Freelance pipeline calculator
How many proposals and new conversations do you need to hit your monthly income? Work backwards from the goal, so a busy month doesn't turn into an empty one.
Projects to win
4 / month
Proposals to send
16 / month
New conversations
40 / month
That's about
10 / week
You need roughly 24,000 worth of open proposals each month. Because deals take about 3 weeks to close, the conversations for next month's income have to start now, not when this month's project ends.
How to use it
- Pick a realistic monthly income goal, not your best month ever.
- Use your average project value from the last six months. If you bill hourly, use a typical invoice.
- Estimate your win rate: of the last ten proposals you sent, how many turned into paid work?
- Estimate how many first conversations (replies, intro calls, referrals) actually reach the proposal stage.
- Read the weekly number. That's how many new conversations you need to start every week to hit the goal.
Track those conversations in the free client tracker template, and use the follow-up email templates to raise your win rate.
Hit the weekly number without a spreadsheet
SteadyPipe asks one question each week: who are you talking to about next month's work? Log leads and follow-ups in under five minutes and get warned before your pipeline runs dry. Free, no card.
Start freeFAQ
- How many leads does a freelancer need per month?
- Divide your income goal by your average project value to get projects needed, divide that by your proposal win rate to get proposals needed, then divide by the share of conversations that reach a proposal. With a 6,000 goal, 1,500 projects, a 25% win rate and 40% of conversations reaching a proposal, that's about 40 new conversations a month, or 10 a week.
- What is a good proposal win rate for freelancers?
- It varies a lot by channel. Cold marketplace bids often win under 10%, while warm referrals and past clients can win 40% or more. That's why referrals and repeat clients make the pipeline math so much easier.
- Why do freelancers get feast-or-famine months?
- Because outreach stops when they're busy. Deals take weeks to close, so a month without new conversations shows up as an empty month a few weeks later. Keeping a small weekly outreach habit during busy months smooths it out.
- How can I raise my pipeline numbers without more cold outreach?
- Follow up on proposals (many deals are won on the second or third follow-up), pitch past clients on a retainer, and ask happy clients for referrals. All three raise your win rate, which shrinks the number of new conversations you need.