win rate

The percentage of qualified opportunities that result in a closed-won deal. Win rate = (deals won) / (total qualified opportunities evaluated in a period). It is typically segmented by: deal size, market segment, competitor, and stage entered. Win rate combined with average deal size and sales cycle length gives the basic math of sales capacity and quota design.

When you'd see it: Sales analytics, competitive intelligence, quota-setting, sales hiring models.

Why it matters: Win rate is the efficiency metric of sales. Low win rates with high pipeline volume may indicate a qualification problem (entering too many deals that aren't real). High win rates with low pipeline volume may indicate a prospecting problem or over-qualification.

Common mistakes: Calculating win rate against all leads rather than qualified opportunities. Win rate should only count deals that were genuinely in play — measuring from 'all leads' inflates the denominator and hides the actual conversion story.

Related pipeline management, sales cycle, ACV, revenue forecast