What’s a good conversion rate? It depends on your industry and which stage of the funnel you’re measuring. Here are the benchmarks from First Page Sage’s 2026 report.
For B2B SaaS, lead to MQL conversion is 39 percent. MQL to SQL is 38 percent. SQL to opportunity is 42 percent. Opportunity to closed is 37 percent. For construction, those numbers drop to 17 percent lead to MQL, 37 percent MQL to SQL, 50 percent SQL to opportunity, and 54 percent opportunity to closed.
Where Your Funnel Is Leaking
The biggest drop-off for most businesses is lead to MQL. Many leads aren’t truly within the target market or are still in very early research. For many industries, this is the lowest conversion rate in the entire funnel.
The common challenge at the MQL to SQL stage is qualification. Not every marketing-qualified lead is ready for sales. The gap between marketing and sales definitions causes leakage.
At the proposal stage, the challenge is differentiation. When buyers are evaluating multiple vendors, your proposal needs to clearly articulate why you’re the right choice. Generic proposals lose to specific ones.
AI tools can help you identify which leads are most likely to convert and focus your efforts there.
What You Should Do
Map your own conversion rates against these benchmarks. Where are you falling short? That’s where to focus your improvement efforts. Small improvements at each stage compound into significant revenue gains. A one percent improvement at each stage can transform your business.
