Glossary
What is show rate?
The share of booked meetings that actually happen. No-show rate is the share where the prospect didn't turn up.
Definition
Show rate is the percentage of booked meetings that actually take place with the prospect present. It's calculated as meetings held divided by meetings booked, times 100. No-show rate is the opposite: the share of booked meetings the prospect didn't attend. Sales teams track both to judge meeting quality, not just meeting volume.
How to calculate show rate
- Show rate = meetings held ÷ meetings booked × 100
- No-show rate = meetings missed ÷ meetings booked × 100
Decide upfront how to count edge cases, and stay consistent. A common approach: a meeting rescheduled with notice isn't a no-show, it moves to its new date. A cancellation hours before the call, or no reply when you're waiting on the link, usually counts as a no-show. Measure over a fixed period, like a month, so you can compare.
An example
Say an SDR books 50 discovery calls in March. Of those, 38 happen, 4 are rescheduled to April, and 8 prospects don't show. If you exclude the reschedules, 46 meetings were due in March: show rate is 38 ÷ 46, about 83%, and no-show rate is 8 ÷ 46, about 17%. Those numbers are illustrative. What matters is comparing your own rate month to month and by lead source.
Why prospects don't show
- Weak commitment. The meeting was pushed rather than wanted.
- Too far out. A call booked three weeks away is easy to forget or deprioritize.
- No calendar invite, or an invite with no clear agenda.
- Wrong person. The lead didn't match your ICP and had little reason to attend.
How to improve show rate
- Book soon. Offer times in the next few days while interest is fresh. See speed to lead.
- Send a real invite with a one-line agenda and what they'll get from the call.
- Confirm the day before with a short, personal note, not a generic reminder.
- Let them pick the time through a booking page that only shows slots when you're actually free.
- Qualify first. A short question before booking filters out people who were never going to show.
How Siela AI uses it
Siela's booking pages are checked against your connected calendars, and the AI SDR shares your booking link when a prospect is ready to talk.
Questions
What is a good show rate for sales meetings?
It depends on how meetings are booked. Meetings a prospect requested usually show at higher rates than ones booked through cold outreach. Rather than chasing an industry number, track your own rate by lead source and work on the lowest one.
Should rescheduled meetings count as no-shows?
Usually not, if the prospect gave notice and picked a new time. Count the meeting once, on the date it actually happens or is missed. Whatever rule you choose, apply it the same way every month so the trend means something.
Less jargon, more conversations.
Siela AI finds people with a fresh reason to talk, reaches them on LinkedIn, X and email from your own accounts, and keeps your social going.