Sales Metrics
Frameworks for measuring and forecasting sales performance.
Leading vs Lagging Indicators
Leading Indicators (Predictive)
| Metric |
Definition |
Target Setting |
| MQLs |
Marketing qualified leads |
Based on conversion rates |
| SQLs |
Sales qualified leads |
MQL x MQL-to-SQL rate |
| Opportunities |
Discovery completed |
SQL × qualification rate |
| Pipeline |
Weighted opportunity value |
3-4x quota coverage |
| Meetings Booked |
First meetings scheduled |
Based on rep capacity |
| Proposals Sent |
Active evaluations |
Based on demo-to-proposal rate |
Lagging Indicators (Results)
| Metric |
Definition |
B2B SaaS Benchmark |
| Win Rate |
Won ÷ (Won + Lost) |
20-30% |
| Sales Cycle |
Qualified to Close |
30-90 days (SMB), 90-180 days (Enterprise) |
| ACV |
Average contract value |
Varies |
| CAC |
Total S&M ÷ New customers |
< 1/3 LTV |
| LTV:CAC |
Customer lifetime value ÷ CAC |
> 3:1 |
| CAC Payback |
Months to recover CAC |
< 12 months |
Conversion Rate Benchmarks
| Stage |
Benchmark Range |
| Visitor to Lead |
1-5% |
| Lead to MQL |
10-30% |
| MQL to SQL |
15-30% |
| SQL to Opportunity |
40-60% |
| Opportunity to Win |
20-30% |
Overall Funnel:
- Top of funnel to customer: 0.5-2%
- Outbound response rate: 1-5%
- Cold email reply rate: 3-10%
- Cold call connection rate: 10-20%
Sales Capacity Model
Target Revenue: $X
÷ ACV: $Y
= Deals Needed: N
Deals Needed ÷ Win Rate (25%) = Opportunities Needed
Opportunities ÷ SQL→Opp Rate (50%) = SQLs Needed
SQLs ÷ MQL→SQL Rate (20%) = MQLs Needed
For Rep Planning:
Quota/Rep = $X (typically 4-5x OTE)
Target Revenue ÷ Quota = Reps Needed
Ramp time = 3-6 months to productivity
Activity Metrics (by Role)
SDR Metrics
| Metric |
Daily |
Weekly |
Monthly |
| Emails sent |
50-100 |
250-500 |
1,000-2,000 |
| Calls made |
40-80 |
200-400 |
800-1,600 |
| LinkedIn touches |
20-40 |
100-200 |
400-800 |
| Meetings booked |
0.5-1 |
3-5 |
15-20 |
AE Metrics
| Metric |
Weekly |
Monthly |
Quarterly |
| Discovery calls |
8-12 |
35-50 |
100-150 |
| Demos |
5-8 |
20-30 |
60-90 |
| Proposals |
3-5 |
12-20 |
35-60 |
| Closes |
1-2 |
4-8 |
12-24 |
Pipeline Health Metrics
| Metric |
Formula |
Target |
| Coverage |
Pipeline ÷ Quota |
3-4x |
| Velocity |
(Opps × Win Rate × ACV) ÷ Cycle |
Trending up |
| Age |
Days in stage |
Below threshold |
| Progression |
Opps moving forward |
20%+ weekly |
Pipeline Hygiene Rules:
- Close dead opps within 2x average cycle
- Update stage within 48 hours of change
- No opportunities without next step scheduled
Forecasting Framework
| Category |
Definition |
Weighting |
| Closed |
Signed contract |
100% |
| Commit |
Verbal yes, paperwork in flight |
90% |
| Best Case |
Strong signal, proposal accepted |
50% |
| Pipeline |
Active, qualified opportunity |
25% |
| Upside |
Early stage, unqualified |
10% |
Forecast Formula:
Forecast = Σ(Opportunity Value × Stage Probability)
Revenue Metrics
| Metric |
Formula |
Why It Matters |
| MRR |
Monthly recurring revenue |
Base health |
| ARR |
MRR × 12 |
Annual run rate |
| Net New ARR |
New + Expansion - Churn |
True growth |
| NRR |
(Start + Expansion - Churn) ÷ Start |
Customer health |
| Gross Margin |
(Revenue - COGS) ÷ Revenue |
Unit economics |
Sales Efficiency Metrics
| Metric |
Formula |
Good |
| Magic Number |
Net New ARR ÷ Prior S&M Spend |
> 0.75 |
| CAC Payback |
CAC ÷ (ACV × Gross Margin) |
< 12 mo |
| Revenue/Rep |
ARR ÷ Quota-carrying reps |
> $500K |
| Pipeline/Rep |
Pipeline ÷ Reps |
> 3x quota |
