve problems, and leave an impression only humans can. Those moments build brands.

If you’re choosing an answering service…

Don’t just ask: How quickly do you answer?

Ask:

• Who’s answering?
• What experience will my caller have?
• Will they hang up feeling frustrated – or understood?

At AnswerConnect, the answer is always a human one. We’re proud to answer 93% of calls within a single ring, but we care even more about what that speed represents. It shows consistency.  It shows care. And in a world full of AI, it shows something even more important:

Your customers’ first impression still comes down to one thing, a real human who picks up the phone and truly connects.