What is sales velocity?
Sales velocity measures how fast pipeline turns into revenue: opportunities times win rate times average deal size, divided by sales cycle length. The result is revenue per day or per month. It combines four levers into one number so a leader can see when the engine speeds up or slows down, then look at the inputs to find out why.
Why it matters to a revenue leader
Velocity shows trade-offs that single metrics hide. A team can raise win rate by qualifying harder and still lose velocity if opportunity count falls further. For a PE-backed services company, the four inputs map to value-creation work: more opportunities from the installed base, better win rates on bids, pricing discipline and shorter quote-to-signature times. Track the inputs; the composite only tells you that something changed.
How to calculate it
Sales velocity = (qualified opportunities × win rate × average deal size) ÷ sales cycle length in days. The formula is widely published, and no single originator is established.
Common mistake: changing definitions between periods, such as counting unqualified opportunities one quarter and qualified ones the next.
Example
Fictitious numbersA facility services company has 60 qualified opportunities, a 25% win rate, a $40,000 average deal and a 75-day cycle. Velocity is 60 × 0.25 × $40,000 ÷ 75 = $8,000 per day. Cutting the cycle to 60 days with the same inputs raises it to $10,000 per day.
"Which of the four velocity inputs changed most this quarter, and why?"
Sources
- Sales Velocity Is The Most Important Metric You Aren't Tracking checked 9 Oct 2026
- Opportunity Velocity Dashboard | Adobe Marketo Measure checked 9 Oct 2026