Sales velocity: Why it matters and how to work it out

24 Mar

Sales teams often focus on lead generation and closing deals – but how quickly those deals move through the pipeline is just as important. That’s where sales velocity comes in. It’s a powerful metric that helps you understand how fast you’re turning opportunities into revenue. The faster your sales velocity, the more revenue you generate in less time.

Here’s what sales velocity is, why it matters and how to calculate it.

What is sales velocity?

Sales velocity measures how quickly deals move through your pipeline and generate revenue. It takes four key factors into account:

Number of opportunities – The total number of potential deals in your pipeline.
Average deal value – The typical revenue per closed deal.
Win rate – The percentage of deals that successfully close.
Sales cycle length – The average time it takes to close a deal.

The formula for sales velocity is:

(Number of opportunities × Average deal value × Win rate) ÷ Sales cycle length

This gives you a figure that represents how much revenue you’re generating per day.

Why sales velocity matters

Sales velocity helps you:

Forecast revenue more accurately – A higher velocity means a faster revenue cycle.
Identify bottlenecks – If deals are slowing down, you can pinpoint where and why.
Improve sales efficiency – By optimising the right areas, you can speed up deal closures.
Make better strategic decisions – Knowing how different factors affect your velocity helps you fine-tune your sales process.

How to improve sales velocity

Want to increase your sales velocity? Here’s where to focus:

1. Increase the number of opportunities

Improve lead generation efforts through inbound marketing and outbound prospecting.
Use HubSpot’s lead scoring to prioritise high-quality prospects.
Align sales and marketing teams to ensure a steady flow of qualified leads.

2. Boost your average deal value

Upsell and cross-sell to existing customers.
Focus on value-based selling rather than discounting.
Package services or products to increase deal size.

3. Improve your win rate

Optimise sales training to improve objection handling and closing techniques.
Automate follow-ups and nurture leads effectively with HubSpot workflows.
Provide social proof, case studies and strong value propositions.

4. Shorten your sales cycle

Automate repetitive tasks to speed up the process.
Identify and remove roadblocks in your sales process.
Use HubSpot’s reporting tools to analyse where deals get stuck and refine your approach.

Measure and track sales velocity in HubSpot

HubSpot makes it easy to track and optimise your sales velocity. With real-time reporting, pipeline management and automation, you can:

Monitor deal movement – HubSpot’s Sales Hub provides visibility into every stage of your pipeline, allowing you to spot delays and make data-driven decisions.
Automate lead follow-ups – Use HubSpot’s sequences and workflows to automatically engage leads and move deals forward without manual intervention.
Optimise sales performance – The sales analytics dashboard tracks key metrics like deal velocity, rep activity and conversion rates, helping you refine your sales approach.
Improve pipeline forecasting – HubSpot’s forecasting tools help you predict revenue based on current pipeline velocity, giving you greater confidence in business planning.
Enhance collaboration – With shared deal records, sales teams can work together seamlessly, ensuring no opportunities are lost or delayed.
Leverage AI-powered insights – HubSpot’s AI-driven recommendations suggest the next best actions to take based on historical deal data, helping to speed up the sales process.