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Close rate

Updated

Definition

Close rate is the share of quotes or leads that turn into booked jobs over a set period. It's jobs won divided by quotes given (or leads received), times 100, and it's most useful split by lead source, job type and who quoted.

Also called: Closing rate, Close ratio, Win rate

Two ways to count it

Decide what you're dividing by, write it down and use the same definition every time:

  • Quote close rate = jobs won ÷ quotes given × 100. It measures your selling: the visit, the price, the options and the follow-up.
  • Lead close rate = jobs won ÷ leads received × 100. It measures the whole path from first call to signed job, including leads that never got a quote.

The gap between the two tells you where to look. If lead close rate is low but quote close rate is healthy, the leak is before the quote: missed calls, slow callbacks or leads you shouldn't be chasing. If both are low, look at the quote itself and what happens after it.

Count only decided quotes: won, lost or closed out after your follow-up ended. Open quotes drag the number down, so measure a month's quotes once most have an answer, which for a reroof waiting on an adjuster can take a couple of months.

Track it by lead source

One overall close rate blends customers who arrive in very different states. A referral from a past customer may show up half sold, while a lead from an ad or a directory may have asked several companies for a price the same day. Record the source on every lead and quote, then work out close rate for each source, each job type and, if more than one person runs estimates, each person.

Close rate also turns a cost per quote into a cost per job won (cost per quote ÷ close rate), which feeds customer acquisition cost.

Example: Last quarter you gave 60 quotes and won 18, a 30% close rate. Split by source, 15 referral quotes won 9 (60%) and 45 quotes from paid search ads won 9 (20%). The ads cost $2,700, or $60 per quote, so each ad job cost $60 ÷ 0.20 = $300 to win, before counting your time on the 36 ad quotes you lost. The overall 30% hid both stories: referrals deserve more effort, and the ads need a closer look. The numbers are made up for illustration.

Common mistakes

  • Leaving silent quotes out. No answer after your last follow-up is a loss, not a pending quote. Count it.
  • Mixing repairs with project proposals. A repair priced on the spot for someone with a broken system closes very differently from an install proposal the customer will shop around. Track them separately.
  • Counting only jobs. Winning the small jobs and losing the big ones looks fine by count, so check dollars won ÷ dollars quoted too.
  • Comparing with someone else's number. Close-rate figures you find online mix trades, prices and lead sources, and often don't say whether they count leads or quotes. Your own trend, by source and job type, is the number to watch.
  • Treating a high close rate as all good news. Winning nearly every quote can mean your prices are lower than your work supports. A close rate that rises after a price cut isn't a win until you check gross margin too.

How it connects

Quotes that end in silence point at follow-up, not price; how to follow up on quotes has a cadence by job size and a way to log lost reasons.

Offering tiered options gives the customer a choice of price instead of a yes or no on yours, so try it on the job types where you lose most often. On competitive bids, where several contractors price the same plans, expect a lower rate than on referral estimates, and keep bids on their own line.

A source with a modest close rate can still earn its place if the customers it brings keep coming back, which is what customer lifetime value measures.

Go deeper

GuideHow to Follow Up on Quotes Without Being PushyA quote follow-up plan for contractors: a cadence by job size, text and call scripts for each touch, honest options, when to stop and how to track close rate.Roofing guideHow to Get More Roofing CustomersHow roofers win more customers: honest free inspections, storm response that follows the FTC Cooling-Off Rule, job-site marketing, agent referrals and follow-up.HVAC guideHow to Get More HVAC CustomersHow HVAC contractors win and keep customers: maintenance agreements, tune-up campaigns, Google profile and ads setup, referral partners and quote follow-up.Solar guideHow to Get More Solar CustomersHow solar installers win customers in 2026: honest pitches without the federal credit, lawful door knocking and texting, referrals, trade partners and follow-up.
Customer acquisition costCustomer acquisition cost (CAC) is what you spend on marketing and selling in a period divided by the number of new customers you won in that period. It tells you what each new customer actually cost to win.Gross marginGross margin is gross profit as a percentage of revenue: what's left of each sales dollar after direct job costs (materials, field labor, subcontractors, permits), before overhead. A $10,000 job that costs $6,000 to deliver has a 40% gross margin.EstimateAn estimate is a contractor's expected price for a job, based on the scope as it's understood before work starts. It tells the customer the price could change if the work turns out different, but whether it binds you depends on its wording, the customer's acceptance and your state's law.BidA bid is a firm price a contractor submits to win a job, usually in competition with other contractors and priced to plans, specs or a scope someone else wrote. If it's accepted, you're expected to do the work for that price on the terms of the bid.Good-better-best pricingGood-better-best pricing means presenting a customer with three options for the same job, each a complete solution at a different price, instead of a single take-it-or-leave-it number. The tiers differ in materials, features or warranty, never in whether the job is done right.Customer lifetime valueCustomer lifetime value (CLV) is the total gross profit a customer brings your business over the whole relationship, from the first job through every repeat visit, repair and replacement. It tells you what a new customer is worth and how much you can afford to spend to win one.

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