Sales Cycle Length: How to Measure and Shorten It

A sales cycle is the set of steps a seller follows to turn a prospect into a paying customer. HubSpot describes it as a tactical process, and lists stages such as prospecting, connecting, research, presenting, handling objections, closing and follow up.

Sales cycle length is the time that process takes. Salesforce puts it simply: the total number of days it takes for deals to close, divided by the total number of closed deals. It can be as short as a week. In business-to-business (B2B) sales, a deal worth thousands or even millions of dollars can take more than a year.

The length depends on what you sell, who buys it, and how much information you must give before you get a yes. A small software plan and a custom service contract will not share the same number.

Sources: Salesforce Canada, "Sales Cycle Length: How It's Calculated And Why It's Important" (March 1, 2021); HubSpot, "The Sales Cycle: The Backbone of a Successful Sales Effort"

You need two dates for each closed deal: the day the opportunity was created and the day it was marked closed and won. Follow these steps.

1. Export closed-won deals for one period, such as a quarter.
2. For each deal, subtract the created date from the close date to get days.
3. Add all the days together.
4. Divide by the number of deals.

Salesforce suggests matching the period to the way you track revenue. If you close the books each quarter, measure by quarter. If you review results monthly, measure by month. It also notes that the data is often scattered across reps and files, and that a CRM puts it in one place, which is why this metric is one of the first things a CRM can show.

Here is a small example with five hypothetical deals from early in the year.

The total is 280 days across 5 deals, so the sales cycle length is 56 days. Notice the spread. Two deals closed in 30 days and one took 91. The average alone hides that.

Sources: Salesforce Canada, "Sales Cycle Length: How It's Calculated And Why It's Important" (March 1, 2021). The five deals and their dates are hypothetical.

Salesforce warns that the figure will not tell the full picture. Some deals close early and others stretch because of events no one planned for. Treat the average as a baseline you can improve, not a verdict.

A few habits keep the number useful:

• Fix the start date. Pick one rule, such as the day the opportunity is created, and use it for every deal. If reps set the date by hand, results will drift.
• Count only won deals. Lost deals have no close date that means the same thing. Track them on their own.
• Split by deal type. Small and large accounts, or new and repeat buyers, often run on different clocks. Mixing them blurs both.
• Look at the middle too. In the example, the middle deal took 45 days while the average was 56. If a few long deals pull the average up, the middle value shows a more typical case.

Sources: Salesforce Canada, "Sales Cycle Length: How It's Calculated And Why It's Important" (March 1, 2021). The advice on splitting deal types and checking the middle value is editorial guidance.

Salesforce points to several places where time leaks out of a deal. Check your own CRM for each one.

• Poor fits at the top. Leads that do not match your ideal customer profile send reps down dead ends. Weak qualification lengthens the cycle before it has really begun. Our guide to B2B lead scoring shows one way to screen early.
• The wrong channel. Calling a prospect who would rather get an email, or the other way around, wastes hours or even days.
• Missing people. B2B buying rarely involves one person. Often a whole committee must weigh in, and if one member is left out, the deal slows. See who signs off on a B2B purchase.
• Missing content. Reps without case studies, white papers or short explainer videos have a harder time answering common objections.
• Late-stage approvals. A final offer, its price and payment terms, and the time a deal needs to be approved by someone in another department can all add weeks.

To find your worst step, record the date each deal enters each stage. Then compare the days spent in each stage across your closed deals. The stage with the longest wait is the best place to start.

Sources: Salesforce Canada, "Sales Cycle Length: How It's Calculated And Why It's Important" (March 1, 2021). The stage-by-stage comparison is editorial guidance.

Each cause above has a matching fix. Start with the one that costs the least.

1. Score leads the moment they arrive. Salesforce suggests that marketing make a first pass, checking contact details, customer segment and some sign of interest.
2. Use the buyer's preferred channel. Some prospects respond best after a webinar or a white paper download rather than cold outreach.
3. Invite the right people early. Ask your first contact who their boss is and which peers in other departments should join calls or be copied on emails.
4. Give reps the right content. Build assets from the objections reps hear in coaching sessions.
5. Plan the late stages. Change how you present the final offer, and allow for the time an internal approval will take.

Measure again after each change, using the same start and end rules. If the number falls and the win rate holds, the change worked. If both fall, you may have rushed buyers who needed more time.

Sources: Salesforce Canada, "Sales Cycle Length: How It's Calculated And Why It's Important" (March 1, 2021). The advice to track win rate alongside cycle length is editorial guidance.

1. Salesforce Canada, "Sales Cycle Length: How It's Calculated And Why It's Important," March 1, 2021. salesforce.com
2. HubSpot, "The Sales Cycle: The Backbone of a Successful Sales Effort." blog.hubspot.com