Sales Metrics

Metrics for measuring sales team performance and pipeline health.

Pipeline Metrics

Pipeline Value

Definition: Total value of all active sales opportunities.

Formula (weighted):

Pipeline Value = Sum of (Deal value × Stage probability) for all open opportunities

Formula (unweighted):

Pipeline Value = Sum of (Deal value) for all open opportunities

Always specify whether weighted or unweighted.

Weighted vs unweighted:

Weighted: More realistic, accounts for deal stage. A $100K deal at 50% stage = $50K weighted value.
Unweighted: Simpler, shows total potential. Useful for capacity planning.

What it tells you: The potential revenue if deals close at expected rates.

Sources: Clari, Salesforce

Pipeline Coverage Ratio

Definition: The ratio of pipeline value to quota for the period.

Formula:

Pipeline Coverage = Total Pipeline Value / Quota for Period

Express as multiple (e.g., “3x” or “3:1”).

Why 3x-4x works: The math is 1 / Win Rate. If you win 25% of deals, you need 4x coverage (1 ÷ 0.25 = 4). If you win 33%, you need 3x.

Benchmarks:

Below 2x: Insufficient pipeline, high risk of missing quota
2-3x: Light, acceptable for high win rate teams
3-4x: Healthy for typical 25-33% win rates
Above 4x: Strong, but may indicate pipeline hygiene issues or low win rates

By segment:

SMB/high-velocity: 2-3x may suffice
Mid-market: 2.5-4x typical
Enterprise: 3-5x (longer cycles, more stakeholders)

What it tells you: Whether there’s enough pipeline to hit targets given historical conversion rates.

Calculate your ideal: Use your actual win rate, not generic benchmarks.

Sources:

Pipeline Velocity

Definition: The speed at which pipeline converts to revenue. Also called Sales Velocity or Deal Velocity.

Formula:

Pipeline Velocity = (# Opportunities × Win Rate × Average Deal Size) / Sales Cycle Length

Result is revenue per day (or per period).

The four levers:

Opportunities - Number of qualified opportunities in pipeline
Win Rate - Conversion rate from opportunity to close
Deal Size - Average deal value (ACV)
Cycle Length - Days from opportunity to close

Example: 50 opportunities × 35% win rate × $2,500 deal size ÷ 28 days = $1,562/day

What it tells you: The theoretical throughput of your sales engine. Improving any component improves velocity.

How to use: Identify which lever is the bottleneck. Not enough leads? Improve opportunities. Deals stuck in negotiation? Reduce cycle length.

Sources:

Conversion Metrics

Win Rate

Definition: The percentage of qualified opportunities that close as won.

Formula:

Win Rate = Deals Won / (Deals Won + Deals Lost) × 100

Exclude open deals and deals disqualified before reaching qualified stage.

Overall Benchmarks:

Below 15%: Low, investigate qualification or competitive issues
15-25%: Average (industry average ~22-25%)
25-35%: Good
35-50%: Strong/top performer

By deal size:

<$10K ACV: 28-35%
$10K-$50K: 20-28%
$50K-$100K: 15-22%
$100K: 12-18%

By segment:

SMB: 30-40%
Mid-market: 25-35%
Enterprise: 20-25%

What it tells you: How effective the sales team is at closing qualified opportunities.

Common mistakes:

Including unqualified leads (inflates denominator, deflates rate)
Not specifying stage (win rate from MQL vs SQL vs Qualified Opp will differ dramatically)
Comparing across deal sizes without adjusting expectations

Key insight: Focus on improvement over time, not hitting arbitrary targets.

Sources:

Lead-to-Opportunity Rate

Definition: The percentage of leads that become qualified opportunities.

Formula:

Lead-to-Opportunity = Opportunities created / Leads received × 100

Benchmarks:

5-15%: Typical for inbound leads
1-5%: Typical for outbound/cold leads
Varies significantly by lead source and ICP fit

What it tells you: Lead quality and SDR/qualification effectiveness.

Sources: HubSpot, Databox

Opportunity-to-Close Rate

Definition: The percentage of qualified opportunities that close as won. Also called Close Rate.

Formula:

Opportunity-to-Close = Closed Won / (Closed Won + Closed Lost) × 100

Note: This is essentially Win Rate measured from the opportunity stage.

What it tells you: AE effectiveness at converting qualified pipeline.

Sources: Outreach

Deal Metrics

ACV (Annual Contract Value)

Definition: The annualized value of a contract, normalizing multi-year deals to a single year. Also used to describe average deal size when aggregated.

Formula (single contract):

ACV = (Total Contract Value - One-time fees) / Contract term in years

Formula (average across deals):

Average ACV = Sum of ACV for all deals / Number of deals

Example: A 3-year contract worth $150K (excluding setup fees) = $50K ACV.

For monthly contracts, annualize: Monthly value × 12

Excludes: One-time fees (setup, implementation, training)

ACV vs ARR:

ACV = Value of a single contract, annualized
ARR = Total recurring revenue across all customers at a point in time

Typical ranges:

SMB: <$5K
Mid-market: $25K-$100K
Enterprise: $100K+

What it tells you: Deal size and customer segment. Important for CAC analysis and go-to-market strategy.

Sources:

Average Deal Size

Definition: The average total value of closed deals (total contract value, not annualized).

Formula:

Average Deal Size = Total contract value of closed deals / Number of deals

Difference from ACV: Average Deal Size uses total contract value (TCV). ACV annualizes multi-year deals.

Example: A 3-year, $150K deal = $150K deal size, but $50K ACV.

What it tells you: Raw deal size. Useful when contract lengths vary significantly.

Sources: Paddle, ChurnZero

Sales Cycle Length

Definition: The average time from opportunity creation to close.

Formula:

Sales Cycle = Average of (Close date - Opportunity created date) for won deals

Measured in days. Use median rather than average to reduce outlier skew.

Benchmarks by segment:

SMB: 14-40 days
Mid-market: 60-90 days
Enterprise: 90-180+ days

Benchmarks by ACV:

<$2K ACV: ~14 days (1-2 call close)
<$5K ACV: ~30-40 days
$5K-$25K ACV: ~60-90 days
$25K-$100K ACV: 90-180 days
$100K ACV: 170+ days (often 6-12 months)
$500K ACV: 6-18+ months (annual budget cycles)

Overall median: ~84 days across B2B SaaS

What it tells you: How long deals take to close. Longer cycles require more pipeline coverage.

Recent trends (2024-2025):

Cycles 22% longer since 2022 due to budget scrutiny
Average B2B deal involves 6.8 stakeholders (up from 5.4 in 2020)
CFO involvement in software purchases up 40%
Negotiation → Close accounts for 35-40% of enterprise cycle time

Sources:

Productivity Metrics

Quota Attainment

Definition: The percentage of quota achieved by a rep or team.

Formula (individual):

Quota Attainment = Revenue Closed / Quota × 100

Formula (team):

Team Attainment = Total Team Revenue / Total Team Quota × 100

Or: Average of individual rep attainment rates.

Reality check: Industry data shows most reps don’t hit quota:

Average individual attainment: 43-50%
Only 24% of reps exceed annual quota
69% of B2B reps fall short of quota

Benchmarks (individual rep):

Below 50%: Below average
50-80%: Average range
80-100%: Strong performer
100%+: Top performer / exceeding

Benchmarks (team/company):

50%: Average (median rep at quota)
60-70%: Good
80-90%: Strong
90%+: Exceptional (or quotas may be too low)

What it tells you: Sales rep and team performance against targets.

Quota setting rule of thumb: Quota = 5x rep OTE (ranges from 3x to 8x depending on company stage).

Sources:

Revenue per Rep

Definition: Total revenue generated divided by number of quota-carrying reps.

Formula:

Revenue per Rep = Total New Revenue / Number of Quota-Carrying Reps

Benchmarks (Annual, New Business):

By company stage:

Seed: $250K-$400K
Series A: $400K-$600K
Series B+: $600K-$1M+

By segment:

SMB: $400K-$600K
Mid-market: $600K-$800K
Enterprise: $800K-$1.5M+

Median B2B SaaS: $500K-$700K quota capacity

Top performers: $1M+ annually

What it tells you: Sales team productivity and efficiency.

Factors affecting output:

ACV (higher = more per rep possible)
Sales cycle length (longer = less per rep)
Market maturity and brand recognition
Sales support infrastructure (SDRs, tools)

Sources:

Ramp Time

Definition: Time for a new sales rep to reach full productivity (carrying full quota).

Formula:

Ramp Time = Time from start date to consistently achieving quota

Common calculation: Average sales cycle + 90 days (for onboarding/training)

Measured in months.

Benchmarks by role:

SDR: 2-3 months
Inside Sales/SMB AE: 3-4 months
Mid-market AE: 4-6 months
Enterprise AE: 6-9 months

Industry averages:

Average SaaS ramp: 3.2-5 months
41% of companies report 5+ months
Top performers target 3-4 months

Ramp quota structure (typical):

Month 1: 25% quota
Month 2: 50% quota
Month 3: 75% quota
Month 4+: 100% quota

What it tells you: How quickly new hires become productive. Impacts hiring planning and capacity forecasting.

Sources:

Activity Metrics (Diagnostic)

These are inputs, not outcomes. Track for diagnostics, not reporting.

Metric	Definition
Calls per day	Outbound calls made
Emails per day	Outbound emails sent
Meetings booked	Discovery/demo meetings scheduled
Demos delivered	Product demonstrations completed

Summary Table

Metric	Type	Primary Indicator Of
Pipeline Value	Pipeline	Total opportunity
Pipeline Coverage	Pipeline	Risk to hitting quota
Win Rate	Conversion	Sales effectiveness
Lead-to-Opportunity	Conversion	Lead quality + qualification
ACV	Deal	Deal size, segmentation
Sales Cycle	Deal	Time to revenue
Quota Attainment	Productivity	Rep performance
Revenue per Rep	Productivity	Team efficiency