Watch: How to read your close rate in SalesThumb (0:50)
Close rate is one of the most important sales metrics your shop has. This article unpacks what SalesThumb's Close Rate Funnel report shows and how to act on the number.
What close rate means in SalesThumb
Close rate = (quotes that got approved) / (quotes sent), measured over the date range you pick on the Reports page (a preset like last 30 days, or a custom range).
What it INCLUDES:
- All non-draft quotes sent through the platform in the selected range
- Whether each quote was approved, converted to an appointment, declined, or expired
What it EXCLUDES:
- Walk-ins that bypassed the quote step
- Phone quotes that never made it into the system
- Jobs created directly from a calendar booking with no quote step
If your shop does a lot of walk-in work, your reported close rate undercounts your real conversion. Compare your number against your own history rather than an outside benchmark.
What's healthy
SalesThumb doesn't publish close-rate benchmarks. Track your own rate by vertical over time — a drop against your own baseline is the signal to dig in.
Reading the report
Reports → Sales → Close Rate Funnel (Growth plan and up). It shows a 4-step funnel for the selected date range:
- Quotes Sent — the 100% baseline (all non-draft quotes)
- Closed Won — quotes marked Approved or Converted
- Converted to Appointments — quotes that turned into a booked appointment
- Completed Appointments — of those, how many appointments were actually completed
Each step shows a count and a percentage of Quotes Sent, so you can see where the funnel leaks.
For a services breakdown, use the separate Top Services report (Reports → Sales), which ranks your services by volume sold over the same date range — it's not merged into the close-rate view, and there's currently no close-rate-by-lead-source report or an installer-set "lost reason" picker (price/timing/competitor/ghost/other) on quotes.
Diagnosing a low close rate
If close rate is dropping:
- Check Top Services. If volume is concentrated in one service, that quote might be over-priced or under-explained.
- Look at Declined vs Expired quotes in your quote list — Expired (customer never responded) points to weak follow-up; Declined points to price or fit.
- Talk to your team about why quotes are getting declined. SalesThumb doesn't currently capture a structured lost-reason on the quote itself, so this still has to be a conversation, not a report.
Tools to improve close rate
- Tiered pricing — see Good / better / best quote tiers
- Photo galleries on quotes — show customers what their car will look like
- Warranty terms visible — see Warranty terms on quote
What NOT to do
- Don't lower prices to hit a number. Close rate going up because you cut prices means your margin per close went down. Net effect is often zero or negative.
- Don't fixate on close rate over revenue. A shop with 80% close rate and $200 average ticket is worse off than one with 50% close rate and $600 average ticket.
- Don't chase 100%. 100% close rate means you're underpricing or quoting only people who were already buying. Losing some quotes is a normal sign you're testing the market.