How to Estimate ROI of a B2B Contact List Before You Send

B2B Contact List ROI Calculator

Revenue

$0.00

ROI

0.0%

Contacts (N)Number of contacts you will email in the full campaign.Deliverability (D%)Delivered ÷ Sent, measured from your pilot.Reply Rate (r%)Replies ÷ Delivered, measured from your pilot.Meetings per Reply (m%)Meetings ÷ Replies.Sales per Meeting (q%)Sales ÷ Meetings.Average Contract Value ($)Average revenue from one new customer.Total Campaign Cost ($)All-in cost for data, sending, and labor.

TL;DR

Before buying a full list, run a 200-contact pilot and use our B2B contact list ROI calculator. Enter deliverability, replies, meetings, closes, ACV (Average Contract Value), and cost to project revenue and ROI.

Start Here

Start with a small pilot of about 200 contacts in one focused segment. Clean the list in Excel or Google Sheets to remove duplicates and invalid addresses so your test data stays accurate. After the pilot, record two results: the deliverability rate, which shows how many emails reach inboxes, and the reply rate, which shows how many people respond.

Then add your next metrics, including meetings per reply, sales per meeting, average contract value, and total campaign cost. Enter these figures in the calculator to see your return on investment, total revenue, and the cost per meeting and sale.

If your results stay well above break-even, expand the campaign. If they fall short, adjust your targeting, improve deliverability, or reduce costs before scaling.

Why Pilot First?

We always start with a pilot because a small live campaign gives real data. With about 200 contacts, you can measure two key metrics: deliverability rate (D), which shows how many emails reach inboxes instead of bouncing, and reply rate (r), which shows how many people respond once the message is delivered. Tracking both within a few days replaces guesses with facts and helps you predict ROI before committing to a larger order.

How to Run a Clean 200-Contact Pilot

1. Pick a random slice of your full list.

2. Send from the same domain and sender you plan to use at scale.

3. Track the following two results in your platform:

   • Deliverability rate (D) = delivered ÷ sent (shown as "delivered" in your tool)

   • Reply rate (r) = replies ÷ delivered

4. Then record what happens after replies:

   • The number of meetings (m) you get per reply

   • The number of sales (q) you make per meeting.

5. Enter these values in the calculator above and that gives your forecast.

ROI Formula & Variables for Your B2B Contact List

The following equation calculates your ROI:

$$ROI = \frac{N \cdot D \cdot r \cdot m \cdot q \cdot ACV - Cost}{Cost}$$

The following are explanations of each variable:

N: Number of contacts you plan to email The total number of people you will message in the full campaign, NOT the pilot.
For example: 2,000

D: Deliverability rate (delivered ÷ sent) The share of emails that do not bounce. If you send 200 and 194 delivered, then D = 194 ÷ 200 = 97%.
Measured from your pilot.

r: Reply rate (replies ÷ delivered) Of the emails that were delivered, what percent replied. If you get 12 replies from 1,940 delivered, then r = 12 ÷ 1,940 = 0.62%.
Measured from your pilot, or use a conservative estimate if you have no data yet.

m: Meetings per reply The share of replies that turn into a booked call or demo. If you had 5 meetings from 12 replies, then m = 5 ÷ 12 = 41.7%.
Measured from your pilot or past data.

q: Sales per meeting
The share of meetings that become signed customers. If you close 1 sale from 5 meetings, then q = 1 ÷ 5 = 20%.
Use your historical close rate or a conservative estimate if you are new.

ACV: Average Contract Value The average revenue from one new customer during the first contract term.

• If you sell a $400 per month tool on annual contracts, ACV = $4,800.

• If you sell an $8,000 one-time project, ACV = $8,000.

Use your actual average. If pricing varies widely, choose a conservative figure.

Cost: All-in cost for the full campaign The total you will spend to acquire and email the list:

• Data and verification: Include the cost of list purchase, enrichment, and validation.

• Sending: Count platform fees, domain setup, and warmup, spread across usage.

• Labor: Add the time cost to run both the pilot and the full campaign.

Enter the total you expect for the full campaign, for example $1,900.

Worked Example: 200-Contact Pilot to Full-Campaign ROI Forecast

Step 1: Measure rates from your 200-contact pilot:

These numbers describe performance ratios, not the total number of contacts.

• Deliverability (D): 97%

• Reply rate (r): 0.6%

• Meetings per reply (m): 40%

• Sales per meeting (q): 25%

• ACV: $5,000

Step 2: Enter your full-order assumptions in the calculator

• N (your planned campaign size): 2,000

• D, r, m, q, ACV: Use the same rates measured from your pilot.

• Cost (all-in cost for the full campaign): $1,900

What the calculator outputs for the full order

• Delivered: 2,000 × 0.97 = 1,940

• Replies: 1,940 × 0.006 = 11.64

• Meetings: 11.64 × 0.40 = 4.656

• Sales: 4.66 × 0.25 = 1.164

• Revenue: Sales × ACV = 1.164 × $5,000 = $5,820

• ROI: ($5,820 − $1,900) ÷ $1,900 = 206.3%

If You Don’t Clear Break-Even

• Deliverability (D): Raising your deliverability can help. Do the following: warm your domain, send fewer emails per campaign, and exclude role inboxes and free web-mail domains.

• Replies (r): More replies mean higher ROI. Increase replies by making each message feel specific by doing the following: focus subject lines on a clear problem your contact faces, mention local details, like the city or region, and drop vague or generic wording that could apply to anyone.

• Conversion (m, q): Improve how you handle replies. Check that each reply fits your target profile before booking and respond quickly to set meetings. In meetings, state the goal, confirm next steps, and close with clear actions to raise your sales rate.

• Cost: Reduce the number of contacts you email. A smaller send size (N) lowers spend and risk while you test changes.

Each improvement moves the break-even line in your favor.

FAQ

What is the deliverability rate?

It’s delivered ÷ sent, counting only emails that didn’t bounce. Most tools show this as "Delivered."

Why not include the open rate?

The open rate can sometimes be unreliable because of privacy filters and image blocking. Deliverability and replies give cleaner, trackable signals.

Why 200 contacts for the pilot?

Two hundred gives enough data to measure deliverability and replies with confidence. It’s quick to run and relatively low-cost. If the results approach break-even, run another 200 after you adjust.