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What does a held meeting really cost?

Enter what you spent on people and on data and tools, then the meetings and opportunities it produced. The calculator shows what each one cost and which number to trust most.

Salaries, contractor time or agency fees for the period.

Prospect data, domains, mailboxes and software for the same period.

Meetings put on the calendar.

Booked meetings that actually took place.

Meetings that turned into a real buying conversation.

The starting numbers are an example. Replace them with yours. The result updates as you type, and nothing you type leaves this page or is saved.

Each meeting held costs about $250.

Cost per meeting held

$250per meeting held

A meeting that is booked but never held costs the same to set up and produces nothing, so the cost of each meeting held is the fairest single number.

Total spend
$6,500
People plus data and tools
Per meeting held
$250
Per meeting booked
$216.67
Per qualified opportunity
$722.22
Cost of one, side by side
Per meeting held
$250
Per meeting booked
$216.67
Per qualified opportunity
$722.22

How it is worked out

total spend = people cost plus data and tools cost

cost per meeting held = total spend divided by meetings held

cost per meeting booked = total spend divided by meetings booked

cost per qualified opportunity = total spend divided by qualified opportunities

Add up everything you paid to run outreach during one period. Put salaries, contractor time and agency fees under people. Put sending domains, mailboxes, sending software and prospect data under data and tools. Then count the meetings that period produced. The result is the average spend behind each meeting.

Each cost needs a total above zero and its own count above zero. A blank spend field counts as zero, but if both spend fields are blank there is no total at all. Amounts show to the cent below $1,000 when they are not whole, and as whole dollars from there up.

Use the same period for every number. Meetings booked this month set against spend from last quarter will mislead you, in either direction.

Worked by hand

The same sum with the starting example, one step at a time. Check your own numbers against it.

  1. Add the two spend figures: $5,200 on people plus $1,300 on data and tools gives a total of $6,500.
  2. Divide by the meetings held: $6,500 divided by 26 meetings held is $250 per meeting held.
  3. Divide by the meetings booked: $6,500 divided by 30 meetings booked is $216.67 per meeting booked.
  4. Divide by the qualified opportunities: $6,500 divided by 9 opportunities is $722.22 per qualified opportunity.

How to read the result

  • The figure is an average over the period you entered.
  • Count meetings the same way every time, for example calls that are confirmed on the calendar with someone who matches your target buyer. A looser definition makes the cost look lower without anything changing.
  • Lead with cost per meeting held. A meeting that is booked and then missed took just as much effort to arrange and gave you nothing, so the difference between the booked and held figures shows what no-shows are costing.
  • Cost per qualified opportunity is the number to set against what a customer pays you. A meeting is worth roughly the share of meetings that become customers, multiplied by that amount.
  • With a count of zero the answer is undefined, because dividing by zero has no result. The calculator asks for a count above zero instead of showing a number.

Questions

What should I count as spend?
Anything you paid to run outreach in the period: sending domains, mailboxes, sending software, prospect data, and agency or contractor fees. Add internal time only if you want a fully loaded figure, and do it the same way each time.
What counts as a meeting?
Pick one definition and keep it. The calculator only divides, so the definition is yours. A call that is confirmed on the calendar with a person who matches your target buyer is a common choice.
Why is meetings held the main figure?
A booked meeting that nobody attends costs as much to arrange as one that happens, and it produces nothing. Dividing by meetings held puts the cost of no-shows into the number.
What is a qualified opportunity?
A meeting that ended with a real buying conversation, as you define it. Use the same test every time, for example a person with budget and a need in your target segment who agreed to a next step.
What if I only know my total spend?
Put it in either spend field and leave the other blank. A blank field counts as zero, so the total is the same.
Is there a good number to aim for?
Compare the result with what a meeting is worth to your own business.
Does this send my numbers anywhere?
No. The calculation runs in your browser, nothing is sent over the network, and nothing is saved when you leave the page.