What's a Good Booking Percentage for Moving Companies?

For many moving companies, a booking percentage of 30% is considered healthy. But why stop there?

By improving your sales process, you can push your booking percentage to 40% or more and scale your revenue without spending more on marketing. And believe it or not, it’s as simple as knowing the right formulas.

We sat down with moving owner and sales pro Grant Korzetz to get his hard-earned tips for increasing your booking percentage—so grab a pen and let’s go.

Is 30% a good booking percentage for moving companies?

In short, yes. Moving companies with a booking rate of 30% are often considered healthy. But if you can push your booking percentage to 40 or 50%, you can change your top-line tremendously. Just ask Grant:

“Sales is the lifeblood of a moving company. If you're not selling, your trucks aren't running, your guys aren't working. It all happens in sales,” he says.

From starting his moving business with an ad on Craigslist 16 years ago, Eco Movers' founder now owns a fleet of 40 trucks and 5 locations in the Pacific Northwest. He’ll be the first to tell you: he got there by knowing his numbers. 

How do I calculate my moving company’s booking percentage?

Use the following formula to calculate your sales booking percentage:

⚡Booking %  = Total leads / Total bookings

For Grant, his booking percentage is the North Star metric he looks at every single day.

“That's where the money's at. We get caught up in operations and details and people. We need to focus in on sales and really optimize the sales process to drive the revenue that we want,” he explains.

How does booking percentage impact revenue? Real examples

For the sake of easy math, let’s say you have 500 leads per month with an average move value of $2,000:

See what happens to annual revenue? By increasing your booking percentage, it's possible to turn a $3.6m moving business into $6m moving business—with no additional leads or ad spend.

"This is gold... nearly doubling your company just by increasing that booking percentage. And the sales process really drives the booking percentage you need to be successful," says Grant.

With plenty of competition and a market-wide decrease in lead volume, he credits his success to the "moving sales machine" he and his team have built over the years.

How does booking percentage impact marketing costs?

For profitable movers like Grant, a strong booking percentage pays off in more ways than one, giving you more bang for every marketing buck. 

"If you're doling out marketing dollars, and your booking percentage is down—sorry, but you're losing money. More revenue from marketed leads equals a better return on investment," Grant explains.

He uses the following formula to make sure he’s optimizing his marketing spend.

⚡Marketing cost %  = Total marketing spent / Total revenue created

Let's say you spend $100 per lead for 100 leads ($10,000 in total). How much revenue have you created? That depends on your booking percentage. 

Now let's see the impact booking percentage has on marketing cost.

“Marketing cost percentage is so key because if you're spending 20, 30, or 40% on marketing, it's not profitable when your cost of goods sold can be anywhere from 40 to 60%,” Grant explains. “Booking percentage absolutely affects marketing."

In a challenging market, Grant aims for 15% marketing cost percentage or 10% in a strong market—and he does it by staying laser-focused on his booking percentage.  

“The magic happens when you increase that booking percentage. When you're booking at 50%, all of a sudden your marketing's working well. The point is—marketing works when you have sales dialed in,” says Grant.  

How do I increase my booking percentage?

According to Grant, you increase your booking percentage through a great sales process and great sales management tools. He knows, because he spent the better part of decade perfecting his sales process—and learning a lot of hard lessons along the way. 

“We used to book at 20-25%. Now we're north of 45%, typically about 50%, with a great sales architecture built around it to manage, maintain it, and get on sales issues immediately through the management team,” Grant explains.

In Grant's moving business, incentives play a big role:

"You have to make it clear for your team how they can win. It's so important to have a commission structure that drives them to book at a higher level. You want them to stay focused on every single lead. Leads are expensive, so we really need to make sure we're maximizing each one."

A well-designed sales commission structure can give a quick boost to your booking percentage. But where do you set your splits? What do other moving companies pay? And how do you keep incentives from eating into your margins?

All your questions are answered in the Ultimate Guide to Moving Company Sales Commissions:

✅  Pro tips to help you nail your pay structure and process

✅  Real examples of commission structures from profitable movers

✅ Smart strategies to ensure commissions don't eat into your profits