How we measure
See what your relationship-building leads to.
- Which conversations are developing?
- Where are introductions helping?
- Which opportunities deserve your attention?
Our team reviews the evidence with you each month, connects the work to what happens next, and helps you decide where to focus.
THE MONTHLY REVIEW
- LEVEL 01How your relationships are developingRenewed conversations, accepted introductions, help confirmed useful, promises kept.
- LEVEL 02Qualified opportunitiesA non-client asks for a proposal or a scoping meeting.
- LEVEL 03New business and revenueWon engagements and the revenue they bring.
The research
People do business with people they trust.
The research backs up what you already know: relationships drive revenue.
- +8.1%REVENUERegular business relationship meetings raised revenue 8.1% in a randomized study of 2,800 firms.Cai and Szeidl, Quarterly Journal of Economics, 2018
- $1,775PROFIT PER $1,000Personal relationship investment returned $1,775 in profit for every $1,000 in B2B.Palmatier, Gopalakrishna and Houston, Marketing Science, 2006
- 3+ yearsQUIET, STILL USEFULReconnecting with contacts quiet for 3+ years gave advice as useful as current contacts’.Levin, Walter and Murnighan, Organization Science, 2011
- 2+ peoplePER CLIENT RELATIONSHIPClient relationships held by more than one person are more likely to stay when an executive leaves.Rogan, Academy of Management Journal, 2014
- 1 in 2PROPOSALS WONProfessional services firms win about 1 in 2 proposals.SPI Research, 2025 benchmark, 403 firms
Three levels, counted separately
From useful conversations to new business
- 01
How your relationships are developing.
Renewed two-way conversations, introductions accepted, help people confirmed was useful, and promises kept.
A message sent is activity, not proof of a stronger relationship.
- 02
Qualified opportunities.
Someone who is not yet a client asks you for a proposal or a scoping meeting on a service you offer.
A friendly conversation does not count.
- 03
New business and revenue.
New engagements and the revenue they bring.
Counted separately from opportunities and from your existing work.
The monthly review
See what is moving toward new business
- 01Which renewed conversations led to useful exchanges?
- 02Which introductions became meetings?
- 03Which prospects asked for a proposal, and which engagements were won?
The monthly review distinguishes relationship progress from commercial results, so you can see what is developing without mistaking activity for sales. Not every relationship becomes a sales opportunity, and not every opportunity becomes a client.
How outcomes are counted
ILLUSTRATIVEIllustrative examples of how outcomes are counted, not client results or promised outcomes.
| WHAT HAPPENED | WHAT WE COUNT | WHAT IT DOES NOT ESTABLISH |
|---|---|---|
| 01 · RELATIONSHIP PROGRESSA past client replies and resumes a two-way conversation after a dormant period. | A reconnection, where the agreed dormancy definition is met. | A buying need or qualified opportunity. |
| 01 · RELATIONSHIP PROGRESSBoth people accept an introduction. | An accepted introduction. A meeting is counted separately, only once held. | Business won. |
| 01 · RELATIONSHIP PROGRESSSomeone confirms that the help you shared was useful. | A confirmed useful exchange. | A debt, referral obligation or buying intent. |
| 02 · QUALIFIED OPPORTUNITYA non-client asks for a proposal or scoping meeting on a service you offer. | A qualified opportunity. Proposals and wins are recorded separately. | A signed engagement or revenue. |
| 03 · NEW BUSINESSAn engagement is won and payment is collected. | The won engagement and collected revenue, separately. | Profit or proof that STOA caused the win. |
Fair comparisons
Progress needs a fair comparison
A monthly total is only part of the picture. We look at outcomes over a stated period, the eligible contacts or opportunities behind each rate, and how much is known.
Recent opportunities may still be open. Missing feedback stays unknown, not unsuccessful.
- Won
- Not won
- Still open
- Unknown
- A larger contact list
- A different reporting period
- Outcomes that need more time
Counting boundaries
A clear picture, not inflated numbers
We review the available evidence with you, including quick updates on conversations outside connected systems. Share only information appropriate to share.
If an outcome is unknown, we say so.
- A message sent, a give logged or a meeting bookedProof a relationship got stronger
- An opportunityA closed client
- A closed clientProfit
- Revenue linked to a STOA planProof, by itself, that STOA caused it
Testing our contribution
How we test what STOA adds
Where applicable, the engine is designed to hold out a random 20% of eligible contacts from a specific play and compare outcomes. That comparison helps assess what STOA adds, rather than treating every associated win as an impact we caused.
Small samples or incomplete outcomes can leave the answer inconclusive.
- Help you were promised
- Normal service
- A reply to someone who reached out
- 80% receive the play
- 20% held out at random
Then compare outcomes between the two groups.