The question we get in nearly every diagnostic session: "how much marketing budget do I need?" The honest answer is that it's the wrong question to start with. Budget isn't the starting point — it's the output of a calculation that begins with the units you want to sell and works backwards.
The full equation
A property sales funnel has five stages, each with a pass-through rate. Multiply in reverse and you get what you need:
- Target units ÷ closing rate = viewings required
- Viewings ÷ show-up rate = appointments to book
- Appointments ÷ qualification rate = enquiries required
- Enquiries × cost per enquiry = the ad budget
A worked example
A 40-villa project targeting 70% sold (28 units) in six months. Working backwards with rates close to what we see in mid-size villa projects:
- 28 units ÷ 20% closing rate = 140 actual viewings
- 140 viewings ÷ 60% show-up rate = 234 booked appointments
- 234 appointments ÷ 25% qualification rate = roughly 936 enquiries
- 936 enquiries × SAR 60 per enquiry = about SAR 56,000 in ads
Notice what the maths exposed: you need nearly a thousand enquiries — about 160 a month, five to six a day. That's an operational number before it's an advertising one: can your team answer six enquiries a day within minutes? If not, raising the budget raises what you waste, not what you sell.
Where you gain more: budget or rates?
Here's the real value of the calculation. Try lifting the closing rate from 20% to just 25% — through sales training and a better gallery experience. The result: 112 viewings instead of 140, required enquiries drop to about 750, and you save over SAR 11,000 on the same budget. Five percentage points in closing is far cheaper than twenty thousand riyals of extra advertising.
«The ad budget is the last number you calculate, not the first. Start with budget and you buy activity; start with the target and you buy a result.»
The rates you must measure yourself
The figures above illustrate the method — they aren't fixed benchmarks. Your rates vary with price, location and team quality. Start by logging four numbers for thirty days: enquiries received, how many qualified, appointments booked, and how many actually showed. With those four, the equation becomes yours — and every ad riyal becomes a decision rather than a gamble.
