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