Sources and methodology

$29B

The US custom residential AV market is estimated at $29B.

primary source verified

Research by Ancrage Consulting for CEDIA; survey of US residential integrators expanded with D-Tools and Portal project data. The step up from CEDIA's earlier $20.1B estimate reflects a methodology change, not pure market growth.

accessed 2026-06-13

20,000

Approximately 20,000 integrators are currently serving the US market.

primary source verified

Stated verbatim in CEDIA's announcement; no newer CEDIA study supersedes the count as of June 2026.

accessed 2026-06-13

8x

Conversion rates jump more than 8 times when the first contact attempt happens within 5 minutes of expressed interest, versus waiting between 5 minutes and 24 hours.

primary source verified

Scope · 2021 study across industries

Successor research to the 2007 Lead Response Management Study, by the renamed InsideSales.com (XANT) · 5.7M inbound leads, 55M sales activities, 400+ companies, three years of data. Verified on the live report page and its infographic PDF; corroborated by the February 2021 press release.

accessed 2026-08-09

0.1%

Only 0.1% of inbound leads are engaged within 5 minutes.

primary source verified

Scope · 2021 study across industries

Same 2021 dataset as the 8x conversion figure · the gap between the two numbers is the argument.

accessed 2026-08-09

57.1%

57.1% of first call attempts take place more than a week after the lead comes in.

primary source verified

Same 2021 dataset as the 8x conversion figure.

accessed 2026-08-09

29 hrs

The average first response to a demo request, among the 365 of 1,000 audited B2B software companies that responded, was 1 day, 5 hours and 17 minutes.

primary source verified

Scope · 2024 audit of 1,000 B2B software companies · not home services

First-party vendor research with published methodology (March 2024): demo requests submitted to 1,000 B2B software companies, mostly 51-500 employees. Displayed as 29 hrs (1 day 5 hrs 17 min). B2B software scope, not home services.

accessed 2026-08-09

63.5%

635 of 1,000 audited B2B software companies never responded to a demo request at all.

primary source verified

Scope · 2024 audit of 1,000 B2B software companies · not home services

Same audit as the 29-hour figure · only 172 of 1,000 companies responded instantly (under 2 minutes).

accessed 2026-08-09

21x

The odds of qualifying a lead if called in 5 minutes versus 30 minutes drop 21 times.

primary source verified

Original 35-page study PDF, hosted by the 2007 presentation venue (MarketingSherpa B2B Demand Generation Summit). Web-generated leads; three years of data across six companies (~15,000 leads, 100,000+ call attempts). Retained for the record · superseded on-site by the 2021 Lead Response Report.

accessed 2026-06-13

100x

The odds of contacting a lead if called in 5 minutes versus 30 minutes drop 100 times.

primary source verified

Companion finding to the 21x qualification stat · same study, same dataset. Retained for the record · superseded on-site by the 2021 Lead Response Report.

accessed 2026-06-13

42 hrs

The average response time to a web-generated test lead, among the 2,241 audited US companies that responded within 30 days, was 42 hours.

primary source verified

Oldroyd, McElheran, Elkington; HBR magazine, March 2011. 37% responded within an hour; 24% took more than 24 hours. Article is metered on hbr.org. Retained for the record · superseded on-site by the 2024 RevenueHero audit.

accessed 2026-06-13

23%

23% of 2,241 audited US companies never responded to a web-generated test lead at all.

primary source verified

Same audit as the 42-hour figure. Retained for the record · superseded on-site by the 2024 RevenueHero audit.

accessed 2026-06-13

~7x

Firms that tried to contact potential customers within an hour of receiving a query were nearly seven times as likely to qualify the lead as those that tried even an hour later · and more than 60 times as likely as companies that waited 24 hours or longer.

primary source verified

"Qualify" is defined as having a meaningful conversation with a key decision maker. Drawn from a companion dataset of 1.25M leads received by 29 B2C and 13 B2B US companies. Retained for the record · superseded on-site by the 2021 Lead Response Report.

accessed 2026-06-13

78%

78% of integrators use spreadsheet software ("Excel remains ubiquitous").

primary source verified

Scope · general spreadsheet use, not lead tracking · CE Pro 2025 survey

General spreadsheet-software usage among surveyed integrators · not lead tracking specifically. cepro.com is bot-gated; verified on the live page and an archive snapshot.

accessed 2026-06-13

47%

Only 47% of integrators use CRM / marketing automation software.

primary source verified

Scope · CE Pro 2025 survey of integrators

Same usage breakdown as the spreadsheet figure (accounting 94%, proposal software 83%, spreadsheets 78%, CRM 47%).

accessed 2026-06-13

$12,500

The median residential project price was $12,500 in 2024, a 39% decline from $20,357 in 2023 (while residential job counts rose 33%).

primary source verified

CE Pro's own exclusive survey research (Nov-Dec 2024); medians of integrator responses, residential-specific. cepro.com is bot-gated; verified via archive snapshot.

accessed 2026-06-13

41%

Across jobs booked online on Housecall Pro, 41% come in after hours.

primary source verified

Scope · home-services bookings on one platform, Housecall Pro

First-party platform data: share of online bookings on Housecall Pro, published by the platform itself (Jan 2026). Single-platform scope.

accessed 2026-06-13

$50K-$80K

A front-office admin hire runs $50,000-$80,000 a year fully loaded, business hours only.

internal estimate

Internal anchor from the 2026 market pricing assessment · loaded cost, US metros in our footprint. Not a survey figure.

accessed 2026-09-13

$4,200-$6,700

The same admin role costs $4,200-$6,700 a month fully loaded · the $50K-$80K annual range divided by twelve.

internal estimate

Monthly form of the annual anchor above · the two ranges imply each other.

accessed 2026-09-13

$1,200-$3,000

An answering service, a chat tool, a booking tool and a CRM assembled separately run $1,200-$3,000 a month across 3-4 vendors.

internal estimate

Internal anchor from published list prices of the category tools, 2026 · vendors deliberately unnamed.

accessed 2026-09-13

10% → 16%

The ROI calculator assumes a modest lift in lead-to-consult rate, from 10% to 16%, at its default settings.

internal estimate

A modelling assumption, not a measured result. The published research on /sources measures response speed, not consult rate. Move the slider to what you believe · the upside case sets 30%.

accessed 2026-09-13