Average sales cycle

[OBeagley]

Hello. I would like to create a report that shows the average sales cycle, i.e. the length of time it has taken from deal created to closed won. (I only want to show data for closed deals.)

I have tried creating a custom equation, however the 'time between' function only allows me to select my Start date and End date properties.

Is there a way to customise which dates I want to show in the report?

Thanks 🙂 

[SMorell9]

Also @OBeagley you want to stay away from the "average" Sales Cycle. You probably want to use the median instead.

The "average" is always distorted by outliers. See this explanation:

Almost all Sales Processes that I analyze have a very high number of outliers. It's not uncommon to see as much as >30% of deals being beyond 3 standard deviations from the median (on a normal random distribution that would be only 0,3%). With so many opportunities/deals being completely unpredictable in terms of Sales Cycle your Median and your Average is usually worlds apart.

Using the Average will set you on a dangerously wrong path.

[pcollins12]

Hey @SMorell9 , appreciate the insight on average vs. median. Do you know if there is a way in Hubspot to choose "median" vs. the report suggested above being the average?

[karstenkoehler · Accepted solution]

Hi @OBeagley,

This report is available in Sales Hub Professional portals only. To access it, navigate to Menu > Reports > Analytics tools > Sales Analytics > Time spent in deal stage.

If you're on the free CRM or a Starter subscription, the fastest option is to export your closed won deals and then calculate the time between the Create date and Close date directly in Excel or Google Sheets.

Best regards!

[JWillems8]

Hi Karsten,

Thanks for your answer on this. A quick question: Is there also a way to see the average time it took from the created date until a certain deal stage was reached? Effectively, similar as the ticket objects have an average time to close report. 

Thanks in advance for your help!

Jeroen