Sales Cycle Length

What is Sales Cycle Length?

Sales Cycle Length tracks the number of days between opportunity creation and deal closure (won or lost).

Formula:

Sales Cycle Length = Sum of Days to Close All Deals ÷ Number of Closed Deals

Example: If 10 deals closed this quarter took a total of 600 days, your average sales cycle length is 60 days.

You can track this:

• For all deals (won + lost)
• For closed-won only (common for forecasting and planning)
• By segment (SMB vs. Enterprise)

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Why It Matters in B2B SaaS

• It reveals deal velocity. Faster cycles mean quicker revenue and better cash flow
• It supports planning. Long cycles impact hiring, budgeting, and pipeline coverage
• It flags sales process issues. A bloated cycle might mean slow follow-ups, unclear value props, or friction in procurement
• It helps you forecast better. Knowing average cycle length improves pipeline stage-based projections
• It benchmarks rep performance. Shorter cycles (with high win rates) are a sign of skilled selling

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How to Measure Sales Cycle Length

Step 1: Use CRM timestamps to record:

• Date opportunity was created
• Date opportunity was closed

Step 2: Subtract start date from close date for each opp

Step 3: Average across a time period (monthly, quarterly, annually)

Step 4: Segment by:

• Sales rep
• Deal size or type (new, upsell, renewal)
• Industry or buyer persona
• Lead source

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Best Practices

• Track by segment. SMB, mid-market, and enterprise have very different cycle expectations
• Include lost deals too. If you want a true view of rep efficiency and sales process drag
• Layer in stage duration. Understanding where deals slow down is just as important as the total cycle
• Review quarterly. Trends matter more than one-off spikes or seasonal changes
• Coach using context. Long cycles aren’t always bad—especially for large, strategic deals