Speed gets all the attention, but a fast reply that says nothing still loses the lead. A good first reply does three things. First, it answers the one thing they asked. If they asked about price or hours, say it plainly instead of sending them to a form. Second, it asks one easy question that moves things forward, like what day works best or what they are trying to fix. One question, not five. Third, it tells them what happens next, so they know someone is on it. Keep it under three sentences. If the lead replies with something unusual, like an upset message, a pricing negotiation or a custom request, stop the automation and send it to a person. The goal is to be quick and sound like a human who read the message. What is the first reply you would never want a lead to receive? Curious what the group has seen go wrong.