How Do I Do a Cost Per Lead Calculation?

The answer is not exactly simple. The first thing you need to do is factor in the cost of obtaining your lead. Leads can come from a number of sources, and can be of varying quality. As with any system, if you put a garbage lead in, you will get a garbage lead out – and you’ll still have paid for it. There are any number of sources all competing to sell their leads. Let’s break some down, because obtaining a true cost per lead calculation not as simple as taking your total ad spend and dividing it by your total lead intake.

• Contact names, addresses, and telephone numbers. These are the old fashioned mailing lists that have been aggregated since Og the caveman tried to sell Nog the caveman a better rock hammer. In fact, Nog may still be on the list. Some companies never scrub their leads, and you end up paying for duds and numbers on the Do Not Call List.

• Email addresses and web page/social media information. Great resource, but at the same time people feel inundated. Reaching out via these leads means being careful not to be a spammer or to be perceived as a spammer. Again, you have to factor the duds in, and account for blacklists and spam filters.

• Ad clicks and page traffic. A click does not a conversion make, and even if they hit the landing page, it may not get them into the funnel. Getting a hot lead from this resource usually means that they are genuinely interested in buying – right now. Not 48 hours from now. Your costs are advertising costs, SEO costs, hosting costs, and other expenses. 

• Business cards. Whether from a seminar or a trade show, these cards are not “free” you had to pay to be there, needed a hotel room, food, and transportation. You have to factor these costs in as well.

Once you have factored in how much you spent to acquire each lead, you have the BASE cost per lead calculation. Now, let’s look at these leads as a warehouse of inventory. Those leads do not just sit there. You have sales staff who service the leads by working them. Every minute you pay an employee on that call adds to the cost of the lead and – by the way - how are you paying for that employee to call? You have a phone system, computer, CRM software, and overhead to account for as well.

In short, your leads are costing you more than you think, and how your outbound call staff works them adds to the cost. You need a top-notch outbound calling solution to make those leads work hard, and to keep your lists clean. Give your outbound staff and management every advantage by using ChaseData’s cloud-based, scalable, and user-friendly technology. You can try it for free, and see what a difference the right call center solution can make for your bottom line.