How it is computed
Count the leads in the period. Count the deals that came from them. Divide. The cohort method follows each lead to its outcome, however long it takes, so last month's leads can still close this month. The window method counts deals dated in the period over leads dated in the period. Both are honest; mixing them is not.
Why it matters
It is the number that turns traffic into a plan. A store that knows it closes one lead in eight knows how many leads it needs to hit a number, and knows when it is short before the month is over.
By source, it tells you where the money spent on leads is earning its keep and where it is paying for conversations that never become deals.
How operators read it
- Read it by source first. A store-wide close rate blends a referral source that closes one in three with a paid source that closes one in twenty, and the average describes neither.
- Read it by salesperson with the lead count beside it. A high close rate on a handful of leads is a small sample, not a star; a modest close rate on a heavy lead load may be the floor's real closer.
- Watch the denominator. A store that logs every walk-in closes at one rate; a store that logs only the ones who sat down closes at a flattering one. The logging discipline is the number.
Questions people ask
What is a good close rate?
It depends on the source, the market, and how the store logs opportunities, so compare a source to its own history and to the other sources in the same store before comparing to anyone else. The direction and the spread between people are where the coaching is.
Cohort or window?
Cohort for judging a source, because it follows the lead to its end. Window for pacing the month, because it tells you what is closing now. Label which one you are showing.
How A.D.A.M. reads it
A.D.A.M. computes close rate as deals over leads by store, by source, and by salesperson, with the cohort method as the default and the window method as a labeled option. He reads it beside the numbers it trades against, names what the gap is worth, and leaves the decision where it belongs. What an AI advisor should do, and refuse to do.