The sales velocity formula, opportunities times win rate times average deal value divided by cycle length, how to compute each factor from CRM snapshots and closed outcomes rather than from the CRM's own summary, per rep and per segment, why the factors are not independent, and how to find which one changed when velocity did, with a worked decomposition.
Sales velocity is a single number made of four, and the four are what a sales leader can act on. Computed from the CRM's own summary they are usually wrong in the same direction. This guide sets out each factor from snapshots and outcomes, the decomposition that says which one moved, and the one that usually did.
Velocity = opportunities × win rate × average won value ÷ cycle length
Revenue per day.
| Factor | Compute from | Not from |
|---|---|---|
| Opportunities | Qualified opportunities created in the period, from snapshots | Open pipeline count |
| Win rate | Won ÷ (won + lost) among opportunities that reached an outcome in the period | Open pipeline probabilities |
| Average won value | Mean closed-won value in the period | Open deal values |
| Cycle length | Mean days from qualification to close, won deals, in the period | Today's close dates |
Opportunity and rep identifiers only.
Velocity this quarter against last. For each factor, recompute velocity with that factor at this quarter's value and the other three at last quarter's. The change attributable to each factor is the difference. The four attributions sum, approximately, to the total change; the residual is the interaction, shown.
| Factor | Last quarter | This quarter |
|---|---|---|
| Opportunities | 120 | 131 |
| Win rate | 28% | 27% |
| Average won value | $42,000 | $43,000 |
| Cycle length | 61 days | 79 days |
| Velocity | $23,100/day | $19,200/day |
| Move only | Velocity | Attributable change |
|---|---|---|
| Opportunities | $25,200 | +$2,100 |
| Win rate | $22,300 | −$800 |
| Deal value | $23,700 | +$600 |
| Cycle length | $17,800 | −$5,300 |
| Interaction | −$500 |
Velocity fell by seventeen percent and cycle length explains more than all of it. The other three improved. The finding is eighteen days, and the stage-level cycle data says which stage grew.
| Rep | Opps | Win rate | Avg won | Cycle | Velocity | Change | Driver |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R-04 | 41 | 22% | $48,000 | 92 | $4,700/day | −31% | Cycle |
| R-11 | 38 | 34% | $39,000 | 58 | $8,700/day | +4% |
Rep R-04's cycle is a third longer than the team's and grew. The deals that slipped are the reason, and the slip count list has them by name.
Factors from the CRM summary. Win rate from open probabilities; cycle from today's dates.
Velocity read without decomposition. Down seventeen percent, cause unknown.
Factors read as independent. More opportunities at a lower win rate called growth.
Monthly win rate. Six outcomes; a rate that swings thirty points.
Mapped once, the pipeline snapshots and the outcomes produce the four factors per rep and segment, the decomposition and the driver every quarter. Covirage builds this from the exports as they are. The forecast analysis solution describes the setup, and the slip count guide covers the deals that usually explain a longer cycle.
Because its win rate is often computed on the current pipeline, its deal value on open deals rather than won ones, and its cycle length on whatever close dates are in the system today. Computed from snapshots and outcomes, each factor describes what actually happened to deals that reached an outcome.
No. Qualifying more opportunities lowers win rate; chasing bigger deals lengthens the cycle. The decomposition shows which moved, and the sales leader reads the four together. A velocity gain from more opportunities at a lower win rate is a different result from the same gain at the same win rate.
A quarter for the factors, on opportunities that reached an outcome in that quarter, with the cycle measured from qualification. Monthly is too noisy for win rate at most teams; the report shows the counts behind each factor.