Analytics Page: Average Time Spent in Each Stage Chart

Overview

The Average Time Spent in Each Stage chart shows how long deals typically remain in each sales stage, comparing won deals to lost deals. It helps identify where deals tend to progress efficiently versus where they are more likely to stall or break down.

This view is useful for understanding stage-level friction and for spotting stages that may require tighter process control, better enablement, or clearer exit criteria.

How to Read the Chart

• Each stage represents a stage in your sales process.
• Bars show the average number of days deals spend in that stage.
• Won and lost deals are shown side by side for comparison.
• Longer durations in lost deals often indicate increased risk or stalled momentum.

For example, when lost deals consistently spend more time in a specific stage than won deals, that stage may represent a common point of friction.

What This Chart Is (and Isn’t)

This chart is:

• A way to identify stages where deals slow down
• A comparison of deal velocity between wins and losses
• Useful for detecting process inefficiencies or risk zones

This chart is not:

• A guarantee that spending more time in a stage will result in a loss
• A measure of individual rep performance
• A substitute for deal-level inspection

How Sales Ops Should Use This

• Identify stages where lost deals spend significantly more time
• Review stage exit criteria and required activities for those stages
• Inform enablement and coaching around common stall points
• Use stage duration as an input into deal health and forecast confidence

For example, if lost deals consistently linger in evaluation or redlines, this may signal unclear ownership, misaligned stakeholders, or unresolved objections.

Sales Ops – Recommended Actions

Stage Health & Deal Reviews

• Flag deals that exceed typical time-in-stage benchmarks.
• Require manager review when deals stall in historically high-risk stages.

Process & Enablement

• Tighten exit criteria for stages with high loss-related duration.
• Equip reps with clearer guidance, assets, or escalation paths for those stages.

Forecast Discipline

• Reduce forecast confidence for deals that significantly exceed average stage duration.
• Use time-in-stage trends to challenge commit assumptions.

Trend Monitoring

• Track changes in stage duration over time.
• Treat sustained increases as signals to revisit sales process design or expectations.

Important Interpretation Notes

• This chart shows averages, not guarantees. Individual deals may vary significantly.
• Longer time in a stage does not automatically cause deal loss, but it may indicate increased risk.
• Results depend on how sales stages are defined and used in your CRM.
• Always interpret this data alongside deal context, activity history, and qualitative insights.