Leaky pipelines are easy to ignore because the cost is invisible. There's no invoice for work you didn't win. So let's put a number on it.
Meet an example business
A typical B2B service business. It could be cleaning, signage, security or IT support. It gets 40 enquiries a month, and the average contract is worth $6,000.
Without follow-up
40 enquiries. 24 turn into a meeting. 16 get a proposal. 5 are won.
$30,000
of work a month
With follow-up
Same 40 enquiries. 30 meetings. 22 proposals. 8 are won.
$48,000
of work a month
Where the extra $18,000 came from
Not new leads. Not more marketing. Three small changes in the gaps:
- Faster first reply. More enquiries turn into a conversation when someone answers the same day.
- Proposals while it's warm. Sent while the meeting is still fresh in their mind, not a week later.
- A steady follow-up rhythm. A few proposals that would have drifted get a friendly nudge and come back.
These are example numbers. Yours will be different, which is exactly why it's worth measuring.
Run your own numbers
If a friendly follow-up brought back just 1 in 5 of those quiet quotes, that's about 19 more contracts a year, worth around $114,000.Roughly $9,500 a month.
Just a rough guide to get you thinking, not a promise. Every business is different, and working out your real numbers is exactly what the free chat is for.
Most owners are surprised by the number. Not because it's huge, but because it was sitting there the whole time.
Sally Jones
Founder of Fernforge Growth Advisory. 15 years delivering systems for organisations large and small, with a background in organisational psychology. Based in Levin, working across New Zealand and Australia.