Step 1. The numbers
- Count how many deals entered each stage over the last three months.
- Calculate the conversion rate between every pair of adjacent stages.
- Find the transition with the lowest rate relative to its neighbours.
- Separately, calculate average time spent in each stage.
- Flag any stage where time is half again as long as its neighbours.
Step 2. The conversations
Pull twenty deals that stalled at the transition you found and read them from the beginning. Read them consecutively, not selectively: a sample chosen on impression returns the conclusion you walked in with.
What to look for in those twenty
- whether price was quoted, and on which message
- how many times you followed up after the customer's last reply
- whether a next step with a specific date was agreed
- how long the customer waited for the first reply
- whether anyone replied at all
It is usually not what you expected. On one project the owner was certain he was losing on price. Across twenty conversations price came up in nine, on average at the eighth message. Half the customers left without ever learning what it cost.
Four leaks that show up most often
- Between enquiry and first contact. Some people never got a reply. Cheapest leak to fix.
- Between contact and price. Conversations happen, price never lands. Fixed by a rule, not by training.
- Between price and decision. No follow-up: the thread died after the second or third return.
- Between yes and payment. A pause before the invoice goes out. Fastest leak to fix.
What not to do
- do not start by surveying the team: you will get a theory, not a location
- do not change three things at once: you will not know which one worked
- do not measure conversion only from qualified leads: that is where the leak hides