A routing defect with no number attached loses every argument for time and budget. You can size it with three figures from your own CRM. No benchmark is needed, and none is claimed here.
The three figures
- Leads affected. The count of leads sitting in the defect over a set period, such as 90 days. See the four queries that find them.
- Your own conversion rate from lead to opportunity, for leads that are worked.
- Your own average opportunity value, or the value you use to forecast.
The arithmetic
Leads affected, times your conversion rate, times your opportunity value. The result is the pipeline those leads would have made. That assumes you worked them like your other leads.
It is a ceiling and a placeholder. Not every lost lead was a good one. State that when you present it. A number you can argue with beats an impression you cannot.
How to keep it honest
- Use a conversion rate for worked leads from the same period and source mix.
- Count a lead once, under the largest defect it sits in.
- Show the counts and the dates beside the total, so anyone can re-run them.
- Do not claim recovered revenue until a fixed lead has become an opportunity.
To measure the leads behind the number, see lead routing metrics.
See also: Lead response time statistics, with sources.
A made-up example
These figures are invented and kept small so the sum is easy to follow. They are not a benchmark.
| Figure | Made-up value |
|---|---|
| Leads affected in 90 days | 10 |
| Conversion rate for worked leads | 2 in 10 |
| Average opportunity value | 1,000 pounds |
| Ceiling | 10 x 0.2 x 1,000 = 2,000 pounds |
Swap in your own three figures. Keep the arithmetic on the page. Count the leads with these four queries.
What to write beside the number
- The query that produced the lead count, and the date you ran it.
- Where the conversion rate came from, and its date range.
- Where the opportunity value came from.
- The date range, as in lead routing metrics.
- One line saying the result is a ceiling and a placeholder.
When someone challenges it
Show the counts first. The audit report guide lists what a finding needs. A figure with its method attached is easier to defend than a rounder one without it.
The free scan cannot count what the leads cost. It checks the setup behind it.
Have it checked every night instead.
Routing Forensics connects as a read-only user and checks this, and the rest of your routing, against your real leads. Three design partners get a free health report on their own CRM, free for 90 days: what is leaking, where, and what it is worth. Apply for a place.
The free scan cannot count what the leads cost. It reads your routing setup in your browser. Scan your Salesforce or HubSpot routing. The nightly check, open to design partners, counts it.