YOUR NUMBERS. YOUR NEXT STEP.
You need customers.
What will it take to get them?
Turn a new-customer revenue goal into a lead target and an estimated marketing budget. Then see what happens when you close more of those leads.
Leads & marketing budget
01 / PUT YOUR NUMBERS IN
Let’s see what the numbers say.
Sample numbers are already filled in. Change them to fit your business; the results update as you go.
WHY THIS MATTERS
A marketing budget needs a job.
Before you spend more on marketing, work out what you need it to produce. How many new customers? How many leads will it take to get them? And will anything be left after you pay to get the customer and do the work? This calculator puts those questions together, then lets you see what changes when you close more of the leads you already receive.
02 / HOW TO USE IT
Start here. Change one number at a time.
01
Enter a monthly revenue goal from new customers and the value of their average first sale. This model assumes one first sale per new customer.
02
Enter the direct cost of delivering that sale. Repeat purchases are not included.
03
Enter the percentage of leads that become customers and your estimated cost per lead. Use the same definition of a lead for both numbers.
04
Compare a better close rate. Watch the lead target, acquisition budget, and money left before overhead change.
AN EXAMPLE, NOT A PROMISE
Work backward from the sale.
80 leads
FOR 20 NEW CUSTOMERS
$3,200
ESTIMATED ACQUISITION BUDGET
Based on a 25% close rate and $40 per lead. Revenue is $20,000 from $1,000 first sales.
03 / WHAT THE RESULT MEANS
A number is useful when you know what to do with it.
The budget is an estimate based on your inputs, not a promise of campaign performance. With a $20,000 goal, a $1,000 first sale, a 25% close rate, and $40 per lead, you need 20 customers and about 80 leads, costing $3,200. If delivery costs $400 per sale, $8,800 remains before overhead and tax. Include agency fees, creative, and other acquisition costs in your cost per lead if you want the budget to account for them.
Read Track 3 for the channels, tracking, and sales fundamentals behind these numbers.
THE NUMBERS WORK TOGETHER
One answer usually leads to the next question.
KEEP GOING
Pricing & profit margin
Start with the real cost of doing the work, including your own time. Then see what you need to charge for the margin you want.
KEEP GOING
Break-even & sales goals
Work out how many sales you need to cover your monthly costs and leave the profit you actually want. Then see what a price change could do.
KEEP GOING
Cash flow & runway
Materials and wages go out now. The customer pays later. See the gap, plan your reserve, and know what you need before you take on the work.
KEEP LEARNING
The calculator gives you a number.
The lessons help you use it.
Build the business, understand the money, then put your marketing to work.