Operational and Marketing KPI Workflows

Six operational KPIs measure business engine efficiency. Deals Per Month: the number of transactions closed. This is the primary volume metric. Track as a rolling 3-month average to smooth monthly variation. Target: dependent on business model and team size. Days to Close: the average number of calendar days from lead acquisition to closed transaction. Wholesale: 30-60 days. Fix-and-flip: 90-180 days. Increasing days-to-close signals process inefficiencies, market slowdown, or deal quality issues. Pipeline Velocity: the speed at which deals move through the pipeline, calculated as: (Number of Deals in Pipeline x Average Win Rate x Average Deal Size) / Average Sales Cycle Length. Pipeline velocity tells you expected monthly revenue from the current pipeline. Offer-to-Contract Ratio: the percentage of offers that result in executed contracts. Target: 15-30%. Below 15% suggests offers are too low or the wrong properties are being targeted. Above 30% may suggest offers are too high (leaving money on the table). Contract-to-Close Ratio: the percentage of contracts that successfully close. Target: 80-90%. Below 80% indicates issues with title, financing, or deal quality that cause fallouts. Disposition Speed (wholesale): the number of days from contract execution to buyer assignment. Target: 7-14 days. Slow disposition increases holding costs and risk.

Five marketing KPIs measure lead generation effectiveness. Cost Per Lead (CPL): total marketing spend divided by leads generated. Track by channel: SMS ($25-$75), cold calling ($50-$150), direct mail ($75-$200), PPC ($100-$300). Rising CPL may indicate market saturation, declining creative effectiveness, or increased competition. Cost Per Deal (CPD): total marketing spend divided by deals closed. This is the most important single marketing metric—it directly measures the marketing cost of acquiring a deal. Target: $2,000-$8,000. CPD should be tracked monthly and compared to the average profit per deal to ensure marketing profitability. Lead-to-Close Rate: deals closed divided by leads generated, expressed as a percentage. Target: 1-3%. This metric combines lead quality and conversion effectiveness. A declining lead-to-close rate may indicate deteriorating lead quality (marketing problem) or worsening conversion processes (sales problem). Lead Response Time: the average time between lead creation and first contact. Target: under 5 minutes. Track this metric and set alerts for any response exceeding 15 minutes. Marketing Channel Mix: the percentage of leads and deals attributed to each channel. A healthy mix distributes risk—no single channel should account for more than 50% of deals.

A structured tracking workflow ensures KPIs are measured consistently and reviewed regularly. Daily: review activity KPIs (calls made, appointments set, offers presented) during the morning pipeline meeting. These are the behaviors that drive all other metrics. Weekly: review marketing KPIs (leads generated by channel, CPL, response time) and operational KPIs (pipeline velocity, deals in each stage, stale deal count). Identify emerging trends before they become problems. Monthly: review all KPIs including financial (revenue, profit, margin, cash position). Compare to prior month, prior year, and annual targets. Identify the 1-2 KPIs with the greatest positive or negative variance and develop action plans. Quarterly: conduct a comprehensive KPI review and strategic assessment. Are KPI targets still appropriate? Are new KPIs needed? Are any existing KPIs no longer relevant? Adjust the dashboard and targets based on business evolution. KPI tracking tools: CRM dashboards for marketing and operational KPIs, accounting software for financial KPIs, and a consolidated executive dashboard (Google Sheets, Databox, or custom BI tool) that aggregates metrics from all sources.