Marketing & Sales Metrics

Deal Cycle

Average time from lead created to closed-won — measures sales velocity.

Deal Cycle = Average days from MQL/SQL to closed-won. Often broken into stages: lead → qualification → demo → proposal → negotiation → close. Each stage has typical duration.

Indian SMB SaaS deal cycles: Self-serve 0-3 days. Sales-led SMB 14-45 days. Mid-market 60-120 days. Enterprise 90-180+ days. Long cycles need account-based selling, multi-touch nurture, and procurement-aware processes.

Reducing deal cycle: faster qualification, demo-first instead of consultative, free trials, signature workflows (DocuSign integration), and removing enterprise-procurement bottlenecks.

India context

Indian B2B SaaS deal cycles often inflate due to procurement / multiple decision-makers. Shorter cycles correlate with self-serve PLG (product-led growth) plays where the user makes the decision.

Examples

  • A SaaS with 30-day average deal cycle from demo to close.
  • If demo→close is 30 days, sales velocity = (deals/month × ACV × win rate) / cycle days.

FAQ

How do I shorten deal cycle?

Disqualify earlier (don't waste time on bad fits), use trials to build conviction without sales calls, automate proposal generation, integrate e-signature, and reduce stakeholder meetings.

Should I track median or average cycle?

Median is more robust to outliers (one 6-month deal skews average). Track both — average for revenue forecasting, median for typical experience.

What's the relationship between deal cycle and ACV?

Inverse — bigger ACV deals usually have longer cycles. SMB ₹2K/month closes in 14 days; enterprise ₹50K/month takes 90+ days. Plan capacity accordingly.

Related concepts

MQLSQLwin rateACVpipeline velocity

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Related glossary entries

MQL (Marketing Qualified Lead) — Lead deemed worth talking to by marketing — meets initial criteria but hasn't been validated by sales.Win Rate — % of qualified opportunities (SQLs) that convert to closed-won customers.ACV (Annual Contract Value) — Annualized value of one customer contract — used for measuring deal size in B2B SaaS.

More in Marketing & Sales Metrics

CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost)LTV (Lifetime Value)ROAS (Return on Ad Spend)MRR (Monthly Recurring Revenue)AOV (Average Order Value)RTO (Return to Origin)GMV (Gross Merchandise Value)Churn
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