Average Sales Cycle (Days)
Average number of days from opportunity creation to closed-won status — measured only on won deals (lost deals are tracked separately). The motion-velocity metric — directly determines how much pipeline coverage is needed, how quickly investment in new reps pays back, and how feedback loops on packaging or pricing experiments compound. Common pitfall: blending segment cycles (SMB and Enterprise often differ 5–10×) into a single average hides material trend signals — segment-cut the metric where deal-volume permits. — Sales KPI, I'mBoard-authored (editorial tier).
I'mBoard-authored (editorial tier)
No public third-party standard anchors this KPI yet, so I'mBoard authors and maintains the definition — transparently labeled as editorial tier. See the ontology methodology for the published vs editorial tier system and the back-attribution workstream.
Rogue ID: sales.avg_sales_cycle_days
Type: Number (days)
Domain: Sales
Definition
Average number of days from opportunity creation to closed-won status — measured only on won deals (lost deals are tracked separately). The motion-velocity metric — directly determines how much pipeline coverage is needed, how quickly investment in new reps pays back, and how feedback loops on packaging or pricing experiments compound. Common pitfall: blending segment cycles (SMB and Enterprise often differ 5–10×) into a single average hides material trend signals — segment-cut the metric where deal-volume permits.
Formula
Average Sales Cycle (Days) = Σ (close_date − created_date) across closed-won opportunities in period / Count of those opportunities. Restrict to won deals; for cycle-time analysis on lost deals, compute separately.Why it matters
Determines required pipeline coverage (a 90-day cycle needs ~1 quarter of forward pipeline; a 270-day cycle needs ~3 quarters), and is the leading indicator of ICP fit — strong fit shortens cycles; mismatched fit lengthens them.
How to interpret
Typical ranges by ACV band (industry folk-wisdom, not citation-grade): SMB < $5k ACV → 14–45 days; Mid-Market $5k–50k → 45–90 days; Enterprise $50k+ → 90–270 days; Strategic > $250k → 180–365+ days. Cycle lengthening trend over 2+ quarters at constant ACV mix is the canonical "deals stuck in evaluation" signal — usually buyer-side decision-process changes (procurement, security review) or competitive friction.
Related KPIs
sales.avg_contract_valuesales.pipeline_stage_metricssales.pipeline_sales_cyclesales.win_ratesales.pipeline_value
Source
I'mBoard editorial — authored and maintained by I'mBoard, first published 2026-04-01. No third-party standard is cited for this KPI; when one emerges, the definition is back-attributed and promoted to the published tier (a minor version bump). Read the ontology methodology for the published vs editorial tier system, attribution rules, and dispute process.
Industry benchmark
A reference distribution sourced from imboard Editorial (2026):
| Percentile | Value |
|---|---|
| 25th | 40days |
| Median | 84days |
| 75th | 150days |
Lower is better.
Stage relevance
| Company stage | Priority |
|---|---|
| Series A | Recommended |
| Series B | Recommended |
| Series C+ | Recommended |
| Public | Recommended |
Suggested for stages: Series A, Series B, Series C+, Public.
Default owning functions
- Sales
Machine-readable
- This KPI as JSON:
/api/ontology/sales/avg_sales_cycle_days.json - All Sales KPIs:
/api/ontology/sales.json - Full catalog:
/api/ontology/index.json
Average Contract Value
Average annualized contract value across new-customer deals signed during the period (ACV). Defines where the company plays on the SaaS deal-size spectrum and dictates the operating model — high-ACV businesses tolerate longer sales cycles and direct sales motions; low-ACV businesses must run product-led or inside-sales motions to keep CAC payback short. Common pitfall: blending new and expansion ACV obscures the new-logo deal-size trend that boards actually want to see. Anchored to KBCM/Sapphire SaaS Survey 2024 §Average Contract Value for cross-company benchmarking. — Sales KPI anchored to KBCM/Sapphire SaaS Survey 2024 (15th Annual).
Blended CAC Ratio
Total fully-loaded S&M spend in the period divided by the dollars of new CARR generated in the period (new-customer + expansion CARR combined). Per the SMSB standard, the headline efficiency ratio for the full sales-and-marketing motion — answers "how many cents do we spend on S&M to add one dollar of contracted ARR." Common pitfall: blending without separately reporting New CAC Ratio and Expansion CAC Ratio hides which side of the motion is driving efficiency — for a healthy SaaS company expansion CAC is usually 3–5× cheaper per dollar than new-logo CAC. — Sales KPI anchored to SaaS Metrics Standards Board.