Sales cycle
SAYLZ SY-kul
The average time from first contact with a prospect to closed-won deal. Longer for enterprise, shorter for self-serve.
The sales cycle is how long it takes to close a deal from first meaningful contact to signed contract. For a self-serve developer tool, that might be minutes. For enterprise software, six to twelve months. For government contracts, eighteen months or more.
Sales cycle length determines almost everything about your go-to-market. Short cycles mean you can iterate fast, hire salespeople and see results quickly, and forecast with confidence. Long cycles mean you need patient capital, experienced reps who can navigate complex buying committees, and a pipeline deep enough to survive months of zero closings.
If your sales cycle is getting longer, something is wrong. Maybe you are selling to the wrong buyer. Maybe your champion lacks authority. Maybe procurement added a new security review step. Diagnosing why the cycle is lengthening is more valuable than any deal acceleration tactic.
Examples
A mid-market SaaS company tracks cycle time.
Average days from SQL to closed-won: 47 days. Deals with a champion close in 32 days. Deals without a champion average 78 days. The sales team focuses on identifying champions earlier.
An enterprise deal with a complex buying committee.
First demo in January. Technical evaluation in March. Security review in May. Procurement negotiation in July. Legal review in August. Contract signed in September. Nine-month sales cycle.
A PLG company with sales-assist.
Free users convert to paid in an average of 14 days. Users who talk to a salesperson convert in 7 days at 2x the ACV. The sales team focuses on high-usage free accounts.
In practice
Read more on the blog
Frequently asked questions
What is a typical B2B SaaS sales cycle?
SMB deals close in 14-30 days. Mid-market deals take 30-90 days. Enterprise deals run 90-180 days or longer. The bigger the deal and the more stakeholders involved, the longer the cycle.
How do you shorten a sales cycle?
Identify and enable champions early. Get to the economic buyer faster. Provide ROI calculators and business case templates. Remove friction from technical evaluation. Pre-answer security questionnaires. Each day removed from the cycle is money earned sooner.
Related terms
The total dollar value of deals your sales team is actively working. The most important leading indicator in any sales organization.
How fast deals move through the pipeline, measured by the dollar value of revenue your pipeline generates per day.
An internal advocate at the prospect's company who wants your solution to win and actively sells on your behalf inside their organization.
The group of people at a prospect company who collectively decide whether to purchase. Enterprise deals involve 6-10 stakeholders on average.
The first structured sales conversation where a rep qualifies the prospect by understanding their problem, timeline, and buying process.
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