Sales velocity

One number that combines four inputs shows where a change actually pays off. Raise deal size and shorten the cycle together and velocity compounds. Fix one input while another slips and the total barely moves. A team can spend a quarter chasing bigger deals and end up no faster overall, because a longer cycle quietly ate the gain.

• Pull the four inputs from the CRM, using the same definitions each time.
• Calculate weekly, not only at quarter end.
• Change one lever at a time, so the effect can be seen.
• Watch for one input improving while another worsens, most often deal size up and win rate down.
• Set targets by segment. Small deals and large deals rarely share the same figures.

Sales velocity shows how quickly a pipeline turns into money. It combines four inputs into one figure:

• The number of open opportunities.
• The average value of a deal.
• The win rate, the share of opportunities that close.
• The sales cycle length, the average days from first contact to close.

The formula is opportunities times deal value times win rate, divided by cycle length. With 40 opportunities, an average deal of 5,000, a 25% win rate and a 50-day cycle, the pipeline produces 1,000 in revenue per day (40 x 5,000 x 0.25 / 50).

• Mixing definitions. If "open opportunity" means different things to different reps, the result is noise.
• Averaging across very different deal types, which hides the segment that is slow.