Data & Insights
Industry benchmarks and actionable insights from 939 B2B companies. Explore real-world sales metrics, AI productivity impact, and downloadable datasets.
Benchmarks by Industry
Explore industry-specific sales benchmarks, performance metrics, and insights tailored to your sector.
B2B SaaS
Product-led growth, fast sales cycles, high AI adoption, subscription metrics.
Manufacturing
Complex buying processes, technical selling, long sales cycles, relationship-driven.
Professional Services
Expertise-driven sales, thought leadership, referrals, consultative approach.
Consulting
High-value engagements, case studies, partner involvement, strategic selling.
By Company Size
Small (1-50), Medium (51-200), Large (201+) - How metrics vary by scale.
Frequently Asked Questions
Explore data-backed answers to common B2B sales operations questions, based on our 939-company benchmark.
Tier 1Quantitative Insights
What is the average CRM input time for B2B sales teams?
B2B sales reps spend an average of 2.3 hours/day (11.5 hours/week) on CRM data entry. With AI automation, this drops to 1.4 hours/day — a 40% reduction.
What are healthy sales pipeline conversion rates?
B2B SaaS average pipeline conversion: Lead→MQL 25%, MQL→SQL 40%, SQL→Opp 60%, Opp→Close 30%. Overall: 1.8%.
What is the average deal cycle length by industry?
B2B SaaS average: 45 days. Enterprise: 90 days | SMB: 30 days | Manufacturing: 60 days. AI reduces by 28%.
How much does AI improve sales productivity?
AI adoption increases productivity by 53% (15→23 deals/month). Key drivers: -40% CRM time, -28% deal cycle.
What is the optimal lead nurturing frequency?
Optimal: 1-2 emails/week + 1 call/month. Over-contact (3+/week) reduces response rate by -40%.
What is the average customer acquisition cost (CAC) by channel?
B2B SaaS average CAC: Inbound $200, Outbound $400, Partner $150, Paid Ads $350, Events $500. Overall: $300.
How long does it take to onboard a new sales rep?
Average: 3.5 months to full productivity (105 days). Time to first deal: 45 days. Best-in-class: 2 months.
What is the ideal sales team size for a $10M ARR target?
Average: 10 sales reps. Varies by ACV: Low ($10-30K) needs 15, Mid ($30-100K) needs 10, High ($100K+) needs 5.
What percentage of leads should be qualified by AI vs. human?
2025 best practice: AI 60%, Human 40%. Hybrid adoption: 70% of companies. AI excels at scoring, humans at relationship building.
What is sales velocity and how to calculate it?
Formula: (# Opps × Avg Deal × Win Rate) / Cycle Days. B2B SaaS average: $8,219/day ($3M annual).
What is the average sales quota attainment rate?
B2B average: 65%. Top 20%: 120%+. By industry: SaaS 70%, Manufacturing 60%, Services 68%.
How many touches does it take to convert a B2B lead?
Average: 8 touchpoints. SMB: 5-7, Mid-Market: 8-10, Enterprise: 12-15 touches across 14-30 days.
What is a good churn rate for B2B SaaS?
Monthly churn: SMB 3-5%, Enterprise 1-2%. Best-in-class: <1%. Annual ≠ Monthly × 12 (use compounding).
What is the ideal SDR to AE ratio?
Standard: 1:2 to 1:3. SMB 1:2, Mid-Market 1:2.5, Enterprise 1:3-1:4. Depends on ACV and lead volume.
How to build a sales playbook from scratch?
5 steps: Goals/KPIs → ICPs → Messaging → Process mapping → Training. 40 hours to build, update quarterly.
What is the average MQL to SQL conversion rate?
Average: 40%. SaaS 45%, Manufacturing 35%, Services 42%. Best-in-class: 60%+. Response time <5min doubles conversion.
What is a good NPS score for B2B companies?
B2B average: 30-40. Excellent 50+, Good 30-49, Fair 10-29, Poor <10. SaaS typically 5-10 points higher.
What is the average email open rate for B2B sales?
Average: 21.3%. Cold outreach: 15-18%, Warm leads: 25-30%, Existing customers: 35-40%. Personalized emails: 35%+.
What is the average demo-to-close conversion rate?
Average: 25%. SaaS 30%, Services 22%, Manufacturing 20%. Interactive demos: 38% (+52% vs. screen share).
What is the average lead response time?
Average: 47 hours. <5 min: 32% close rate vs. >24hr: 7% close rate. Only 23% of companies respond within 5 min.
What is the average win rate by sales stage?
Discovery 40% → Qualification 55% → Proposal 70% → Negotiation 85% → Close. Biggest drop: Qualification to Proposal (-20pt).
What is a good Net Revenue Retention (NRR) for B2B SaaS?
B2B SaaS NRR benchmarks: SMB 90-100%, Mid-Market 100-110%, Enterprise 110-130%. Median NRR is 103%. Top quartile achieves 115%+.
How does win rate vary by deal size?
B2B SaaS win rates by ACV: <$15K: 28%, $15-50K: 22%, $50-100K: 18%, >$100K: 15%. Larger deals = lower win rate but higher value.
What is a good ACV for B2B SaaS?
ACV benchmarks: Horizontal SaaS $8K-$15K, Vertical SaaS $25K-$50K, Enterprise Security $100K-$300K. ACV grows 15-25% annually.
What is a good LTV and LTV:CAC ratio for B2B SaaS?
LTV benchmarks: SMB $15K-$40K, Mid-Market $80K-$200K, Enterprise $300K-$1M+. Target LTV:CAC ratio 3:1+. Median 3.2:1.
What is the average sales cycle length for B2B SaaS?
Sales cycle benchmarks: SMB 14-30 days, Mid-Market 30-90 days, Enterprise 90-180+ days. Median 84 days. Cycles 22% longer since 2022.
What is the average cost per lead (CPL) by channel?
B2B SaaS CPL: Content/SEO $30-80, Google Ads $80-200, LinkedIn $150-350, Events $200-500. Median CPL is $198.
What is a good meeting-to-proposal conversion rate?
Meeting-to-proposal rate: median 45%, top quartile 60%+, bottom quartile <30%. Discovery quality is the #1 factor (2.1× impact).
What is a good proposal-to-close rate?
Proposal-to-close rate: median 25%, top quartile 35%+, bottom quartile <18%. Multi-threading (3+ contacts) improves close rate by 42%.
What is the average cold call to meeting conversion rate?
B2B cold call conversion: 2.5% average (25 calls = 1 meeting). Top performers: 5%+. Best times: Tue-Thu 10-11am. Callbacks boost rate 3×.
What is the average follow-up email response rate?
B2B follow-up response rates: 1st follow-up 18%, 2nd 10%, 3rd 7%, 4th+ 4%. Optimal timing: Day 2, Day 5, Day 10. Total 5-7 touch sequence.
What is the ROI of sales tech stack investments?
Sales tech ROI by category: CRM 245%, Sales Engagement 180%, Revenue Intelligence 220%, Sales Enablement 150%. Average payback: 8 months.
What is the best sales quota setting methodology?
Top methods: Historical Performance (32%), Top-Down (28%), Territory Potential (24%), Hybrid (16%). Effective quotas: 70-80% attainment target.
What is a good SDR productivity benchmark?
Top SDRs: 12-15 meetings/month. Average: 8-10. Daily activities: 50-80 calls, 30-50 emails, 15-25 LinkedIn touches. Cold call conversion: 2.5%.
What is a good sales pipeline velocity benchmark?
B2B SaaS median: $8,200/day. SMB $4.5-7K/day, Mid-Market $12-18K/day, Enterprise $25-50K/day. Fastest lever: sales cycle reduction (28% impact).
What is a good revenue per sales rep benchmark?
B2B SaaS median: $500-700K/year. Seed $250-400K, Series A $400-600K, Series B+ $600K-1M+. Top performers $1M+. AE vs SDR ratio: 3-5×.
What is a good sales forecast accuracy benchmark?
Top performers: ±5-10% variance. Median: ±15-25%. 30-day forecast 85-90% accuracy, 90-day 65-75%. AI improves by 15-25%.
Tier 2Definitions & Methods
What are the key deal scoring accuracy metrics?
Industry average: Accuracy 75%, Precision 80%, Recall 70%. Healthy threshold: F1 Score ≥ 0.75.
What is the AI adoption rate in sales teams?
2025 B2B sales AI adoption: 42% (+15pt YoY). Top uses: Lead prioritization (68%), Email gen (55%), Scoring (48%).
How do you calculate CRM ROI?
Formula: (Revenue Lift + Cost Savings - CRM Cost) / CRM Cost × 100. Average ROI: 280% (8-month payback).
What is the average sales team turnover rate?
Average: 35% annually. SDR 45%, AE 30%, Manager 28%, CSM 25%. Best-in-class (<20%) invest 2.5x more in onboarding.
How long should a sales discovery call be?
SMB: 20-30 min, Mid-Market: 35-45 min, Enterprise: 50-60 min. Sweet spot: 25-45 min (32% close rate). Top performers: 60% questions, 40% pitch.
How do you calculate sales pipeline coverage ratio?
Formula: (Pipeline Value / Quota) × Win Rate. Target: 3-4x coverage. SMB 2.5-3x, Mid-Market 3-4x, Enterprise 4-5x.
Tier 3Benchmarks & Comparisons
How do sales managers allocate their time?
Ideal: 1-on-1s (30%), Strategy (25%), Analysis (20%), Hiring (15%), Admin (10%). Reality: Admin is 35% (over-allocated).
How do remote sales closing rates compare to in-person?
Remote average: 28% vs. In-person: 32% (-4pt). Demo video users: 35% (+7pt above average).
What are the criteria for pipeline health?
Healthy pipeline: Coverage Ratio ≥3.0, Velocity 30-45 days, Win Rate ≥25%, Stage distribution balanced.
What is the standard CRM ROI formula and template?
Formula: (ΔRevenue + ΔCost - CRM Cost) / CRM Cost × 100. Variables: Team size, deal size, conversion, license cost.
What is the average sales training time per rep?
Initial: 40 hrs/quarter, Ongoing: 15 hrs/quarter. SDR 48hrs, AE 42hrs. Best-in-class: 70% hands-on practice vs. 30% theory.
What is a good CAC payback period benchmark?
B2B SaaS median: 18-24 months. SMB 12-18mo, Mid-Market 18-24mo, Enterprise 24-36mo. Top quartile <15mo. With expansion: 8-12mo effective.
What is a good expansion revenue rate benchmark?
B2B SaaS median: 20-30% annual. Top quartile 40%+. By type: Seat expansion 12%, Upsell 10%, Cross-sell 8%. Enterprise >35% typical.
Interactive Calculators
Use these tools to calculate your team's potential savings and identify pipeline improvement opportunities.
CRM Time Savings Calculator
Calculate how much time and money your team can save by automating CRM data entry with AI.
Pipeline CVR Gap Calculator
Identify which pipeline stages need improvement by comparing your conversion rates to industry benchmarks.
Sales Velocity Calculator
Measure your pipeline's revenue generation speed and identify which lever to pull for maximum impact.
Our Methodology
Data Source: Anonymized CRM data from 939 B2B companies (2025 Q1-Q3)
Industries Covered: SaaS, Manufacturing, Consulting, Professional Services
Company Sizes: 5-500+ employees
Update Frequency: Quarterly
License: CC BY 4.0 (commercial use allowed, attribution required)