Sales velocity measures how fast you generate revenue: opportunities times win rate times deal size, divided by the sales cycle length. It shows the revenue rate — and which lever to pull.
The example
50 opps, 30% win, $10k, 60 days.
| A | B | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Item | Value |
| 2 | Numerator | 150000 |
| 3 | ÷ 60 days | → $2,500/day |
The formula
The formula:
How it works
How it works:
- Four drivers: opportunities, win rate, average deal size, and cycle length.
- Multiply the first three (expected revenue from the pipeline) and divide by cycle days.
- The result is revenue per day — a single number for sales throughput.
- It pinpoints the highest-leverage lever: shortening the cycle or lifting win rate both raise velocity.
Velocity shows where to push. Because cycle length is in the denominator, cutting the sales cycle raises velocity fastest — often more than chasing more leads. Modeling each lever in the sheet (bump win rate 5%, or trim the cycle 10 days) shows which change moves revenue-per-day the most for your team.
Try it: interactive demo
Opportunities, win %, deal size, cycle days.
Variations
Annualized
Per year:
Numerator only
Expected revenue:
Effect of shorter cycle
What-if:
Pitfalls & errors
Win rate as decimal. 30% is 0.30 in the multiplication.
Consistent period. Opportunities and cycle days should reflect the same window.
Zero cycle days. A missing cycle length gives #DIV/0!.
Practice workbook
Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate sales velocity in Excel?
What does sales velocity tell me?
Why does shortening the cycle help so much?
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