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Easy to scanEasy to teach fromEasy to turn into SOPs, slides, or team trainingLead to Contact RateContact to Opportunity RateOpportunity to Application RateBelow 70% — lead handling problem, not a sales problem70 to 80% — acceptable, but other funnel stages need work80 to 90% — elite level, where every business should beCall every lead within 5 minutes of opt-in during business hoursAssign a dedicated person to new lead outreachFire automated SMS, email and voicemail on opt-in immediatelySet timer alerts at: 5 min / 10 min / 30 min / 1 hour / 3 hoursYou don’t have a sales problemYou have a lead handling process problemFix the process before investing anything else in the teamBelow 50% — weak, needs immediate attention50 to 70% — strong, where you want to be100 leads come in80 get contactedMinimum 40 of those 80 should become opportunitiesWhat are the funds for? (use of proceeds)How does the business support repayments? (cash flow, revenue, rates)Do they have the documentation to move forward? (payslips, financials, BAS etc.)Pull the data on every settled dealFind the averages — loan size, monthly revenue, time in businessUpdate your lead criteria to match your best settled clientsMake sure your ads and forms are filtering for exactly that profileBelow 50% — weak50 to 75% — strongNo one call closingSending application links and waitingWeak authority and trust on the callThe momentum from the conversationThe trust you’ve builtTheir full attentionBusiness was sitting at 20% opportunity to application via online formChanged to over the phone applicationsMoved to 61% — same leads, same team, different process
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Stop Tracking Vanity Metrics - 3 Metrics That Actually Matter
Stop Tracking Vanity Metrics — The 3 Metrics That Actually Matter
This document is a deep, Coda-friendly breakdown of the video “Stop Tracking Vanity Metrics” by James Lewis (Biz Leadz).
It is written to be:
Core Context (Why This Matters)
After scaling finance businesses to over $1.3 million per month the pattern is consistent.
Most businesses are tracking the wrong things.
Your sales funnel is not a list of numbers to monitor.
It is a state by state machine.
Revenue is simply moving leads through stages at a higher percentage.
The higher the percentage at each stage, the more profit you make relative to fixed costs.
The 3 Metrics That Matter
Everything else is a vanity metric.
Fix them in order.
Don’t move to the next one until the previous one is at target.
The Full Funnel (For Reference)
Lead → Contacted → Opportunity → Application → Approved → Settled → Referral
Focus only on the first three conversion points.
The downstream stages fix themselves once the top three are dialled in.
METRIC 1: Lead to Contact Rate
Definition
Any person who answers the phone regardless of what they say.
Target Ranges
Why It Matters
This is the single fastest revenue lift available.
More throughput at the top means more volume at every stage below.
The fix has nothing to do with sales skill.
The Fix: 5-Minute Speed To Lead Standard
Every timer fires a notification to the rep if the lead hasn’t been contacted.
Key Rule:
High contact rates come from speed, not skill.
If your contact rate is under 70%:
METRIC 2: Contact to Opportunity Rate
Definition
Someone who self-qualifies against your minimum criteria and agrees they’re interested in progressing forward.
Target Ranges
Example Benchmark
The Fix: Structured First Call
Every first call must cover three things:
Without a structured call you can’t qualify consistently.
Without consistent qualification you can’t convert to applications.
Secondary Fix: Tighten Qualification Criteria
METRIC 3: Opportunity to Application Rate
Definition
The percentage of qualified opportunities that take a real and irreversible step forward in the process.
Target Ranges
Why Most Deals Stall Here
Most deals don’t die. They stall.
The gap between the yes on the phone and the action required is where revenue disappears.
Common Reasons This Breaks:
The Fix: Take Applications Over The Phone
Never send a link and wait for the client to complete it.
Walk them through the application on the phone while you have:
Real Example:
The extra 20 to 30 minutes per call more than doubles throughput.
It is always worth it.
Why These Three And Nothing Else
When you fix these three in order:
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