What is win rate?

If your team closed 40 deals last quarter and won 10 of them, your win rate is 25%. It is one of the few numbers that tells you how good your selling is, not just how busy you are.

Why win rate matters

Win rate sits behind almost every other sales number. It sets how much pipeline you need, how far you can trust a forecast and what a new lead is worth to you.

It also shows where to improve. A low win rate with plenty of leads points at qualification or at the offer. A high win rate with few leads points at too little prospecting.

How to calculate win rate

Win rate = deals won ÷ (deals won + deals lost)

Count closed deals only. Deals that are still open do not belong in the bottom half of the fraction, or the rate will look worse than it is.

Two choices change the answer, so write them down and keep them the same:

• Count by deals or by value. A win rate by count treats a $2,000 order and a $200,000 order equally. A win rate by value shows how much money you win against how much you chased.
• Decide which deals count. Some teams count every deal created, others only deals that reached a qualified stage. Pick one.

An example from coatings sales

These figures are made up.

A coatings manufacturer closed 30 deals this half-year. It won 9 and lost 21. Win rate by count is 9 ÷ 30, which is 30%.

The 9 wins were worth $180,000. The 21 losses were worth $520,000. Win rate by value is $180,000 ÷ $700,000, about 26%. The value rate is lower because the team tends to lose the larger deals.

That points to a next step: look at why the big deals go to someone else. Maybe the sample took too long, maybe the price list was out of date, maybe a competitor answered faster on WhatsApp.

What affects win rate

• Who you chase. Deals that match your best customers close more often.
• Speed. Buyers often go with the supplier who sends the quote and the sample first.
• Follow-up. Deals go quiet when nobody owns the next step.
• Price and terms. Customer-specific prices are easy to get wrong when they live in a spreadsheet.

Track lost reasons as well. A win rate with no lost reasons tells you what happened but not why.

Win rate by stage

You can also measure how many deals move from one stage to the next. If many deals reach the sample stage but few reach the quote, the problem sits between those two points. Read more about deal stages.

Related terms

• Pipeline coverage uses win rate to decide how much pipeline you need.
• Sales velocity takes win rate as one of its four inputs.
• Sales forecasting applies win rates to open deals.
• Lead scoring is one way teams try to raise win rate by focusing on better leads.

How PromptLab handles it

Every deal in PromptLab has a stage and a value and closes as won or lost, and quotes attach to the deal automatically. That gives you the won and lost counts without a second system, and reports and dashboards on pipeline and revenue let you track them over time.

Frequently asked questions

What is a good win rate in B2B sales?

It varies by industry, deal size and how well you qualify. Compare yourself with your own past quarters instead of an outside average. A rising trend matters more than any single figure.

Should open deals count in win rate?

No. Only closed deals, won or lost, belong in the formula. Open deals have no result yet.

Is win rate the same as conversion rate?

They are close but not identical. Conversion rate can describe any step, such as lead to meeting. Win rate describes the last step, from deal to sale.

How do I raise my win rate?

Qualify earlier, answer faster, follow up every quote and record why you lose. Fix the stage where most deals drop out first.