Newbie question. I now have a good idea of the cost of good quality leads (via website & advertising) but I don't have nearly enough experience with the leads to estimate a conversion factor over the long run. Is there any "rule of thumb" for this? One in 10? One in 100? I have no idea. [I am defining "good quality leads" as people who emailed of phoned us as a result of ads or the website and require follow-up. They did not just fill out a form to get some "freebie."]

It may vary by the size of your market, but in my opinion your target is to generate “good quality” leads 100% of the time, but at the very least your site should be designed to

- generate good leads (by your definition) or
- filter out the dead ones in 2 minutes or less.

The last thing you want to do is waste time chasing bad leads.

I define a lead as being “converted” when I either close a sale or list a house.

By that definition, my conversion rate of leads from the internet averages 80%. But remember, being contacted by a good lead is only the first step. These can be 2 weeks or 2 years work. You have to have a follow program to build a relationship or it’s all a waste anyway.

Good luck …………… Dave

Canadave, how do you convert at sucj a high level?