RevOps metrics should help you decide what to change in sales, marketing and customer operations. Before building a dashboard, define the data source, reporting period, exclusions and person responsible for each number.
An opportunity, an order, an invoice and a payment are different events. Pipeline value is not recognised revenue. Reconcile financial measures with finance.
Win rate: wins among closed opportunities
Win rate = won opportunities / (won + lost opportunities) × 100%. If 80 opportunities close in a quarter and 20 are won, the win rate is 25%. Open opportunities are excluded.
Define when an enquiry becomes an opportunity and how a customer making no decision is classified. A team counting all enquiries cannot be compared directly with one counting only submitted proposals. Segment results by customer type and source, and show the sample size beside the percentage.
A low rate does not by itself establish poor selling. Examine fit, pricing and recorded loss reasons before choosing an intervention.
Pipeline velocity: an estimate of sales throughput
Pipeline velocity = number of opportunities × win rate × average deal value / sales cycle in days.
With 50 opportunities, a 25% win rate, a €12,000 average deal and a 60-day cycle, the calculation is 50 × 0.25 × €12,000 / 60 = €2,500 per day. Reducing the cycle to 45 days while holding the other assumptions constant gives about €3,333 per day.
This is a model of sales throughput, not a cash-flow forecast or a promise of daily revenue. Use historical win rates and cycle lengths from a comparable segment. Specify whether the cycle starts at first contact or opportunity acceptance.
CAC: the cost of acquiring a customer
CAC = sales and marketing costs allocated to acquisition / new customers acquired.
Suppose quarterly marketing costs are €30,000, sales employment costs €60,000 and tools €5,000. Total acquisition spend is €95,000. With 19 new customers, CAC is €5,000.
This example assumes all those costs support acquisition. If staff also manage existing accounts, document the allocation method. Include employer costs and commissions. With a long sales cycle, this month’s spending may not produce this month’s new customers; use a suitable longer period and explain the timing limitation.
LTV:CAC: distinguish revenue from margin
Lifetime value can describe revenue or margin. Label the method. To evaluate acquisition economics, compare acquisition cost with the margin a customer is expected to contribute.
Simplified margin-based LTV = monthly customer revenue × gross margin percentage × estimated lifetime in months.
A customer paying €500 per month at a 70% gross margin over an estimated 36 months has an LTV of €500 × 0.70 × 36 = €12,600. With a €5,000 CAC, LTV:CAC is 2.52:1. A revenue-only calculation would produce €18,000 and 3.6:1, giving a different impression.
This is an illustration, not a universal target. It excludes discounting and changes in revenue. A young business may have little evidence for the lifetime assumption. Show alternative lifetimes and track realised margin by customer cohort.
Pipeline coverage: compare like-for-like values
Pipeline coverage = open pipeline expected to close in the period / remaining sales target for that period. Use the same value basis, such as annual contract value, for both.
A €600,000 pipeline against a remaining €200,000 target gives coverage of 3. It does not guarantee attainment. Check close dates, historical win rates and the concentration of value in a few large opportunities.
Churn and NRR: keep the starting cohort fixed
Customer churn = customers lost during the period / customers at the start × 100%. State whether the period is a month or a year and define when a customer is considered lost.
NRR = (starting MRR + expansion − contraction − churned MRR) / starting MRR × 100%. MRR is monthly recurring revenue. Include only changes from customers present at the start; exclude new customers.
Starting MRR of €100,000, expansion of €15,000, contraction of €5,000 and churn of €8,000 produce 102% NRR. Recurring revenue from that customer group increased by 2%. NRR alone does not establish satisfaction: a price increase can offset lost customers.
Write a metric definition before building a dashboard
| Definition | Win rate example |
|---|---|
| Source and owner | Closed CRM opportunities; sales operations owner |
| Period | Opportunities closed during the quarter |
| Exclusions | Existing-account expansion reported separately |
| Quality check | Review missing close dates and loss reasons weekly |
| Decision | Investigate which segment changed and why |
Start with three measures that people use in decisions. Sellers may need overdue actions daily, sales leaders pipeline reviews weekly, and finance acquisition costs monthly. Reporting frequency should reflect when reliable information becomes available.
Read the RevOps operating model guide for context, then use the implementation plan to trial the definitions in one process.
Founder and CEO of Resaco. Building better tools for Finnish SMEs.
