Short answer
Evaluate campaigns using cohorts that have reached the same observation age and a defined outcome. Compare conversion at agreed ages, such as 7 and 28 days, and show pending cases separately; the median of closed sales does not describe all leads.
Key verification: Ensure that every included contact can be observed for the period being compared.
Sources and limitationsTo decide when to evaluate a campaign, measure how long it takes your group of contacts to reach the business result. Compare cohorts with the same age, not a campaign that has just started with another that has been closing sales for months. Late closings can change the acquisition cost reading.
Define the start and result
Choose a common start: first contact received or first visit attributed, if you can observe it. Then define the result: appointment, qualification or sale. Do not mix the time to answer a call with the time to sell in the same column.
WhatConverts documents Customer Journey on Elite plans with a timeline of contacts and interactions. It can help to review those times if the course is captured. The table and cohort method in this guide is its own analysis, not a report that is attributed as a native function. Official timeline for client .
Cohort table with comparable observation ages
| Dummy data | Campaign A | Campaign B |
|---|---|---|
| New Cohort Contacts | 12 | 12 |
| Sales within seven days | 4 | 3 |
| Sales within 28 days | 7 | 8 |
| Seven-day conversion | 33.3% | 25% |
| Conversion at 28 days | 58.3% | 66.7% |
With this invented data, A seems superior on the seventh day and B on the 28th. This does not prove that B is better overall: costs, margin and more observations are missing. It does show why a comparison with different ages can lead to a premature decision.
Reproducible construction
- Assign each new contact to its input cohort and retain its identifier.
- Save start and result dates with comparable zone or instant.
- Calculate elapsed days for each confirmed result.
- Count cumulative results at agreed ages, such as 7, 14, and 28 days.
- Divide by all eligible contacts in the cohort, not just those who closed.
- Mark ages that have not yet been observed as pending, never as zero.
A weekly cohort requires that all its members have reached the analyzed age, or an expressly documented inclusion criterion. If the last contact of the week is only ten days old, the 28-day column is not complete.
Median closing time and pending cases
Fictitious example: six sales take 2, 4, 5, 7, 10 and 18 days. The median between those sales is six days: the average of the two core values, 5 and 7. That figure describes only sales already closed, not the time frame for all contacts. It also shows how many are still pending and since when.
A campaign with few quick sales may have a short median and many unresolved contacts. Do not use it alone to choose the evaluation period.
Decisions that can be made
The method helps to agree when a closure is provisional, what period the report requires and which campaigns have a different maturity. Do not hold an investment indefinitely waiting for sales: review pending results, costs and cash flow signals at each closing.
The quote forecast estimates future pipeline opportunities. This guide compares observed results of groups with the same age. The Official source attribution model decides which interaction gets credit, not how long it takes for the result to appear.
What to purchase
WhatConverts can provide chronology and identification if your plan and capture allow it. A consistent export and a spreadsheet are enough to begin this analysis. First ensure dates and relationship with results; a journey interface does not fix a CRM with unupdated closures.
Sources and limitations
Documentary review: . Content type: Documentation-based guide.
Sources describe terms and capabilities stated by their owners. Proposed protocols and fictional examples do not establish product tests performed by CallsIQ.
- Official timeline for clientwww.whatconverts.com
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Official sources, explained calculations and clearly labelled examples. Read about our methodology and use of AI in writing.