What is deal aging?
Deal aging is how long a deal has sat in its current stage or in the pipeline overall. Time in stage shows where a deal is stuck. Total age shows whether it is outliving the normal sales cycle. CRM platforms surface it directly: Microsoft added a days-in-current-stage view to Dynamics 365 Sales so sellers can spot stagnation before it hurts the deal, and Adobe's Marketo Measure reports average days spent in each stage.
Why it matters to a revenue leader
Age is one of the cheapest early warnings in the pipeline. Deals that sit far longer than your won deals did at the same stage close less often, and they inflate coverage. A revenue leader who sorts the pipeline by age will find the deals sellers keep for comfort. In a services business, aging repair and deficiency quotes are also revenue left on sites you already serve.
How to calculate it
Time in stage = today minus the date the deal entered its current stage. Deal age = today minus the creation date. Compare each with the median for won deals at the same stage.
Common mistake: letting re-created or re-staged opportunities reset the clock.
Example
Fictitious numbersA fire protection company's won deals spent a median of 21 days in proposal. Twelve open deals have sat in proposal for more than 60 days, worth $540,000 combined. Those 12 make up 30% of the stage's value.
"Which open deals are older at their stage than our won deals ever were?"
Sources
- Monitor stagnated deals and how they impact the predictive score checked 9 Oct 2026
- Opportunity Velocity Dashboard | Adobe Marketo Measure checked 9 Oct 2026