The funnel, with real ranges
Numbers vary with the market, the offer and the list, but on a precise list run properly the ranges are stable enough to plan with.
| Step | Typical range on a precise list |
|---|---|
| Delivered | 95 % or more of sent |
| Replies | 15 to 35 % of delivered |
| Positive replies | 20 to 40 % of replies |
| Meetings booked | 60 to 80 % of positive replies |
| Deals | depends entirely on your sales process |
Take a thousand contacts. Around 950 are delivered. At a 25 % reply rate, 240 people answer. A third of those, 80, say something positive. Seven in ten of those book: 56 meetings. If you close one meeting in five, that is eleven clients from one list.
Where the numbers collapse
A vague list cuts the reply rate to single digits. An unwarmed domain cuts delivery to 70 % or less, and the emails that do arrive land in spam. A long email halves replies. Slow answers halve meetings. Each weak link multiplies through the funnel, which is why a sloppy campaign can send ten times more email for a tenth of the result.
The levers, in order of impact
- List precision. The single biggest factor. Fewer, better contacts.
- The first line. Showing you know what the company does is worth more than any subject line trick.
- Length. Under a hundred and twenty words, one question.
- Follow-ups. Two follow-ups typically double the total replies of the first email alone.
- Reply speed. Within the hour during business hours.
What to budget for
A first campaign of one to two thousand contacts over six to eight weeks, with two to three domains, is enough to learn whether the market responds. If it does, the same setup runs month after month with new segments. If it does not, you know within one month, which is cheaper than most other ways of finding out.