What is conversion rate: the formula, a flower shop example and how phone calls change your conversion
Sado AI team · · 4 min read
In short
Conversion rate is the share of people who took the target action, out of everyone, in per cent. For example, 200 people called in a week and 50 ordered: call-to-order conversion is 50 ÷ 200 × 100 = 25%. Conversion isn’t one number but a chain of steps: the call is answered, the order, the payment, the repeat purchase. People drop out at every step, and the first loss is the unanswered call. An AI voice operator answers every call and calls leads at once, and the portal helps you count each step.
The conversion formula
There is one formula: people who took the action ÷ all people × 100%. What matters is saying clearly from what to what. Businesses that live on phone calls usually measure:
- Answer rate: how many incoming calls were answered.
- Lead → qualified lead: how many people who left a request turned out to be real buyers (what is a lead).
- Call → order or booking: how many people who spoke to you ordered or booked.
- Booked → came: how many people who booked actually showed up.
- Order → payment: how many placed orders were paid.
Example: a flower delivery shop in Mirabad
Lola Gullari (name invented) takes orders by phone. An ordinary week, for example, looked like this:
| Step | Number | Conversion |
|---|---|---|
| Incoming calls | 200 | — |
| Answered | 150 | 75% (of 200) |
| Placed an order | 60 | 40% (of 150) |
| Delivered and paid | 54 | 90% (of 60) |
| Total: call to payment | 54 | 27% (of 200) |
The biggest hole is in the first row: 50 calls got no answer. Had they ordered at the same 40%, there would be 20 more orders a week. With an average order of, for example, 250,000 so‘m, that is 5 million so‘m a week. More on unanswered calls: missed calls.
Where conversion gets lost
- Nobody answers: busy, lunch, night, day off.
- A website or Instagram request is called back too late.
- A simple question goes unanswered: price, delivery time, address.
- Nobody calls back the person who said “I’ll think about it”.
- The order isn’t confirmed: the customer is out and the courier comes back with nothing.
- The language didn’t match: the customer asked in Russian and nobody could answer in Russian.
Each cause has its own fix, but first find out which one happens most for you. Listen to call recordings or read the transcripts: what the customer asked and why they didn’t order.
How an AI operator affects conversion
The operator doesn’t promise a percentage; it removes the losses at each step. On incoming calls it answers every call in about a second, 24/7, with no queue. It gives the price and delivery time from your company’s information and takes the order in the same call.
On outgoing calls it calls new requests right away, confirms orders and calls back at the agreed time anyone who said “call me later”. Measuring is easy too: every call, the customer’s answers and the orders sit in the portal, and results download to Excel.
Measure your conversion in one week: 5 steps
- Write down the steps: call, answer, order, payment.
- For one week, count the number at each step: from your PBX report, your CRM or a notebook.
- Work out the conversion of each step separately.
- Find the step with the lowest percentage — that’s where you lose people.
- Change one thing and compare with the next week.
Work out what missed calls cost you in the calculator. With Sado you pay only for talked minutes: 800 so‘m a minute. Try it live or call 78 778 01 23. More answers: questions about Sado.
Questions
What is a good conversion rate?
There’s no general norm: it depends on the industry, the price and where customers come from. Compare your numbers with last month, not with other companies.
Is conversion the same as answer rate?
Answer rate is one step of conversion: how many incoming calls were answered. Overall conversion is the whole path from call to payment.
Does an AI operator raise conversion?
It removes losses such as unanswered calls and late callbacks. Measure the change yourself: compare a week before connecting with a week after.
Where do I get the numbers for conversion?
Incoming and missed calls are in your PBX or provider report; orders and payments are in your CRM or till. In Sado, every call’s result sits in the portal and downloads to Excel.