Insights: 2026 Inquiries vs Outreach

Bookings equal outreach x outreach-to-inquiry rate x inquiry-to-booked rate. Comparing monthly averages shows each step moved in opposite directions:

Two counterfactual checks make the attribution clear:

• If 2026 converted inquiries to bookings at 2025's 38.5%, bookings would be about 30 per month instead of the actual ~42. The improved bottom-of-funnel conversion is what kept bookings flat.
• If 2026 kept 2025's outreach-to-inquiry rate, the higher outreach volume would have produced roughly 150-160 inquiries per month, about double the actual ~77. The drop is entirely a top-of-funnel story.

Verdict: the outreach-to-inquiry step explains the year-over-year drop in inquiries, and it lines up with the disappearance of the under-$3,000 lead segment (see below). The inquiry-to-booked step actually improved, so the problem is lead mix at the top, not closing at the bottom.

2026 is a partial year, so raw totals mislead. Per month:

Inquiries are down about a third per month, but bookings are nearly flat. The funnel is not converting worse at the bottom; fewer people are entering at the top.

In 2025, 361 inquiries (26% of the year) came from leads whose ideal investment was under $3,000. In 2026 that bucket is zero.

• 2025's volume was carried by low-budget leads (under $3k and $3k-$5k were the two biggest buckets, 852 of 1,410 inquiries). Those leads inquire a lot but convert poorly (31-39%).
• In 2026 the mix shifted up-market toward $5k-$7k and $7k-$10k leads, who inquire less often but convert far better (53% and 47%).

Outreach per month is much higher in 2026 (roughly 2,000-2,600 vs 1,100-1,800 in 2025), yet the outreach-to-inquiry rate fell from about 6-10% per month in 2025 to about 2-4% in 2026. More messages are going out, but fewer low-price leads are responding, which is consistent with the cheaper entry-level form/offer no longer being in use.

The decline in inquiries looks like the removal of the low-price form or offer that 2025 relied on, not a failing funnel. If the goal is inquiry volume, reintroducing a lower entry point would likely bring it back, but expect conversion to drop with it. If revenue per booking matters more, 2026's mix is healthier: fewer, better-qualified inquiries, almost the same number of bookings per month, and overall conversion up 16.5 points.