Learn how to calculate the true ROI of your portal lead spend, including cost per lead, cost per appointment, and cost per closing. See how faster response times can dramatically improve your conversion rates.
If you're spending money on Zillow, Realtor.com, Facebook, or other portal leads, you need to know your real ROI. Many agents think they know their numbers, but when you break down the actual cost per lead, cost per appointment, and cost per closing, the results can be surprising—and sometimes alarming. Faster response times can dramatically improve your conversion rates, which directly impacts your ROI.
Use our free portal leads ROI calculator to calculate your numbers instantly, or read on to learn how to calculate ROI manually.
Here's how to calculate your true ROI from portal leads and what to do if the numbers don't add up.
Portal leads aren't cheap. Depending on your market and competition, you might be spending:
But here's the thing: spending money on leads is only half the equation. The other half is how effectively you convert those leads into appointments and closings.
To understand your true ROI, you need to track these five metrics:
What it is: Total amount you spend per month on portal leads (Zillow, Realtor.com, Facebook, etc.)
How to calculate: Add up all your monthly portal subscriptions and ad spend.
Example: $1,000/month on Zillow + $500/month on Realtor.com = $1,500/month total spend
What it is: Total number of inquiries you receive per month from all portals
How to calculate: Count all inquiries (emails, calls, form submissions) from portal sources
Example: 40 leads per month from Zillow + 20 from Realtor.com = 60 total leads
What it is: Number of leads that actually book a tour or appointment
How to calculate: Count all scheduled tours/appointments from portal leads
Example: Out of 60 leads, 12 book appointments = 12 appointments booked
What it is: Number of portal leads that result in signed leases or sales
How to calculate: Track which closings came from portal leads
Example: Out of 12 appointments, 2 result in closings = 2 closings
What it is: Average commission you earn per closing
How to calculate: Total commission from portal closings ÷ number of closings
Example: $12,000 total commission ÷ 2 closings = $6,000 average commission
Once you have these numbers, you can calculate your key metrics:
Formula: Monthly Spend ÷ Leads Per Month
Example: $1,500 ÷ 60 leads = $25 per lead
What it means: Every inquiry costs you $25, whether they book a tour or not.
Formula: Monthly Spend ÷ Appointments Booked
Example: $1,500 ÷ 12 appointments = $125 per appointment
What it means: Every tour you book costs $125 in lead spend.
Formula: Monthly Spend ÷ Closings
Example: $1,500 ÷ 2 closings = $750 per closing
What it means: Every closing costs $750 in lead spend.
Formula: Average Commission - Cost Per Closing
Example: $6,000 - $750 = $5,250 net profit per closing
What it means: After lead costs, you keep $5,250 per closing.
Formula: (Total Commission - Total Spend) ÷ Total Spend × 100
Example: ($12,000 - $1,500) ÷ $1,500 × 100 = 700% ROI
What it means: For every $1 you spend, you earn $7 back (after lead costs).
Enter your numbers in our portal leads ROI calculator to see your cost per lead, appointment, and closing instantly.
Here's where it gets interesting. Most agents have a conversion funnel that looks like this:
60 leads → 12 appointments (20%) → 2 closings (16.7% of appointments)
But what if you could improve that conversion rate? What if faster response times and better follow-up could increase your appointment booking rate from 20% to 25% or 30%?
Studies show that responding to leads within 5 minutes increases conversion rates by up to 9x. Here's what that means for your numbers:
Current scenario (20% appointment rate):
Improved scenario (30% appointment rate with faster responses):
The difference: You get one extra closing per month, and your cost per closing drops by $250.
Model different response time scenarios and see how improving your appointment conversion rate impacts your cost per closing and overall ROI.
Here's why faster response times matter:
If you can't respond within 5 minutes consistently, you're leaving money on the table.
Let's look at three common scenarios:
Monthly spend: $500
Leads per month: 20
Appointments booked: 4
Closings: 0.5 (one closing every 2 months)
Average commission: $5,000
Results:
The challenge: Low volume means one bad month can wipe out your ROI.
Monthly spend: $1,000
Leads per month: 40
Appointments booked: 8
Closings: 1
Average commission: $6,000
Results:
The challenge: Need to scale without increasing cost per closing.
Monthly spend: $5,000
Leads per month: 150
Appointments booked: 30
Closings: 8
Average commission: $10,000
Results:
The advantage: Higher volume and better conversion rates drive down cost per closing.
If your numbers aren't where you want them, here are the levers you can pull:
The goal: Respond to every lead within 5 minutes
How: Automate your lead response process so you never miss the 5-minute window, even during off-hours
Impact: Can increase appointment booking rate by 20-50%
The goal: Follow up with leads who don't respond to the first message
How: Automate follow-up sequences that re-engage prospects after 24 hours and 3-5 days
Impact: Can increase appointment booking rate by 10-20%
The goal: Convert more appointments into closings
How: Better tour preparation, follow-up after tours, and streamlined application process
Impact: Can increase closing rate by 10-30%
The goal: Get more leads for the same spend, or the same leads for less spend
How: Optimize your portal spend, focus on higher-performing zip codes, test different platforms
Impact: Directly reduces cost per lead and cost per closing
Here's the reality: Most agents can't respond to every lead within 5 minutes consistently. They're busy with tours, closings, and other tasks. That's where automation comes in.
Automated lead response can:
The result: Properties using automated lead response see:
Want to see how your numbers stack up? Use our free ROI calculator to input your actual spend, leads, appointments, and closings, and see your true cost per lead, cost per appointment, and cost per closing.
See what you really earn from your online leads. Calculate cost per lead, appointment, and closing with our free ROI calculator.
The calculator lets you:
Portal leads can be a great source of business, but only if you're tracking the right metrics and optimizing your conversion funnel. The agents who succeed with portal leads are the ones who:
If your ROI isn't where you want it, the problem might not be the leads—it might be how you're converting them. Faster response times and better follow-up can dramatically improve your numbers without increasing your spend.
Calculate your ROI and see how faster response times could improve it with our portal leads ROI calculator. Compare multiple lead sources side-by-side with our lead source comparison calculator to see which sources deliver the best ROI.
Ready to see how automation can improve your ROI? Book a demo to see how Propel automatically responds to portal leads within seconds, follows up with prospects, and books tours, so you can focus on closing deals. Learn more about automating Zillow and Realtor.com leads and see our guide on real estate lead follow-up rules for proven strategies.
See how Propel can help you convert more inquiries and book more tours automatically.
Discover 10 proven real estate lead generation strategies that actually convert in 2025, from portal leads to automation, with actionable tactics for agents and property managers.
Use our free calculator to see how faster response times impact your conversion rates and revenue. Model different scenarios and see the ROI of responding within 5 minutes.
Automate Zillow and Realtor.com leads to respond within 5 minutes, convert 9x more inquiries into tours, and never miss a prospect—even at 2 AM on Sunday. Learn how to set up automated lead responses from Gmail or Outlook.