Close rate is the most important sales metric your shop has. It's also the most misunderstood. This article unpacks what SalesThumb's close-rate report shows and how to act on the number.
What close rate means in SalesThumb
Close rate = (quotes that became paid jobs) / (quotes sent), measured over a configurable time window (default: trailing 30 days).
What it INCLUDES:
- All quotes sent through the platform
- All jobs that started from a quote (with the quote-id linked)
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. Most retail aftermarket shops hit 35-65% close rate; mobile detail and high-volume tint can hit 70%+ because the price is closer to a yes/no.
What's healthy
By vertical:
- Tint: 50-70% healthy; below 40% means pricing or trust issue
- PPF: 25-45% healthy (longer consideration cycle); below 20% means lead quality issue
- Ceramic: 30-55% healthy
- Detail (recurring): 60-80% healthy
- Wrap: 15-35% healthy (very long consideration cycle)
These are conversion benchmarks for organic and owned leads. Paid ad leads typically close 30-50% lower than organic.
Reading the report
Reports → Sales → Close rate. The default view shows:
- Trailing 30-day close rate with comparison to prior 30
- Time-to-close distribution — same-day, 1-3 days, 4-7, 8-30, 30+
- Close rate by service — which services close best
- Close rate by source — referral, organic search, Google ads, Instagram, walk-in
- Lost-quote reasons — when an installer marks a quote "lost," they pick a reason (price, timing, competitor, ghost, other)
Diagnosing a low close rate
If close rate is dropping:
1. Check by source. Often the drop is concentrated in one channel (e.g., Google ads — usually means you're getting more tire-kickers). 2. Check by service. A single service might be over-priced or under-explained. 3. Check the lost-quote reasons. "Price" means you might be high (or you're losing low-fit customers — that's fine). "Ghost" means follow-up is weak. "Competitor" means your differentiation isn't landing. 4. Check time-to-close. If your tail (30+ days) is growing, your follow-up is broken. Customers don't sit on quotes for 30 days unless you've forgotten about them.
Tools to improve close rate
- Tiered pricing — see Tier-based pricing setup
- Photo galleries on quotes — show customers what their car will look like
- Warranty terms visible — see Warranty terms on quote
- 2-touch follow-up automation — auto-reach-out 3 days and 7 days after quote sent if no response
- Public reviews on quote page — borrowed credibility helps marginal closes
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. A healthy shop loses 30-50% of quotes — that's a sign you're testing the market.