What Is a Speed Audit? How Dealerships Test Lead Response

You’re pretty sure your team calls internet leads fast. The CRM says average response time is 6 minutes. Your internet manager swears it’s closer to 3. But when’s the last time you actually tested it?

It sounds like you’ve heard this story before. A GM pulls the CRM report, sees a number that looks reasonable, and moves on. Then an OEM mystery shop lands on the desk showing a 74-minute response time on a Tuesday afternoon. Suddenly that CRM number doesn’t mean much.

A speed audit is a mystery-shop-style test that measures how fast your dealership actually responds to an internet lead by phone. Most dealers think they respond in under 10 minutes. Speed audits routinely reveal actual response times of 45-90 minutes.

A speed audit is a controlled test where someone submits a lead through your dealership’s website and tracks exactly how long it takes for a live person to call back. It measures the real gap between lead submission and first human contact, not the first CRM activity, not the auto-text, not the email template. The phone call.

That distinction matters. CRM timestamps often capture the first automated response, which can make a 47-minute actual response look like a 2-minute one in your reports. A speed audit strips away that noise and shows you what the customer actually experiences.

What Does a Speed Audit Reveal?

A properly run speed audit answers five questions your CRM can’t:

Want to see what this looks like in a real dealership flow? Try the live demo and watch the lead turn into a phone call on your own device.

1. Actual time to first call. Not first activity. First live voice.
2. Who answers. Is it the assigned salesperson, a BDC agent, a receptionist, or nobody?
3. How many attempts. Did your team try once and give up, or follow a real contact schedule?
4. Quality of first contact. Did the salesperson mention the vehicle, ask about the trade, and try to set an appointment? Or was it “just calling to see if you still need help”?
5. After-hours gaps. What happens to a lead submitted at 7:30 PM on a Wednesday? Most stores: nothing until morning.

Your OEM Is Already Doing This

If you haven’t run your own speed audit, there’s a good chance your OEM has. Toyota’s mystery-shop programs test lead response across the network. GM’s iMR audits track internet lead handling and tie results to co-op funding. Stellantis and Ford run similar programs.

The stakes aren’t theoretical. Poor speed audit scores can cost a store thousands in co-op advertising dollars and affect allocation decisions. For a full breakdown of what each OEM expects, see OEM lead response requirements.

How to Run a DIY Speed Audit in 15 Minutes

You don’t need a vendor. You don’t need a committee. Here’s the process:

1. Create a test identity. Use a personal Gmail and a cell phone number that isn’t in your CRM. The lead needs to look real.
2. Submit a lead through your own website. Pick a specific vehicle. Fill out the form the way a real buyer would. Note the exact time.
3. Wait and track. Don’t tip off your team. Record when (and if) each contact happens: call, text, email. Note who calls and what they say.
4. Run it again at different times. A Tuesday at 11 AM will look very different from a Saturday at 4 PM or a Wednesday at 8 PM. Test your weakest windows.
5. Compare to the 60-second standard. If your first live call happened in under 60 seconds, you’re in the top 1% of dealerships. Under 5 minutes is competitive. Over 15 minutes means you’re losing deals before your team even picks up the phone.

The goal isn’t to catch people doing something wrong. It’s to see what the customer sees. And what the customer sees is usually very different from what the CRM reports.

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