Sunday Strategic Sync 

The Segment Where Timing Kills Deals

When your best leads arrive at your worst time.

Dan Prudhomme | February 8, 2026

 Read on dcprudhomme.me
 Read time: 3 minutes
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A roofing CEO called me frustrated.

"Dan, we're spending $35k a month on Google Ads and our close rate is stuck at 19%. What's wrong with our ads?"

I told him I didn't want to look at his ads. I wanted to see when his leads were coming in.

Turns out his ads were working perfectly. His leads were arriving at noon. His sales team was at lunch.

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This Week: The Segment Where Timing Kills Deals

Most companies with lead flow problems think the issue is traffic quality. But when the path doesn't align with buyer timing, conversion becomes impossible.

Close rates tank when you optimize for the wrong clock:

You measure when you're ready to sell, not when they're ready to buy. You staff for seller convenience, not buyer behavior. You assume "slow times" mean low demand instead of low availability. The lost conversions you're seeing aren't lead quality problems. They're timing misalignment. Smart pros don't fix the ads. They fix when they're actually available to convert.

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This Week's Micro-Syncs:

• Your close rate isn't a message problem. It's a timing problem.
• When leads ghost after initial contact, check if you're available when they're ready. Seller convenience and buyer behavior rarely sync naturally.
• Smart pros don't optimize traffic. They optimize availability around when traffic converts.

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Operator Tip

Pull your lead data by hour for the last 90 days. Map it against your actual staffing/availability. The gap between when leads arrive and when you're ready to convert them is costing you more than bad ads ever could.

Ask yourself: "Are we available when buyers are ready, or only when it's convenient for us?"

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 Cheat Sheet PDFs:

• Fix Your Funnel: 5-Step Guide To Converting Traffic Into Sales
• Ready Buyer Targeting Framework

Access these and previous issues at the bottom of this email.

Stay tuned for more Segment Sage insights next week.

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Real World Sync:

Roofing Company

Spending $35k/month on Google Ads. Close rate stuck at 19%. CEO convinced the ads were the problem. Pulled the lead timestamps. Peak inbound volume: 11 AM - 1 PM. Sales team availability: skeleton crew during lunch. The ads were working. The timing wasn't. Fixed staffing windows, close rate jumped to 31% in 45 days. Same ads. Same leads. Different availability.

Retail Store Owner

Drove between cities visiting locations. Told me lunch was the slowest time. He'd show up at noon and see three customers. I asked him to actually track traffic by hour. Lunch was the busiest time. He just wasn't there to see it. His "slow period" was when buyers were actually showing up. The traffic was there. His observation window wasn't.

HVAC Company

Ran Facebook lead gen ads. Leads came in 24/7. Only called back during business hours, 9-5. Wondered why so many leads went cold. Evening leads (6-9 PM) had 43% answer rate when called immediately. Next-day callbacks during business hours had 11% answer rate. The leads weren't bad. The response timing was.

Law Firm

Offered free consultations. Website traffic peaked 8-10 PM (people researching after work). Phone lines closed at 5 PM. Online scheduler only showed 9-5 slots. High bounce rate on contact page. The traffic was qualified. The path assumed buyers operated on their schedule.

Smart pros don't blame lead quality when conversions tank. They audit when leads arrive versus when they're actually ready to convert them.

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SageStamped: Recap & Plan

 1 Insight:
Your close rate measures availability alignment, not ad performance.

-> When quality leads don't convert, check if you're staffed when they're ready to buy, not just when it's convenient to sell.

 1 Action:
Export your lead timestamps for the last 90 days. Map them by hour and day of week.

-> Compare that data to your actual sales team availability. The gaps are costing you conversions.

 1 Resource:
Fix Your Funnel: 5-Step Guide to Converting Traffic Into Sales

-> Step 3 covers availability alignment—making sure your path can actually convert leads when they arrive, not just when it's convenient for you.

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I break down path problems like this every week in Fix the Path. Subscribe here: substack.com/@dcprudhomme

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LinkedIn Sales Navigator:

Filter

Prospects in your ICP who run lead generation or have "close rate" mentioned in posts/comments (or search "frustrated with conversion" in Sales Nav).

Signal

They're spending money on traffic. They're measuring results. They're not getting the conversions they expected. The gap isn't their ads. It's when they're available to convert.

Action

Save them into a list called "Timing Misalignment." Don't pitch audits. Offer the diagnostic question.

Example:

"Most [industry] operators blame their ads when close rates tank. Then we pull lead timestamps and find their best leads arrive when they're least available. Here's the 3-data-point check that shows if timing is killing your conversions: [when leads arrive / when you respond / when you're fully staffed]."

Connection Note

"Saw you're working on improving conversion rates. Most quality leads don't convert because of bad ads—they ghost because response timing doesn't match buyer readiness. I help [industry] operators audit availability alignment. Happy to share the framework that fixed a 19% close rate in 45 days."

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 Segment Sage Resources: 

Audience Positioning Worksheet! Download Now

Fix Your Funnel: 5-Step Guide To Converting Traffic Into Sales! Download Now

Become The Creator You'd Target Action Plan! Download Now

AI Targeting Cheat Sheet: The Best AI Tools for Smarter Segmentation!  Download Now

Smart Segmentation Matrix! Download Now

Leadership Niche Segmentation Playbook! Download Now

Ready Buyer Targeting Framework! Download Now

Segment Alignment Worksheet! Download Now

Read past issues of Segment Sage.