👉 Get Access to the FREE SaaS Lead Modeller
Why You Need It
Setting sensible lead targets and marketing budgets is one of the biggest challenges for SaaS teams.
How many leads do you really need to hit your revenue goals? What’s a realistic conversion rate or CPC baseline?
The SaaS Leads Modeller helps you answer these questions instantly and credibly.
How It Works
Input your key metrics such as conversion rates, CPC, revenue targets, and deal values.
The model calculates:
How many visits you need to reach your lead target
How many leads you must generate to hit your ARR goal
The marketing budget required to achieve it
You’ll see your entire SaaS funnel visualised from top-of-funnel visits to closed-won deals so you can plan with data, not guesswork.
What to Enter
Use data from your CRM or analytics tools such as Salesforce, HubSpot, Matomo, or Google Analytics.
If you don’t have full visibility yet, start with industry averages. The modeller will still help you find your performance gaps.
| Metric | Example Source | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|
| CPC (Cost per Click) | Google Ads / LinkedIn Ads | Defines how much traffic your budget can buy |
| MQL → SAL | CRM pipeline reports | Reveals the quality of top-of-funnel leads |
| SQL → Won | Salesforce / HubSpot | Shows real conversion efficiency |
| Average Deal Size | Finance / Sales data | Translates pipeline into ARR |
Compare Your Funnel
See how your conversion rates stack up against industry norms and identify where you are under- or over-performing.
Use these benchmarks for reference only. Every SaaS funnel is unique, but these numbers provide a useful starting point.
(Insert your benchmark table here.)
Set Your Acquisition Budget
Once you know your target ARR and expected conversion rates, you can work backwards to a justified marketing spend.
The modeller shows exactly how much you need to invest per channel and per stage, aligning marketing, sales, and finance around one clear number.
No more vague growth goals, just clear, defensible budgets.
What to Do Next
Download the SaaS Leads Modeller and plug in your real data.
Use it to challenge assumptions, align your team, and request budgets that hold up under scrutiny.
Click to Enlarge
Required inputs
- CAC per closed deal
- Closed deals
- Visit to demo conversion
- Demo to closed rate
Modelled outputs
- Required clicks/visits
- Minimum SQLs
- Minimum budget
- Cost per Lead
- Target CPC
CAC per closed deal
- CAC is crucial for tracking and optimising acquisition. It’s total sales and marketing spend divided by new customers. Shows spend per customer. Tweak marketing and sales to lower costs and improve efficiency.
- Calculate your specific CAC including marketing, sales, and people costs. Or input your target CAC.
Closed Deals
- Pretty simple. Enter new logos added monthly, quarterly, or annually. Only signed contracts. Ignore verbal commitments or LOIs.
Visit to SQL conversion rate
- The visit to SQL rate shows optimisation of your funnel’s top and middle. SQLs are ready to move forward.
- Define SQL criteria. Mature companies implement lead scoring.
- Input your rate.
SQL to Closed Deal conversion rate
- This rate indicates later funnel health. Shows Sales effectiveness, collateral quality, and targeting.
- Enter your SQL-to-Closed rate.
Clearly Define Your Objectives
Leave no room for interpretation. Vague goals result in scattered messaging and wasted budget.Conduct Thorough Keyword Research
Know your primary keywords driving traffic and at what cost.Leverage Google Ads’ Keyword Planner
It’s (kinda) free and helps forecasts cost-per-click trends. It suggests new keywords and displays competitor bids.Calculate Your Target Click Amount
Separate total clicks by conversions to reveal your average clicks-per-conversion. Multiply that number by your average cost-per-click to determine your required budget.
B2B SaaS funnel conversion benchmarks by channel.
Note: Benchmark data and table layout taken from FirstPageSage (Nov. 2023). Please use for reference only.
B2B SaaS funnel conversion benchmarks by channel
Click to Enlarge
Required inputs
- CAC per closed deal
- Closed deals
- Visit to demo conversion
- Demo to closed rate
Modelled outputs
- Required clicks/visits
- Minimum SQLs
- Minimum budget
- Cost per Lead
- Target CPC
CAC per closed deal
- CAC is crucial for tracking and optimising acquisition. It’s total sales and marketing spend divided by new customers. Shows spend per customer. Tweak marketing and sales to lower costs and improve efficiency.
- Calculate your specific CAC including marketing, sales, and people costs. Or input your target CAC.
Closed Deals
- Pretty simple. Enter new logos added monthly, quarterly, or annually. Only signed contracts. Ignore verbal commitments or LOIs.
Visit to SQL conversion rate
- The visit to SQL rate shows optimisation of your funnel’s top and middle. SQLs are ready to move forward.
- Define SQL criteria. Mature companies implement lead scoring.
- Input your rate.
SQL to Closed Deal conversion rate
- This rate indicates later funnel health. Shows Sales effectiveness, collateral quality, and targeting.
- Enter your SQL-to-Closed rate.
Clearly Define Your Objectives
Leave no room for interpretation. Vague goals result in scattered messaging and wasted budget.Conduct Thorough Keyword Research
Know your primary keywords driving traffic and at what cost.Leverage Google Ads’ Keyword Planner
It’s (kinda) free and helps forecasts cost-per-click trends. It suggests new keywords and displays competitor bids.Calculate Your Target Click Amount
Separate total clicks by conversions to reveal your average clicks-per-conversion. Multiply that number by your average cost-per-click to determine your required budget.
B2B SaaS funnel conversion benchmarks by channel.
Note: Benchmark data and table layout taken from FirstPageSage (Nov. 2023). Please use for reference only.
B2B SaaS funnel conversion benchmarks by channel
