Put in your goal and your funnel. This works out the leads, where they come from, what they cost, and the cheapest way to get there — which is usually not more leads.
Same four numbers as your revenue planner. If you've run that, use the same values here so the two agree.
Rough shares are fine — they're normalised to 100. Cost per lead defaults are benchmarks from a real Kansas City painting account; change them if you know yours.
| Source | Share | Cost / lead | Leads / mo | Spend / mo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Website — organic & direct | % | $0 | 22.9 | $0 |
| Referral & word of mouth | % | $0 | 18.3 | $0 |
| Google Search ads | % | $ | 18.3 | $1,374 |
| Google Local Services | % | $ | 9.2 | $504 |
| Meta — Facebook & Instagram | % | $ | 18.3 | $2,381 |
| Angi & lead marketplaces | % | $ | 4.6 | $275 |
| Total | 100% | 91.6 | $4,533 |
Goal ÷ average job = jobs. Jobs ÷ close rate = proposals. Proposals ÷ set rate = leads. Then leads by source × cost per lead = spend.
Same revenue goal. Each lever below improves one thing about your machine and holds everything else constant. Ranked by what it saves you in media spend every month.
Good, better, best on every proposal. Proposal on site, not emailed later. Financing at the table.
Speed to lead. Answer every call, seven days. Text back every missed call inside a minute.
Minimum job sizes. Cabinet and add-on lines. Pricing confidence.
Agencies sell the fourth lever — more leads. It's the only one that costs money. We start with the other three.
The industry runs eight to ten percent of revenue on marketing. One of the largest agencies in this trade publishes ten as its target. We run our own company near five and we're driving to four.
At this goal, four percent is $5,000 a month. You have $467 of headroom — the question is whether you're buying the cheap leads you could be.
Your numbers, the levers, and the spend — as a plain text plan you can read on your phone. No sequence, no drip. If you want to talk, you'll know where to find us.
RULE & CO. — THE MARKETING MATH ---------------------------------------- Goal $1,500,000 / yr Average job $7,800 Set rate 50% Close rate 35% Jobs 16.0 / mo (192 / yr) Proposals 45.8 / mo (549 / yr) Leads 91.6 / mo (1,099 / yr) Leads per job 5.7 LEADS BY SOURCE / MO Website — organic & direct 22.9 Referral & word of mouth 18.3 Google Search ads 18.3 $1,374 Google Local Services 9.2 $504 Meta — Facebook & Instagram 18.3 $2,381 Angi & lead marketplaces 4.6 $275 Paid media $4,533 / mo ($54,396 / yr) Marketing % 3.6% of revenue (media only) Cost / job $283 FIX THE FUNNEL FIRST — ranked by monthly media saved 1. Close rate +5 pts saves $567 / mo, 11.4 fewer leads 2. Set rate +5 pts saves $412 / mo, 8.3 fewer leads 3. Average job +$500 saves $273 / mo, 5.5 fewer leads Four percent at this goal = $5,000 / mo on media. ruleandco.co — one painting company per market.