Win Rate
The percentage of opportunities you actually close. Simple to calculate, constantly gamed. The real question isn't your win rate. It's whether you're measuring it against the right denominator.
If your team closed 20 deals this quarter and lost 80, your win rate is 20% (20 ÷ 100). But if 50 of those 'losses' were actually disqualified before a real sales conversation, you're not measuring win rate. You're measuring something else entirely.
Win rate is the most manipulated metric in sales. Teams only count "real" opportunities. They disqualify anything that might lose. They reset the clock when deals stall.
Leadership sees 35% and thinks the team is crushing it. Reality? Half the pipeline was never counted because it "wasn't qualified enough."
The fix: define your denominator and don't change it. Closed-won ÷ all opportunities past discovery. No exceptions. No retroactive disqualification. Your win rate should hurt a little. That's how you know it's real.
Define ItOther Definitions
“The percentage of final stage prospects that closed and became customers divided by the total number of deals in a given period. Measures how many deals your team wins compared to how many were pursued.”
“The percentage of opportunities that convert into closed-won deals out of all deals that reach a decision point. A core sales performance indicator showing conversion effectiveness.”
“The percentage of sales opportunities that result in closed deals. A key indicator of a sales team's ability to convert leads into customers.”
“The percentage of total sales opportunities that result in closed-won deals, measuring how many deals you actually won compared to how many you pursued.”
Everyone agrees: win rate = deals won ÷ total deals. The disagreement is about what counts as a "deal."
HubSpot says "final stage prospects." Salesforce says "deals that reach a decision point." Qwilr says "total sales opportunities." These sound similar but create wildly different numbers. If you only count deals that made it to proposal, your win rate looks great. If you count everything from first meeting, it looks terrible.
The honest approach: pick a clear starting line (we recommend "discovery completed" or "demo delivered") and stick to it. No retroactive disqualification. No "that one doesn't count." Your win rate should hurt a little. That's how you know it's real.
MistakesCommon Mistakes
Retroactively disqualifying deals to inflate win rates
Not defining a clear starting point for what counts as an 'opportunity'
Comparing win rates across different segments or deal sizes
Ignoring 'no decision' outcomes that indicate stalled deals
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