The lead or ad
Bought before anyone picked up the phone.
FOR PLUMBING, HVAC + HOME SERVICE OWNERS
What a better close rate is worth to your shop.
CLOSE 10%
MORE.
No new ads. No new trucks. No new hires. Your techs already carry the job to the 10-yard line every day: lead, booked, truck rolls, diagnosis, options. This is what it’s worth to finish more of those drives.
01 / THE LEAK
YOU ALREADY PAID
FOR THE DRIVE.
Every 10 sales calls at a 40% close rate: 4 say yes, 6 say no.
YESYESYESYESNONONONONONO
EACH “NO” ALREADY COST YOU
Office time to book
Someone answered, qualified and scheduled it.
Truck roll and fuel
A van and a tank of gas to get there.
Tech time on site
Your best people’s time, spent on the diagnosis and the options.
FROM MY SHOP’S REAL JOBS
Then the customer walks at the 10-yard line.
The cheapest growth in your business is the estimates you already wrote.
02 / THE MATH
ONE POINT IS WORTH
MORE THAN YOU THINK.
One point of close rate is one more yes out of every 100 sales calls. Here is what it is worth in a year.
Sales calls / month×Average sale×12÷100=1 point of close rate, per year
Small shop
$11K
60 calls × $1,500 · per point, per year
+10 points = $108K a year
+10 points = $108K a year
Mid shop
$36K
120 calls × $2,500 · per point, per year
+10 points = $360K a year
+10 points = $360K a year
Big shop
$105K
250 calls × $3,500 · per point, per year
+10 points = $1.05M a year
+10 points = $1.05M a year
Examples, not benchmarks. Plug in your own numbers below.
03 / FIND YOUR ROW
WHAT +10 POINTS
IS WORTH.
Say 40% → 50%. Sales calls a month down the side, average sale across the top. Per year.
| CALLS / MO | $1K SALE | $2K SALE | $3K SALE | $5K SALE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 | $60K | $120K | $180K | $300K |
| 100 | $120K | $240K | $360K | $600K |
| 150 | $180K | $360K | $540K | $900K |
| 200 | $240K | $480K | $720K | $1.2M |
| 300 | $360K | $720K | $1.08M | $1.8M |
OR PLUG IN YOURS
1 POINT OF CLOSE RATE$54Kper year
+10 POINTS (40% → 50%)$540Kper year · 25% more sold jobs · about 15 more sold jobs a month
Calls × average sale × 12 ÷ 100 per point. An estimate for your shop, not a promise.
04 / EVEN THE SMALL READ
SAME CALLS. SAME TRUCKS. EVERY YEAR.
A shop with 120 sales calls a month, a $2,500 average sale and a 40% close rate sells about $1.44M a year. Move from 40% to 44% and that’s +$144K, or 10% more sales. Move to 50% and it’s +$360K, or 25% more.
05 / THE CHEAPEST GROWTH YOU’LL EVER BUY
+25% JOBS.
NO AD BILL.
Ten more points at a 40% close rate is 25% more sold jobs. That’s the same as 25% more leads, without paying for them.
Buy more leads
More ad spend. More office time. Lead quality drops as you scale.
Add trucks
Hire and train. Another van lease. Months to ramp.
Close more
Same calls. Same trucks. Same team. Same costs.
06 / MY SHOP
I RAN THE NUMBERS
ON MY OWN TRUCKS.
I own a plumbing and HVAC company in Central Ohio. Here is the same math on my last 90 days.
~167
Sales calls / month
~$2,570
Average sale
46%
Close rate
Last 90 days
~$52K
Per point, per year
Goal: 46% → 56% = $517K a year.
About 17 more sold jobs a month. Just 10 more yeses out of every 100 sales calls.
From my shop’s ServiceTitan tech scorecard, 90 days to Sept 27, 2026. The $517K is a projection, not a result or a promise. Your numbers will differ.
FREE 30-MINUTE CALL / NO OBLIGATION
FIND YOUR NUMBER.
- Bring 3 numbers: sales calls a month, average sale, close rate.
- We work out what 1 point and 10 points are worth to you.
- You leave knowing if it’s worth chasing.
Nick Johnson owns a plumbing and HVAC company in Central Ohio and is a named co-inventor on two granted U.S. AI patents from his time at Intuit. More about Nick.