--- title: "What a new client costs, by channel, for professional services firms | Link & Impulse" description: "Your CRM has a field for where each client came from, but it often just says “Website”, “Google” or nothing. For B2B professional services firms, we set up server-side tracking so every inquiry records the ad, campaign and search behind it, then report what a new client costs, by channel, every month." url: "https://linkandimpulse.com/professional-services" --- Professional services # Which ad won your last client? Your CRM has a field for where each client came from. On too many signed engagements it says “Website”, “Google” or nothing. We fix your tracking so every inquiry carries the ad, campaign and search that brought it in, all the way to the signed engagement. [Book a call](https://linkandimpulse.com/contact) [How the tracking fix works](https://linkandimpulse.com/tracking) Example Illustrative One client record, before and after the tracking fix | Field | Today | After the fix | | ------------ | ----------------- | ---------------------------------------- | | Received | Feb 11, 4:37 pm | Feb 11, 4:37 pm | | Arrived by | Contact form | Contact form | | Lead source | “Website” | Internet search (chosen from a picklist) | | Channel | not recorded | Paid search | | Campaign | not recorded | Outsourced accounting | | Click ID | not recorded | EAIaIQob… | | Landing page | not recorded | /outsourced-accounting | | First visit | not recorded | Jan 29 | | Status | Engagement signed | Engagement signed | Same inquiry, same signed engagement. Only the record on the right can be matched to what the ad cost. ## Winning a client takes weeks, and the source can get lost at any step. Lose it once, and the lead source on the deal is a guess. 1. ### The click The ad platform knows what the click cost, and tags the visit with a click ID. The ID is only in the address of the first page they land on. gclid=EAIaIQob… 2. ### The visit Buyers read a service page, leave, and come back weeks later to get in touch. Unless something stores the click ID, it’s gone long before the contact form. /outsourced-accounting 3. ### The call Some prospects pick up the phone before they write. A call to the number on your site carries no source unless the number does. Wed 4:37 pm, 11 min 4. ### The deal Whoever takes the inquiry opens a deal in your CRM and picks a lead source. A dropdown left on “Website”, or nothing at all. “Website” 5. ### The engagement Your CRM knows the proposal was accepted and what the engagement is worth. It has no idea what the click cost. Engagement signed $2,400 per new client from paid search When the source survives every step, working out the cost is simple. We do it for every channel you pay for. Illustrative, from the table below. ## What the tracking fix changes Your cost per new client is only as accurate as the source recorded on each deal. When the audit finds sources going missing, as it usually does, we fix the tracking. We only change what’s on this list. [The tracking fix in full](https://linkandimpulse.com/tracking) - Every inquiry form records the ad, campaign and search behind it, even weeks after the first visit. - Website calls carry the same, and your events, directories and print get numbers of their own. - The source is saved on the contact and the deal in your CRM, from inquiry to signed engagement. - Your ad platforms count real inquiries, not page views, so they bid for people who get in touch. - It runs on your own domain, so browsers and ad blockers are less likely to stop it. - Nothing a prospect types about their business goes to an ad platform. ### How you’ll know it worked We measure the share of new inquiries arriving with their source attached, before we start and two weeks after. We don’t promise a figure. Referrals and introductions never carry a click ID, so the right share depends on your mix of channels. - Before Measured at your business - After Measured at your business Example ## Cost per new client, by channel Once inquiries carry their source, the cost per client is what you spent on a channel divided by the clients it won. The ad platform counts every form fill, job seekers and sales pitches included. We follow the source to the signed engagement and the fees it brought in. Events, directories and referrals each get their own line, not “Other”. Media cost per new client, one month Illustrative figures | Channel[^b1] | Media cost[^b2] | Won[^b3] | Per client | | ---------------- | --------------- | -------- | ------------ | | Paid search | $21,600 | 9 | $2,400 | | Paid social | $14,400 | 4 | $3,600 | | Events | $18,000 | 3 | $6,000 | | Directories | $5,400 | 2 | $2,700 | | Sponsorships | $7,500 | 1 | $7,500 | | Client referrals | none[^b4] | 11 | not measured | [^b1]: Online channels (paid search, paid social, display and video, organic search, email, direct) are read from the click ID and tags, which know more than the prospect remembers. Offline and referral channels (events, sponsorships, directories, print, and client and partner referrals) become the picklist your team chooses from. [^b2]: Ad platform spend and directory fees, plus the offline spend you record each month. [^b3]: Clients counted in the month the engagement was signed. [^b4]: No spend recorded, so no cost per client. Left blank rather than $0, which would make referrals look free. Example ## The calls nobody answered Your team answers the phone between client meetings. Calls at lunchtime, after six or in a busy deadline week often go unanswered, and a prospect who reaches voicemail may simply email the next firm. Your call tracking already logs every missed call, and we report on them for you. Share of calls that went unanswered, by day and hour, over one quarter Illustrative figures In office hours, weekdays from 9 am to 5 pm, 10% of calls went unanswered on average. Outside them, 47%. Weekends and evenings after 9 pm were worst. - Under 15% - 15 to 30% - 30 to 45% - 45 to 60% - 60% or more - Office hours * Unanswered in office hours 10% * Unanswered outside them 47% * What last month’s 14 missed after-hours calls were probably worth[^c1] About $28,000 [^c1]: 14 unanswered calls × a 1-in-6 win rate × a $12,000 first-year fee. The report uses your own win rate and fees. ## Four steps, one at a time Everything starts with an audit, and you can stop after any step. 1. Step 1 ### [The audit](https://linkandimpulse.com/audit) $5,000 We find where the source gets lost between your website, phones and CRM, and compare what your ad platforms count with the clients you actually won. You get a written report on what’s broken and what fixing it takes. Fixed price, paid up front. Takes about two weeks once we have access. 2. Step 2 ### [The tracking fix](https://linkandimpulse.com/tracking) $5,000 Server-side tracking on your own domain, so every inquiry form and call carries its source onto the deal in your CRM. We measure the share of new inquiries arriving with a source, before and after. Fixed price, paid up front. Takes about two weeks once we have access. 3. Step 3 ### [The build](https://linkandimpulse.com/build) Priced after the audit A database of your firm’s own, joining spend, inquiry source and signed fees every night, with a dashboard. Once 60 to 90 days of clean data build up, it shows what a new client cost you, by channel. 4. Step 4 ### [The retainer](https://linkandimpulse.com/build#retainer) Monthly, priced with the build We keep it all running. Each month you get a report on cost per new client by channel, missed calls and tracking health, with one recommendation. The first call is free. [Book a call](https://linkandimpulse.com/contact) ## Numbers you can take to a partners’ meeting Every report we send follows these six rules. [How the numbers are made](https://linkandimpulse.com/how-it-works) - ### Every figure comes from your own data. The written parts of each report are built from the calculated figures, so they can’t include a number your data didn’t produce. - ### No recorded spend doesn’t mean free. A channel with no recorded spend shows a blank, not $0, which would make it look like your best deal. - ### Recent months are marked as incomplete. Some of last month’s proposals are still undecided, so it isn’t reported as a bad month. - ### We report what changed, not why. The numbers can’t separate the effect of the market, the season and your marketing, so we don’t pretend they can. - ### Problems are explained in plain English. “Four deals are in a stage we don’t recognise, so they’re missing from the won count.” Not an error code. - ### Estimates are labelled. A won deal with no value gets an estimate from your usual fees, labelled as one. ## Your clients’ details stay out of the reports We count clients, not people. Our reports contain no contact names, phone numbers or email addresses. Your CRM may send us a contact’s email along with the deal, because that’s how we match an inquiry to the engagement it became. If it does, the email goes no further and never appears in a report. The tracking fix follows the same rule. No name, phone number or email address ever appears in a page address, and your data is kept in a database of its own. [Security in detail](https://linkandimpulse.com/security) ## Start with a call We’ll talk through how inquiries reach you and where their source gets lost. If it makes sense, the next step is an audit of your tracking and data, before anything is changed or built. [Book a call](https://linkandimpulse.com/contact) [How the tracking fix works](https://linkandimpulse.com/tracking) If an audit wouldn’t be worth it for you, we’ll tell you on the call.