Contact Rate
The percentage of leads an agent successfully reaches by phone — the first-stage conversion metric in any outbound program.
Full Definition
Contact rate is the percentage of leads where the agent (or dialer) reaches the actual prospect (not voicemail, wrong number, or busy). Contact rate is driven heavily by speed-to-contact, number of dial attempts, call times (5–8 PM local time is highest), caller ID reputation (STIR/SHAKEN attestation), and lead exclusivity. Benchmarks: exclusive real-time leads called within 60 seconds 65–80%; same lead called after 30 minutes 30–40%; shared real-time after 5 minutes 25–40% (shared-buyer interference); aged 30-day leads 15–25%; aged 90-day leads 8–15%. Agencies tracking contact rate at the agent, shift, and list level can usually identify $50K–$500K/year of leakage from suboptimal dial patterns.
Example
An agency's exclusive ACA lead contact rate drops from 72% to 54% after a dialer migration. Root cause: new dialer assigns DIDs without Free Caller Registry, triggering "Spam Likely" flags. Fix recovers 18 points = ~$40K/mo additional revenue at the same lead spend.
Related Terms
- Speed-to-Contact — The elapsed time between lead delivery and the first outbound contact attempt — the dominant variable in web-lead conversion.
- Close Rate — The percentage of contacted (or delivered) leads that result in a sold policy — the primary profitability driver in insurance lead generation.
- STIR/SHAKEN — A caller ID authentication framework required of U.S. voice carriers to combat illegal spoofing and reduce robocalls.
- Dialer (Predictive / Power / Manual) — Outbound calling software that accelerates agent dial volume — operating in predictive, power, progressive, or manual modes with very different TCPA risk profiles.