Opportunities Advanced
TL;DR
Opportunities Advanced tracks how many sales opportunities move forward in the pipeline—typically from early qualification to mid-to-late stages like demo, proposal, or negotiation. In B2B SaaS, this metric reflects deal momentum, rep effectiveness, and how well your sales process converts interest into intent. It’s a strong indicator of pipeline health and sales execution.
What is Opportunities Advanced?
This metric counts the number of opportunities that progressed from one defined stage to the next within a given timeframe.
Example: If 30 opportunities moved from “Discovery” to “Demo Scheduled” in a month, your Opportunities Advanced = 30 for that period.
You can define "advanced" based on your pipeline stages, such as:
- Discovery → Demo
- Demo → Proposal
- Proposal → Negotiation
Often tracked as either:
- Count of opps advanced, or
- % advancement rate (opps advanced ÷ total opps in stage)
Why It Matters in B2B SaaS
- It reflects deal quality and engagement. Only qualified, interested buyers move forward
- It highlights rep execution. High advancement often correlates with strong discovery, objection handling, and follow-up
- It strengthens forecast confidence. Advancing deals are closer to revenue—this metric helps predict short-term bookings
- It signals buyer intent. Moving past early stages suggests the buyer is evaluating seriously
- It reveals process bottlenecks. A drop in advancement rate may point to friction in your demo or proposal stages
How to Measure Opportunities Advanced
Step 1: Define which stage transitions count as an “advance”
Step 2:Use CRM data to track:
- Opportunities that moved from Stage A to Stage B or beyond
- Timeframe (weekly/monthly/quarterly)
Step 3:Segment by:
- Rep or team
- Deal type (new biz, expansion)
- Buyer persona or industry
Best Practices
- Standardize pipeline stages. Clear definitions prevent noise in what counts as “advanced”
- Track both volume and rate. Advancing 10 out of 100 opps is very different than 10 out of 20
- Pair with conversion metrics. Advancement is only meaningful if it leads to closed-won
- Review by persona. Different buyer types may stall at different points—adapt your playbook accordingly
- Coach based on drop-offs. If opps stall after demo, reps may need help with value articulation or pricing conversations
Final Thought
In SaaS sales, opportunity creation gets you in the game—but advancement keeps you in the running. This metric tells you whether prospects are truly progressing toward purchase or just sitting idle. The more opps that advance, the more likely you are to hit your number—so make every stage count.
FAQs
What stages should I track advancement between?
It depends on your pipeline, but most SaaS teams monitor Discovery → Demo, Demo → Proposal, and Proposal → Negotiation.
Is this just a rep productivity metric?
Not just. It also reflects sales process clarity, buyer engagement, and alignment between GTM teams.
What’s a good benchmark?
Advancement rates vary by stage. From Discovery to Demo, 60–80% is common. From Proposal to Closed-Won, 30–50% is healthy.
How is this different from stage-to-stage conversion?
Advancement tracks movement over time. Stage-to-stage conversion typically looks at full-stage funnel conversion over a longer period.
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Get fast, accurate intelligence across sales, marketing, and CX, without scaling headcount.