We saw an increase in leads to appointments in Q3, despite leads being down 25% from Q2. This is due to an increase in prospecting, the "when in doubt, send them out" mentality around appropriate qualification, and changing our language to "discovery tours and informational sessions" when converting leads. Online Sales Specialists who have been consistent in their prospecting are seeing upwards of 15% of their appointments coming from older leads. Right now, focus on using a variety of tools to get engagement, qualifying, and moving them forward to give onsite as many at bats as possible.
Appointment to sale decreased, 15% down from 21% in Q2. No surprise here as interest rates jumped significantly in Q3. Sales are a product of appointments. Using resources to help our onsite teams with post appointment nurturing will be crucial. The appointments created in Q3 that are waiting on the sideline will convert in the future as builders continue to get creative with financing and persistent customer nurturing.
Online Sales overall contribution remains strong at 51%, down a bit from Q3 due to the drop in sales. Doubling down on resetting expectations around the handoff process, increasing communication between online and onsite, along with providing CRM and follow up training and support for sales will keep your program healthy.
