Most agents evaluate a call source by whether it "feels" like it's working — did I get a sale this week, did the calls sound decent. That's not a profitability measurement. Profitability is a specific number: what came back, minus what you spent, divided by what you spent. Everything else is a proxy for that number, and proxies can mislead you.
The formula
At its simplest:
Illustrative example. 30% close rate and $1,400 average AP are benchmarks Standard has reported from customer data — not a guarantee of your results. See Standard Customer Results.
Total AP is not net profit
Total AP written tells you how much premium your sales produced — it isn't what lands in your pocket. To get from AP to actual profit, you still have to apply:
- Your contract/comp level with the carrier — AP × your contract percentage = gross commission
- Chargebacks — policies that lapse or get cancelled reduce or reverse commission already paid
- Advance timing — how much of first-year commission is paid up front vs. over time
Because contract levels vary by agent and carrier, this article can't hand you a single "final profit number" — that step is specific to your own contracts. What it can give you is the structure:
Net Profit = (Total AP × Your Contract %) − Chargebacks − Total Call Spend
Why cost per call, by itself, tells you nothing
A $40 call and a $65 call aren't comparable numbers on their own — what matters is what net profit each one produces after close rate, AP, and chargebacks are applied. A cheaper call with a lower close rate or lower AP can easily produce less net profit than a more expensive call that converts better. See Everything You Need to Know About Standard for why the sticker price alone is the wrong comparison.
What to actually track
- Total spend on calls, by source
- Number of calls that became billable (qualified)
- Number of those that became sales
- AP per sale
- Chargebacks against those sales, over time — not just at the point of sale
Run the formula above with your own numbers, not benchmarks, once you have enough calls to trust the sample. See Buying Calls Profitably for how many calls that typically takes.