Lead-to-close time
Lead-to-close time is the number of days between a prospect's first qualified conversation and a signed agreement, measured per deal and reported as a median. Start the clock at the qualified conversation rather than at the lead, because the unqualified stretch is a marketing variable rather than a sales one.
Report the median, since one deal that took nine months pulls an average far enough to hide what the typical deal does. Track the slowest quartile separately, because that is where proposals go to be forgotten.
A lengthening cycle with a stable close rate usually means the pricing conversation is arriving before the problem is agreed, and the prospect is taking the extra weeks to decide whether to believe the number.
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