This report shares sales funnel conversion rate benchmarks drawn from both internal data and anonymized client data gathered between 2017 and 2024. During this period, our clients approximately consisted of 65% B2B companies, 20% B2C companies, and 15% companies that operated in both markets. We categorized leads into 5 funnel sages:
- Lead: Any non-spam contact that has filled out a contact form, reached out via email, requested a demo, signed up for a mailing list, downloaded a free trial, or are otherwise known to marketing and sales but have not yet expressed a clear intent to buy
- Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL): Leads that have expressed a clear buying interest and can afford the product or service, but who have not yet been qualified by sales
- Sales Qualified Lead (SQL): MQLs who have received a description of services and pricing information and want to continue the conversion, or are otherwise qualified by the sales team
- Opportunity: An SQL who has a proposal or contract in hand and is actively considering a purchase
- Closed Won: A prospective customer that has signed a contract but has not yet made their first payment.
The percentage of leads who convert to the next stage are given below.
Sales Funnel Conversion Rate Benchmarks by Industry
| Industry | Lead to MQL | MQL to SQL | SQL to Opportunity | SQL to Closed |
| Addiction Treatment | 23% | 39% | 45% | 48% |
| Aerospace & Aviation | 18% | 32% | 49% | 61% |
| Automotive | 21% | 42% | 46% | 49% |
| B2B SaaS | 39% | 38% | 42% | 37% |
| Biotech | 36% | 40% | 48% | 55% |
| Business Insurance | 23% | 51% | 49% | 52% |
| Construction | 17% | 37% | 50% | 54% |
| Cybersecurity | 24% | 40% | 43% | 46% |
| eCommerce | 23% | 58% | 66% | 60% |
| Engineering | 27% | 36% | 48% | 52% |
| Entertainment | 19% | 41% | 54% | 61% |
| Environmental Services | 20% | 43% | 58% | 54% |
| Financial Services | 29% | 38% | 49% | 53% |
| Fintech | 21% | 46% | 49% | 58% |
| Healthcare | 24% | 38% | 51% | 51% |
| Heavy Equipment | 29% | 48% | 58% | 56% |
| Higher Education | 45% | 46% | 61% | 66% |
| Hotels & Resorts | 21% | 47% | 58% | 60% |
| HVAC | 42% | 51% | 55% | 49% |
| Industrial IOT | 22% | 39% | 46% | 51% |
| IT & Managed Services | 19% | 38% | 41% | 46% |
| Legal Services | 32% | 35% | 48% | 46% |
| Manufacturing | 26% | 41% | 46% | 51% |
| Oil & Gas | 32% | 38% | 42% | 47% |
| Pharmaceutical | 41% | 56% | 51% | 64% |
| Real Estate | 27% | 33% | 40% | 53% |
| Software Development | 28% | 39% | 60% | 59% |
| Solar | 45% | 36% | 58% | 61% |
| Staffing & Recruiting | 25% | 32% | 45% | 52% |
| Transportation & Logistics | 31% | 44% | 49% | 56% |
It should be noted that these averages are significantly higher than the visitor to lead rates, which are notably lower and take place before any of these steps in the customer journey. Once in this stage, however, rates vary significantly, suggesting a heightened need for industry-specific strategies to improve sales funnel performance.
Improving Sales Funnel Conversion Rates
In the below table, we share common challenges and strategies for improving conversion rates across each stage of the funnel:
| Stage | Common Challenges | Solutions |
| Lead to MQL | Many leads at this stage are not truly within the actual target market, or are still in very early research while they determine if they want to commit to a purchase.For many industries, the Lead to MQL conversion rate is the lowest in the sales funnel. | Lead nurturing email campaigns can help push leads to express interest to buy. Investing in highly targeted marketing, or educationally-oriented lead generation such as webinars can help narrow your audience to only those who are truly interested in your product or services. |
| MQL to SQL | Often, a significant percentage of MQLs will find that pricing or services are out of scope for their budget and needs. Poor MQL qualification process can lead to sales being inundated with low-quality leads. | Clear lead scoring processes will increase the percentage of MQLs who make it through to the SQL stage. If conversion rates are still significantly lower than benchmarks, the solution is often better alignment between sales and marketing. |
| SQL to Opportunity | SQLs are often comparing multiple products or services on the basis of price, reputation, and long-term commitment. Often, sales must first meet with a lower-level contact who will then bring in a true decision-maker, lengthening the sales process. | Clear proposals with strong case studies that lower-level employees can present to their management can help create buy-in before a meeting. Transparency in the sales process also helps companies stand out, with not just clear pricing information but also potential challenges that the SQL might face. |
| SQL to Closed | Even with a contract in hand, it often takes some time for prospects to commit their signature. Often, people at this stage have narrowed their options but are still obtaining final buy-in from their team. | Maintaining sales momentum is critical at the final stage of the sales funnel, and CRMs can help manage regular follow-ups. Time-sensitive promotions and limited-time offers may also help close uncertain prospects. |
As a general rule, remember that any prospect at any stage of the funnel is more likely to move forward when you make it easy for them to do so. Consider what the customer journey for your target audience actually looks like in order to best streamline the process—if your sales team has difficulty providing a lead with the right information, valuable momentum will be lost.
Further Reading and Requesting a Copy of this Report
If you would like to request a copy of this report as a PDF, you may do so here.
To learn more about the sales funnel and conversion rates, see our other reports below:
- B2B SaaS Funnel Conversion Benchmarks
- Sales Lead Funnel Stages, Explained
- Average SEO Conversion Rate By Page Type
- SQL to Closed Won Conversion Rate (Close Rate) by Industry: 2025 Report
- Landing Page Conversion Rates by Industry: 2025 Report
- Lead-to-MQL Conversion Rate Benchmarks by Industry & Channel
Finally, if you would like to discuss improving sales funnel conversion rates for your company, you may reach out here to discuss further.
