Proposal rate

Every qualified deal has had time and effort invested in it. A deal that stalls before a proposal is revenue lost at no visible cost, because nobody records it as a refusal. It simply stops moving. A low rate often points to friction, such as proposals that take a week to write, no agreed next step, or a seller waiting for a perfect scope.

1. Count proposals sent and qualified opportunities for the same period and divide.
2. Break the rate down by deal size, seller and source to see where deals stall.
3. Agree a next step at the end of every qualifying call, with a date for the proposal.
4. Build templates for the two or three most common deal types, so turnaround drops from days to hours.
5. Track days between qualification and proposal as well. Long gaps cool interest.

Proposal rate measures one step in a sales process: the move from "this prospect is a fit" to "a written offer has been sent". If 40 deals were qualified this quarter and 28 received a proposal, the proposal rate is 70 per cent.

It sits between qualification rate and win rate. Qualification rate asks whether the right people are entering the pipeline. Win rate asks whether proposals convert. Proposal rate asks whether qualified deals ever reach the point where they can be won.

• Counting a verbal price as a proposal. Use a written document, so the figure is consistent.
• Mixing deals qualified in different periods, which makes the percentage swing.
• Pushing the rate up by sending weak proposals to unqualified deals.