How do you measure marketing's impact on deal velocity?
Compare time-in-stage, sales cycle length, and win-rate lift for influenced vs. non-influenced deals to prove marketing-driven acceleration.
What to measure to prove marketing’s impact on velocity
- Compare sales cycle length by influenced vs. non-influenced cohorts
- Measure time-in-stage and stage-to-stage conversion rates
- Track win-rate lift after specific engagement milestones
- Model pipeline velocity trends for targeted segments or accounts
- Report acceleration and confidence intervals in dashboards
Velocity metrics and formulas
| Metric | Formula | Target/Range | Stage | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average Sales Cycle Length | Close Date − Created Date | Downward trend | Full funnel | Primary velocity indicator |
| Stage Duration | Days in stage | Lower in influenced cohort | By stage | Shows acceleration location |
| Stage Conversion Rate | Next-stage count ÷ stage count | Upward trend | By stage | Separates speed vs. quality |
| Pipeline Velocity | (Opps × Win Rate × ACV) ÷ Sales Cycle | Increasing | Forecasting | Combines speed + value |
| Win Rate Lift | Win Rate (influenced) − Win Rate (non) | Positive | Late stage | Close efficiency impact |
Source: industry standard revenue operations frameworks, 2023
How to isolate marketing’s impact on deal speed
Deal velocity measures how quickly opportunities move from creation to closed revenue. To isolate marketing’s contribution, segment opportunities into influenced and non-influenced cohorts based on meaningful engagement (for example: campaign interaction, account-based touches, content consumption, webinar attendance, nurture progression, or sales enablement asset usage).
Next, compare average sales cycle length, time-in-stage, and stage-to-stage conversion rates across cohorts. The most defensible signal is stage acceleration: if influenced opportunities move faster through qualification or evaluation without reducing win rate, marketing is accelerating revenue realization. If win rate improves in late stages after enablement or proof-point campaigns, marketing is reducing stalls and increasing close efficiency.
Do not rely on attribution alone. Attribution explains contribution; velocity explains time. Use both to show whether marketing is speeding up revenue, not just receiving credit.
TPG POV: Velocity impact is only trustworthy when lifecycle definitions, timestamp integrity, and cohort rules are governed and auditable. That governance must hold across platforms.
Why TPG? The Pedowitz Group delivers platform-agnostic Revenue Operations frameworks across HubSpot, Marketo, Eloqua, Salesforce Marketing Cloud, Pardot (MCAE), Microsoft/Dynamics, and more—aligning process, data, and executive reporting so marketing’s impact on deal speed is transparent and actionable.
Measurement approaches (simple to advanced)
| Option | Best for | Pros | Cons | TPG POV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Attribution-only reporting | Early-stage teams | Fast to launch; directional | Does not measure time-in-stage | Starter only |
| Cohort + stage-duration analysis | Most B2B GTM orgs | Shows where acceleration happens | Needs clean stage timestamps | Recommended baseline |
| Velocity model + experimentation | Mature RevOps teams | Quantifies lift and confidence | Requires governance + analytics depth | Best long-term |
Why The Pedowitz Group (TPG)
- Platform-agnostic RevOps delivery across HubSpot, Marketo, Eloqua, Salesforce Marketing Cloud, Pardot (MCAE), Microsoft/Dynamics, and more
- Lifecycle governance, attribution architecture, and velocity modeling across CRM and MAP ecosystems
- Executive dashboards that reconcile marketing, sales, and finance regardless of tech stack
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Frequently Asked Questions
Use a consistent cohort rule, such as a meaningful engagement milestone before a stage change (e.g., attended webinar, high-intent page views, or nurture completion).
Time-in-stage by cohort is usually the clearest, because it shows where marketing accelerates progression.
Define a single cohort membership rule per analysis window and document exclusions (duplicates, reopened deals, partner-sourced).
Yes. Faster progression can be caused by lower-quality pipeline; always pair velocity with conversion and win-rate checks.
Monthly for pipeline reviews, and quarterly for executive trend reporting and optimization planning.