Momentum answers
Do clients hire the first company that answers the phone?
Often, yes — especially for urgent or time-sensitive needs like a broken furnace or a locked door. A caller comparing several businesses tends to stop looking once someone responds and can help, which makes response speed one of the most decisive factors in who gets hired, independent of price or reputation.
This matters most for reactive, need-it-now categories — plumbing, locksmiths, appliance repair, HVAC emergencies — where the customer's real goal is 'solve this today,' not 'find the best possible option.'
It matters less for considered purchases where a customer is deliberately comparing quotes over days, but even there, being unreachable at the moment of interest removes you from consideration entirely.