Sales Metrics

Sales Cycle Length: Average days from qualified opportunity to close

The average number of days from a qualified opportunity being created to closed-won.

Definition

Sales cycle length is the average number of days from when an opportunity is qualified (or created) to when it is closed-won. It measures the speed of the sales engine and constrains rep capacity, forecasting horizon and cash flow.

Formula

Sales Cycle = average (Close Date − Create Date) for closed-won deals in period

Sales Cycle (days) = Σ (Close Date − Create Date) / Closed Won Count

Worked example

Average deal closes in 75 days. Enterprise (£100k+ ACV) closes in 120 days; SMB (£10-30k ACV) in 30 days. Knowing the split lets you forecast and staff accurately by segment.

Why it matters

Sales cycle length affects forecasting accuracy, cash flow, rep capacity and pipeline coverage requirements. A 90-day cycle means a rep can only run a handful of deals concurrently. Shortening cycle by 10% has compounding effects on revenue, capacity and rep happiness.

Common mistakes

  • Computing cycle from first touch rather than qualification (inflates the number)
  • Reporting only median or only average without both (long-tail enterprise deals skew the mean)
  • Failing to segment by deal size

Related terms

Win RatePipeline CoverageACV

Read more in The Guide

Chapter: Pipeline & Forecasting →

Sources & further reading

  • — Drawn from Evara's working definitions used on retained search and revenue advisory engagements (2024–2026).
  • — Reconciled against industry conventions in SaaStr, OpenView SaaS Benchmarks and Bessemer State of the Cloud.
  • — Reviewed by Rich Evans, Strategic Advisor at Evara and former operator/founder.

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