The 4 numbers that run your funnel
- Reply rate: replies ÷ emails sent.
- Interested rate: interested replies ÷ all replies. Many replies are "no thanks" or out-of-office.
- Call rate: booked calls ÷ interested replies.
- Close rate: signed clients ÷ calls.
Multiply them together and you know how many emails one client costs. Change any one of them and the whole number moves.
Our real funnels
Here are three of our real campaigns. They're very different businesses, which is exactly why you need your own numbers.
| Campaign | Emails | Replies | Result | Emails per result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Construction software (case 2) | 162,073 | 4,449 (2.81%) | 31 demos, 6 annual contracts | ~5,200 per demo, ~27,000 per contract |
| 5-day blitz (case 3) | 96,408 | 1,095 (1.14%) | 115 interested, 25 calls | ~3,900 per call |
| Small pilot (case 5) | 10,284 contacted | 417 (4%) | 103 opportunities | ~100 per opportunity |
Look at the construction software campaign: its reply rate was below the average, and it still produced 6 annual contracts, because the emails went to real decision makers. A high reply rate from the wrong people is worth nothing.
Starting benchmarks (before you have data)
| Number | Careful starting guess | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Reply rate | 3% | Instantly 2026: 3.43% average. Hunter 2026: 3% for sales emails. |
| Good reply rate | 5.5%+ | Instantly: top quarter of senders |
| Interested rate | 10–25% of replies | Our campaigns above: 10.5% (case 3), 24.7% (case 5) |
| Call rate | 20–30% of interested | Our 5-day blitz: 25 calls from 115 interested (22%) |
| Close rate | 1 in 5 calls | Our construction software campaign: 6 of 31 |
Use these for your first plan, then replace every guess with your own numbers after 2 to 4 weeks of sending.
Work out your own number
This sheet comes from our campaign for a construction software company. The reply rate was below the 2026 average, and we still booked 31 qualified demos and 6 annual contracts, because we aimed at real decision makers. Getting those numbers right for your business is the first thing we plan with every client.
Want us to set this up for you? Book a free call →- Pick your goal: how many new clients you want per month.
- Calls needed = clients ÷ close rate. (2 clients ÷ 0.2 = 10 calls)
- Interested replies needed = calls ÷ call rate. (10 ÷ 0.25 = 40)
- Replies needed = interested ÷ interested rate. (40 ÷ 0.15 = about 267)
- Emails needed = replies ÷ reply rate. (267 ÷ 0.03 = about 8,900 a month)
- Per working day = monthly emails ÷ 22. (about 405 a day, so 14 inboxes, see our MATH guide)
Spreadsheet version
Put your numbers in cells B1 to B5 of a Google Sheet, then paste these formulas below them.
| Cell | What goes there | Formula or value |
|---|---|---|
| B1 | Clients wanted per month | 2 |
| B2 | Close rate | 20% |
| B3 | Call rate | 25% |
| B4 | Interested rate | 15% |
| B5 | Reply rate | 3% |
| B6 | Calls needed | =B1/B2 |
| B7 | Interested replies needed | =B6/B3 |
| B8 | Replies needed | =B7/B4 |
| B9 | Emails per month | =ROUNDUP(B8/B5,0) |
| B10 | Emails per working day | =ROUNDUP(B9/22,0) |
| B11 | Inboxes needed (30 a day each) | =ROUNDUP(B10/30,0) |
Which lever to pull first
Every number multiplies the others, so improving any one of them by 2x halves the emails you need. But some are much easier to move than others.
| Lever | How to improve it | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Who you email | Tighter lists, real decision makers, 1–2 people per company | Raises reply and interested rate together. Biggest win. |
| First line and offer | About them, one real result, small question | Raises reply rate |
| Speed of reply | Answer interested leads the same day, ideally within an hour | Raises call rate, costs nothing |
| The ask | Offer something easy, like a short call or a free audit | Raises call rate |
| The sales call | Prepare for each call, follow up after | Raises close rate |
Example: raise the reply rate in the plan above from 3% to 4.5% and you need about 5,900 emails a month instead of 8,900. That's 5 fewer inboxes to buy and warm up.
Do it with Claude
My goal: [number] new clients per month. Average deal value: $[amount]. My numbers (use these guesses if I don't know): reply rate [3%], interested rate [15% of replies], call rate [25% of interested], close rate [20% of calls]. Calculate, step by step: 1) calls, interested replies, replies and emails needed per month, 2) emails per working day (22 days) and inboxes needed at 30 emails per inbox per day, 3) revenue if I hit the goal, 4) what happens to emails needed if I improve each rate by 50%, one at a time. Tell me which rate to test first. Show everything in tables.
Links and tools
Quick answers
Why did the construction software campaign need so many emails per client?
It sold annual software contracts to construction companies, a careful buyer with a long sales cycle. Simpler offers with faster decisions usually need fewer emails per client.
How long before my own numbers are reliable?
Give it at least 2 to 4 weeks and a few thousand emails before you trust the rates. Small numbers jump around a lot.
What improves the math fastest?
Better targeting. Emailing the right decision makers raises replies, interested replies and calls at the same time, more than any copy trick.
Should I count out-of-office replies?
Count them as replies if your tool does, but never as interested. That's why the interested rate matters more than the reply rate.
Want all of this done for you?
Save the setup time. Our team finds your buyers, writes the emails, answers every reply and books qualified sales calls into your calendar. Talk to our founder for 20 minutes and you will leave with a plan, whether you work with us or not.
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