The four-stage presales funnel
Every residential project converts through the same four stages: a lead arrives, the team reaches them, they visit the site, they book. The stages compound, which is why a small leak early is expensive. At industry average — 65% contacted, 12% of those visiting, 12% of visitors booking — 1,000 leads produce about 9.4 bookings. Lift any one stage by a third and the bookings rise by a third.
Industry-average ranges by stage
| Stage | Low | Typical | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lead → Contacted | 55% | 65% | 75% |
| Contacted → Site visit | 8% | 12% | 18% |
| Site visit → Booking | 8% | 12% | 15% |
What each stage usually means
Lead → contacted
Below 55% almost always means speed and persistence: leads called hours later, or dropped after two attempts. Connect rates fall by more than half between a five-minute and a next-day first call. Nothing else in the funnel is as cheap to fix.
Contacted → site visit
This is where most projects lose the buyers who were genuinely in market. The causes are a generic pitch, no reason to visit this week, and follow-up that stops as soon as the buyer says "I'll get back to you". Teams that know which buyers are actively evaluating — opening the brochure again, checking the price sheet, sharing the project — and call those first convert two to three times better on the same leads.
Site visit → booking
Low conversion here is usually the wrong visits rather than a weak sales pitch: buyers brought in before they were ready, or shown a configuration they cannot afford. Qualify before the visit, and follow up within 24 hours after it while the project is still fresh.
Using the result
The "bookings left on the table" figure is the gap between your bookings and what the same leads would yield at typical conversion. Divide it by your average ticket to see revenue; compare it to what the channel ROI calculator says those leads cost. The gap is nearly always cheaper to close than to out-spend.