Key Takeaways

  • Increasing go-to-market (GTM) sales velocity means aligning your teams, tools, and training to help reps move fast, stay sharp, and close more with confidence.
  • Reps need more than content to thrive. They also require just-in-time coaching, smart automation, and clear guidance that shrinks the sales cycle and boosts win rates.
  • Sales velocity is about speed and quality. Focus on high-value deals, ensure you have clean and accurate CRM data, and the insights will show what’s working.
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Slow sales cycles kill deals—plain and simple.

You can’t always stop it. Sometimes, prospects just go cold without warning, stakeholders disengage entirely, and budgets get reallocated (or outright eliminated).

But you still need to control what you can control.

When your sales team can’t move fast and confidently in each deal cycle with high-quality leads, the risk of losing even well-qualified opportunities skyrockets.

This is the reality in go-to-market strategies like yours today:

  • Sellers struggle to find the right content, forget key messaging, or lack the skills to handle buyer objections in real time.
  • Enablement programmes sometimes fall short of helping teams adapt to shifting buyer expectations or complex purchase journeys.
  • And, if your GTM engine is standing still—relying on outdated processes and/or fragmented tools—you’re not just stalling, you’re slipping.

In other words? If your go-to-market organisation doesn’t consistently scale sales, you risk falling behind and missing your chance to hit key revenue milestones.

Why increasing sales velocity is a strategic imperative for go-to-market teams

“Top sales leaders don’t rely on assumptions or high-level process maps,” Gartner Sr. Principal, Research Kelly Fischbein recently wrote. “They go deeper by building action-level insight—a data-driven analysis that links specific seller actions to outcomes like conversion rate or deal velocity.”

The implication is clear: Winning enterprise GTM teams know what works and what doesn’t in their sales process. Specifically, they analyse what slows things down and deters progress—whether it’s delayed evaluation of each sales rep’s pipeline performance or failing to tag (and steer clear of engaging) low-quality leads.

Instead of flooding the funnel, they engage only qualified leads. Instead of chasing ghosted accounts, they teach reps to surface urgency and build deal momentum.

These teams don’t just talk about increasing their reps’ win rate percentage.

They operationalise it.

So, what’s the answer?

(Hint: It’s not just adding more technology or creating more training decks.)

It’s also establishing an enablement strategy built for real-world selling that equips reps with the right guidance in the moment, automates low-value tasks, and—crucially—develops their skills through continuous coaching and practice.

To grow pipeline, hit your numbers, and keep generating revenue in today’s climate, you need to invest in ongoing training and coaching to close your reps’ skill gaps, increase their confidence, and, ultimately, help them become top performers.

Unlocking Sales Productivity with AI

What is sales velocity?

Sales velocity measures how fast you move qualified leads through the funnel to generate revenue. Measuring sales velocity requires looking at the number of opportunities in reps’ sales pipeline and seeing how well they do with converting leads.

Increasing sales velocity requires engaging more high-quality leads in a specific period to boost the odds of turning those qualified leads into high-paying customers that end up with a sizable average deal value and results in ongoing revenue.

Empowering your sales reps to move each prospective customer rapidly through deal cycles by improving sales funnel velocity—without sacrificing the quality of buyer engagement—lowers the average length of time it takes to win business.

Breaking down the typical sales velocity formula

Calculating sales velocity is pretty straightforward. Most teams use this formula: Number of deals × Average deal size × Win rate ÷ Average sales cycle length.

That sales velocity equation can give you a sense of how quickly your sales team turns active and engaged opportunities in their sales pipeline into future revenue. But don’t stop there. Also keep an eye on other sales velocity metrics like:

  • Average monetary value and average customer lifetime value per deal
  • Stage-to-stage conversion rates and overall pipeline velocity by rep
  • Total revenue generated and average deal size for different segments
  • What content and messaging contributed to sales won and lost

The best way to track each sales velocity number (and any others you may want to monitor) is to connect all data-driven tools in your GTM tech stack (more on this shortly) and examine your reps’ sales performance consistently.

That way, you can spot who (sales team members) and what (enablement plays) are improving and slipping, where to double down with certain sales activities and approaches, and what opportunity areas and weaknesses to address next.

In short, this is the path to a more efficient sales process for your team.

Understanding the common deal velocity factors

Knowing how speedy sales velocity helps contribute to increasing average revenue growth is great. But no B2B organisation—yours included—can strengthen the sales performance metric (and, in turn, business health) without grasping the specific factors that lead to lower and higher sales velocity.

Sales velocity factorWhy it matters
Average sales cycle lengthThe longer it takes to close, the more likely deals become stagnant (or fail). Shorter cycles keep momentum going and every qualified lead engaged.
Skill level of sales team membersSales reps who can discover prospects’ pain points, build urgency, and handle objections well move deals faster and with more confidence.
Content quality and accessibilityIt’s simple: If your reps can’t quickly find and share the right assets, they bring buyer conversations to a screeching halt and miss chances to drive action.
Qualified leads in the sales pipelineWhen your pipeline is full of unqualified leads, your team ends up wasting valuable time and energy instead of focusing on deals with real potential.
Go-to-market tech stack maturityA connected, intuitive GTM technology stack speeds things up. Disjointed tools and workflows only add friction and slow sales processes.
Your sales forecasting capabilitiesBeing able to predict the likelihood and timing of potential customers turning into new business can inform your sales team’s decision-making.
Complexity of your business modelYour industry and average deal size along with the level of sophistication of your products and services all impact sales pipeline velocity.
Win-rate percentage for each repA sizable average deal size and volume shows sales teams like yours perform well, while the opposite indicates the need for stronger sales efforts.

Some GTM leaders believe the only sales velocity factor that matters is a willingness to see deals through to the end. But determination can only get you so far.

“Once you’ve found the right prospect, ushered them down a high-velocity pipeline, and successfully closed the deal, there’s still more to do,” Highspot’s A Fast-Flowing Sales Pipeline guide on sales cycle improvements explains. “Opportunities can be lost at any stage, churn can happen at any time, and renewal is never too far away. Securing your customer base is a never-ending effort.”

Translation? Engaging sales opportunities and moving them swiftly through your sales funnel requires you, every sales manager, and other go-to-market stakeholders to work together to build a scalable and repeatable GTM enablement strategy.

AI technology’s impact on sales velocity

You’ve refined your team’s particular sales velocity equation, tailored to your business model. You’ve assessed your conversion rate and landed on the ideal number of opportunities reps must engage in a given period to close more deals.

Now, you just need to ensure you have the right go-to-market technology ecosystem in place—notably, one with the best AI sales tools that leverage real-time, accurate data sets—to make increasing sales velocity consistently a reality.

Must-have solutions the most successful GTM teams use today to increase not just their sales velocity but also their average deal size and win-rate percentage include:

Technology that affects sales velocityHow the technology impacts deal speed
AI-powered sales enablement software– Gives reps instant access to the right content, training, and guidance—right when they need it
– Removes guesswork from sales prospecting activities and helps move deals forward faster
Customer engagement platform– Lets you build personalised, interactive buyer experiences that keep prospects engaged
– The more engaged the buyer, the quicker sales professionals can build trust and close
Revenue intelligence solution– Captures and analyses real sales conversations to surface patterns, risks, and insights
– Helps go-to-market leaders coach smarter and reps course-correct before deals stall
Customer relationship management (CRM) system– Centralises buyer and account data and historical deal activity tied to interactions all in one place
– When used right, boosts visibility, alignment, and sales efficiency across the entire sales funnel
Automation and sequencing tools– Handles repetitive tasks like follow-ups and meeting reminders so reps can focus on selling
– Keeps deals moving along at the desired pace without dropping the ball on outreach

All five of these tools are crucial to your sales success. The one that can truly close the strategy-to-execution gap for your go-to-market team, though, is a sales enablement platform—specifically, one with native, purpose-built AI capabilities that boost GTM performance.

Take Highspot. Our AI is like a turbo boost for your GTM engine. It doesn’t just tell reps what to do. Our out-of-the-box and custom AI agents—including and especially our Deal Agents—shows them what works, right at the moment they need it:

  • Whether it’s surfacing the best play for that tricky deal, flagging risks for potential high-CLV accounts, generating a custom pitch deck in seconds, or auto-coaching reps with AI on how they can better show up in meetings, Highspot cuts out all the guesswork.
  • The AI-driven insights provided by Nexus, our unified AI and analytics engine, help you and your sales, enablement, and marketing teams see what content lands with leads and how each rep is trending—so you can coach with precision, not vibes and assumptions.
  • And because everything’s tied to real buyer engagement and pipeline data, you’re not just making reps feel better. You’re also helping them perform better. That means less time stuck in deals, more sales won, and a team that keeps hitting quota without burning out.

“High-performing teams don’t rely on intent,” said Highspot CEO Robert Wahbe. “They build executional systems that connect strategy to action, unify GTM signals, and empower every seller and marketer to perform at their best.”

And that’s exactly what Highspot and our advanced AI offer go-to-market teams.

Common sales velocity FAQs, answered

Need more info and insights on what it takes to increase sales velocity? We have answers. Here are frequently asked questions we often hear from GTM leaders across industries — from financial services and manufacturing, to healthcare and life sciences — about how to best improve and track sales velocity today.

What is the best way for us to calculate sales velocity today?

Consider your win rate, deal value, and sales cycle trends over time. Blend that with metrics like the number of deals closed and average customer lifetime value. This gives you a fuller picture of how fast your sales opportunities are converting into meaningful revenue.

How can we help reps improve the average sales cycle length?

Start by simplifying how they prep, pitch, and follow up. Arm them with AI-powered tools and content that reduce friction during selling moments. Monitor sales opportunities by stage and pinpoint where things slow down. Then, coach them to keep momentum. A tighter sales cycle, along with average customer lifetime value and number of deals closed, directly boosts your team’s velocity.

Is better sales productivity the key to increase sales velocity?

Productive reps move faster through sales opportunities and convert more with less waste. Help them focus on high-quality deals, streamline workflows, and eliminate time-wasters. When you improve sales productivity alongside the number of deals closed, average customer lifetime value, and win rate, you reinforce good rep behaviours and boost speed, precision, and momentum across every deal.

Grow Revenue with Sales Readiness That Delivers Wins

Can AI and automation tools help speed up our sales velocity?

Artificial intelligence helps reps know what to say, send, and do next. Meanwhile, automation takes admin work off their plates. Together, they shrink your sales cycle, boost win rate, and lift the number of deals closed. When used well, the tools turn deadlocked sales opportunities into closed-won revenue fast.

Does the number of opportunities in play impact sales velocity?

Yes, and quality matters just as much as quantity. If reps juggle too many low-probability sales opportunities, velocity slows. That’s why they should focus only on deals with high intent, a strong win rate, and solid deal value. Track rep performance, along with the average customer lifetime value of won opportunities, to see where your best results are really coming from.

Should we focus on deal size or closing a high number of deals?

Trick question: The answer is both. Balance matters. Big deal value with a long sales cycle can tank velocity. Tons of tiny wins? Might not move the revenue needle. Blend quantity and quality, then measure their impact on the number of deals closed, win rate, and average customer lifetime value to hit your goals faster and smarter.

Stuart Gammon

With 20+ years of experience in tech sales, Stuart Gammon is a results-driven leader specializing in building, transforming, and motivating teams to drive world-class results for their business and that of their customers. Gammon has a proven ability to lead cross-functional teams beyond the sales environment to drive exponential growth in velocity, mid-market, Enterprise, and strategic sales segments.

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