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    Marketing

    Cost Per Lead Analyzer

    Breaks down cost per lead (CPL) by channel and campaign, then adjusts for lead quality to compute cost per qualified lead (CPQL). Helps identify which sources deliver cheap leads that actually convert versus those that generate volume with low qualification rates.

    Marketing - Cost Per Lead Analyzer.xlsx

    Excel (.xlsx) — No macros — Works in Excel, Google Sheets, LibreOffice

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    What This Spreadsheet Solves

    • No visibility into true cost per qualified lead vs. raw CPL
    • Channels appear cheap on CPL but produce low-quality leads
    • Cannot compare lead generation efficiency across paid and organic sources
    • Budget allocation is based on volume rather than lead quality
    • No way to track CPL trends over time

    Who This Is For

    • Demand generation managers optimizing lead sources
    • Marketing operations analysts building reports
    • Growth marketers managing multi-channel acquisition
    • Sales operations leaders evaluating lead quality

    Inputs

    • textChannel / Campaign Name
    • $Total Spend
    • #Number of Leads Generated
    • #Number of Qualified Leads
    • dateTime Period

    Outputs

    • Cost per lead (CPL) by channel
    • Cost per qualified lead (CPQL) by channel
    • Qualification rate percentage
    • Channel efficiency ranking
    • Blended CPL and CPQL across all channels

    How Calculations Work

    CPL is Total Spend / Leads. CPQL is Total Spend / Qualified Leads. The qualification rate is Qualified Leads / Total Leads. Channels are ranked by CPQL rather than CPL to reflect actual business value. A composite efficiency score weights both volume and quality.

    Example Use Case

    Scenario: A B2B company spends $6,000 on Google Ads (120 leads, 30 qualified) and $4,000 on content syndication (200 leads, 20 qualified).

    Result: Google Ads: CPL $50, CPQL $200, 25% qualification. Content syndication: CPL $20, CPQL $200, 10% qualification. Despite a lower CPL, syndication has the same CPQL and a far lower qualification rate.

    What You Get — 5 Sheets

    READMEDefines CPL, CPQL, and qualification rate. Explains how to enter data and read the ranking output.
    INPUTRow per channel with spend, lead count, qualified lead count, and date fields.
    LOGICCalculates CPL, CPQL, qualification rate, and composite efficiency score per channel.
    OUTPUTRanked channel table sorted by CPQL. Includes blended averages and trend indicators.
    CONFIGQualification criteria labels, currency format, and threshold for flagging high-cost channels.

    Technical Details

    File Format:.xlsx (Open XML)
    Macros:None — pure formulas
    Compatibility:Excel 2016+, Google Sheets, LibreOffice
    Input Cells:Clearly marked with blue background
    Formulas:All outputs are live Excel formulas
    Protection:LOGIC sheet formulas protected, INPUT cells editable

    Frequently Asked Questions

    What counts as a qualified lead?

    That depends on your business. Use whatever definition your sales team uses (e.g., MQL, SQL). Enter only leads that meet that bar in the qualified column.

    Should I include organic leads with zero spend?

    You can. CPL will be $0, and CPQL will be $0. They are excluded from cost-based rankings but shown in the volume summary.

    How often should I update this?

    Monthly is standard. The date field lets you compare month-over-month CPL trends on the OUTPUT sheet.

    Can I add a conversion-to-customer column?

    The INPUT sheet has an optional closed-deal column. If populated, the LOGIC sheet will also compute cost per customer.

    Why is CPQL more useful than CPL?

    CPL ignores lead quality. A channel with $5 CPL and 2% qualification costs $250 per qualified lead, which is worse than a $50 CPL channel with 40% qualification ($125 CPQL).

    Download Cost Per Lead Analyzer

    Ready to use immediately. Enter your data in the INPUT sheet, see results in OUTPUT.

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