Terms

Closed Won

Closed won is a sales term for a deal that has been successfully completed, meaning a prospect has agreed to purchase a product or service and is now officially a customer. This term marks the final stage in the sales cycle, where the opportunity is recorded as won within a CRM system. It applies not only to new customer acquisitions but also to renewals and upsells with existing clients, ultimately representing new revenue for the company.

Importance in Sales Strategy

Tracking closed won deals is vital for refining your sales strategy. By analyzing these successes, you can identify which tactics, messaging, and channels are most effective. This data provides a clear roadmap for replicating success across the entire sales team.

This analysis also offers crucial insights into your ideal customer profile and product-market fit. Understanding why customers buy helps marketing sharpen its messaging and targeting. Ultimately, a firm grasp on your win rates improves sales forecasting and drives predictable revenue growth.

Impact on Revenue Forecasting

Closed-won data is the bedrock of reliable revenue forecasting. It transforms predictions from speculative guesses into data-backed financial models by providing a clear, historical measure of sales success. This allows businesses to project future income with much greater confidence.

  • Predictability: Establishes a baseline win rate for modeling future sales outcomes.
  • Accuracy: Grounds financial projections in actual, historical performance data.
  • Performance: Measures progress against quotas, directly informing revenue attainment forecasts.
  • Growth: Reveals trends in deal size and velocity to refine future growth assumptions.

Closed Won vs. Closed Lost

The primary difference between these two outcomes lies in their impact on revenue and strategic learning.

  • Won: This status signifies a successful sale, contributing directly to revenue and validating product-market fit. Analyzing these deals helps companies of all sizes replicate successful strategies. Enterprises use this data for large-scale forecasting, while mid-market firms focus on identifying effective tactics for growth.
  • Lost: This marks an unsuccessful outcome, providing valuable feedback on why a deal failed. While it represents missed revenue, analyzing lost deals helps identify product gaps or process flaws. Enterprises use this analysis for strategic shifts, while mid-market companies use it to refine their sales process.

Best Practices for Achieving

Securing a 'closed won' status requires a blend of strategic planning and skillful execution. It's about building genuine connections and guiding the prospect to a confident decision. Adopting these best practices can significantly increase your win rate.

  • Listening: Actively listen to understand the prospect's core needs and challenges.
  • Relationships: Build genuine rapport and trust beyond a transactional level.
  • Value: Clearly articulate how your solution solves their specific problems.
  • Objections: Proactively address and handle concerns to remove buying friction.
  • Process: Guide the prospect through a clear, transparent, and ethical sales process.

Common Challenges and Solutions

Overcoming common obstacles is key to converting opportunities into wins.

  • Stalling: Maintain momentum with a clear, mutual action plan.
  • Competition: Differentiate by focusing on unique value and ROI.
  • Approvals: Navigate internal processes by identifying all decision-makers early.

Frequently Asked Questions about Closed Won

How is 'closed won' different from a verbal agreement?

A verbal agreement is a positive step, but 'closed won' is official. It requires a signed contract or initial payment, marking the formal completion of the deal in your CRM and the start of the customer relationship.

Does 'closed won' always mean a new customer?

Not necessarily. While it often signifies a new customer, 'closed won' also applies to successful renewals, upsells, or cross-sells with existing clients. Any deal that generates new or recurring revenue for the company qualifies.

What's the best way to track 'closed won' deals?

The best practice is using a CRM system. This centralizes data, automates reporting, and allows your team to track deal progress, analyze win rates, and forecast revenue accurately. It provides a single source of truth for performance.

Other terms

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Microservices

Microservices is an architecture where apps are built as a collection of small, independent services that communicate with each other over APIs.

Microservices

Buying Committee

A buying committee is a group of stakeholders within an organization who are jointly responsible for making major purchasing decisions.

Buying Committee

De-dupe

De-duping, or data deduplication, is the process of eliminating duplicate copies of data within a dataset to improve accuracy and save space.

De-dupe

Sales Intelligence

Sales intelligence is technology that gathers and analyzes data to help salespeople find and understand prospects and existing clients.

Sales Intelligence

Customer Relationship Marketing

Customer relationship marketing is a strategy for building lasting connections with customers to foster long-term loyalty and engagement.

Customer Relationship Marketing

Sales Operations Analytics

Sales operations analytics is the practice of analyzing sales data to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the entire sales process.

Sales Operations Analytics

Lead Generation Software

Lead generation software helps businesses automate finding and capturing potential customers' contact information to build sales pipelines.

Lead Generation Software

Rollback Procedures

Rollback procedures are a set of steps to restore a system to a previous, stable version after a failed update, ensuring minimal disruption.

Rollback Procedures

Single Sign-On (SSO)

Single Sign-On (SSO) is an authentication method allowing users to access multiple applications with one set of login credentials.

Single Sign-On (SSO)

Buying Criteria

Buying criteria are the specific requirements and standards a customer uses to evaluate products or services before making a decision.

Buying Criteria

Lookalike Audiences

Lookalike audiences are groups of potential customers who share similar characteristics and behaviors with your existing, high-value customers.

Lookalike Audiences

Channel Partner

A channel partner is a company that works with a manufacturer or producer to market and sell their products, software, or services to customers.

Channel Partner

Sales Dashboard

A sales dashboard is a visual tool that centralizes and displays key sales data, metrics, and KPIs to help teams track performance and goals.

Sales Dashboard

Audience Targeting

Audience targeting is the process of segmenting consumers into specific groups to deliver more personalized and relevant marketing messages.

Audience Targeting

Operational CRM

An Operational CRM is a system that automates and improves customer-facing business processes like sales, marketing, and customer service.

Operational CRM

Marketing Automation Platform

A marketing automation platform is software that automates marketing actions. It helps manage tasks like email campaigns and lead nurturing.

Marketing Automation Platform

Event Tracking

Event tracking is the method of collecting data on specific user actions, or 'events,' on a website or app, such as clicks or downloads.

Event Tracking

Process Builder

Process Builder is a Salesforce automation tool that lets you create 'if/then' business processes with a user-friendly visual interface.

Process Builder

System of Record

A System of Record (SoR) is the authoritative data source for a specific type of data. It acts as the single source of truth for an organization.

System of Record

Business Development Representative

Learn about business development representative, including skills and qualifications for BDRs, & roles and responsibilities of a BDR.

Business Development Representative

Competitive Analysis

Competitive analysis means identifying your rivals and assessing their strategies to pinpoint your own business's strengths and weaknesses.

Competitive Analysis

Event Marketing

Event marketing is a strategy where brands engage directly with target audiences through live events like trade shows, conferences, or webinars.

Event Marketing

Scrum

Scrum is an agile framework that helps teams structure and manage their work through a set of values, principles, and practices.

Scrum

Sales Acceleration

Sales acceleration refers to strategies and technologies designed to speed up the sales cycle, enabling reps to close more deals, faster.

Sales Acceleration

Net Revenue Retention (NRR)

Net Revenue Retention (NRR) is the percentage of recurring revenue kept from existing customers, including upsells, downgrades, and churn.

Net Revenue Retention (NRR)

Data Enrichment

Data enrichment is the process of enhancing raw data by adding missing information from other sources, making it more complete and actionable.

Data Enrichment

Sales Territory

A sales territory is a specific group of customers or a geographic area that a salesperson or sales team is responsible for managing.

Sales Territory

Lead Scoring Models

Lead scoring models rank prospects by assigning points for their behaviors and demographics, helping sales teams prioritize their outreach.

Lead Scoring Models

Application Performance Management

Application Performance Management (APM) monitors and manages an application's performance, availability, and the experience of its end-users.

Application Performance Management

Employee Engagement

Employee engagement is the emotional commitment an employee has to their organization, motivating them to contribute to the company's success.

Employee Engagement

Sales Kickoff

A sales kickoff (SKO) is an annual event for a sales team to celebrate wins, align on goals, and get motivated for the upcoming year.

Sales Kickoff

Account-Based Sales Development

Account-Based Sales Development (ABSD) is a focused strategy where SDRs target key stakeholders within specific, high-value accounts.

Account-Based Sales Development

Average Revenue per User

Average Revenue per User (ARPU) is a key performance indicator that calculates the average revenue generated from each user or subscriber.

Average Revenue per User

Feature Flags

Feature flags let you remotely control features in your app without new code. This enables safe testing, gradual rollouts, and quick rollbacks.

Feature Flags

Progressive Web Apps

Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) are websites that look and feel like native mobile apps, offering features like offline access and push notifications.

Progressive Web Apps

Cross-Selling

Cross-selling is a sales tactic of encouraging customers to purchase products or services that are related to what they're already buying.

Cross-Selling

Cross-Site Scripting

Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) is a web security vulnerability that allows attackers to inject malicious scripts into trusted websites.

Cross-Site Scripting

Website Visitor Tracking

Website visitor tracking collects and analyzes data on user behavior to understand their journey and improve the overall user experience.

Website Visitor Tracking

Account-Based Sales

Account-Based Sales (ABS) is a focused B2B strategy where sales and marketing teams treat high-value accounts as individual markets of one.

Account-Based Sales

Programmatic Advertising

Programmatic advertising uses AI and real-time bidding to automate the buying and selling of digital ad space, targeting specific audiences.

Programmatic Advertising

User Interaction

User interaction is any action a user takes within a digital interface, like clicking a button, scrolling a page, or filling out a form.

User Interaction

Sales Enablement

Sales enablement provides sales teams with the necessary tools, content, and information to help them sell more effectively and efficiently.

Sales Enablement

Integration Testing

Integration testing is a software testing phase where individual modules are combined and tested together to verify their interaction.

Integration Testing

Network Monitoring

Network monitoring is the continuous process of tracking a computer network's performance and health to detect and resolve issues proactively.

Network Monitoring

Enterprise Resource Planning

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is a system of integrated software that businesses use to manage and automate their core day-to-day processes.

Enterprise Resource Planning

Voice Broadcasting

Voice broadcasting is an automated system that delivers a pre-recorded voice message to a large list of phone numbers simultaneously.

Voice Broadcasting

Lead Enrichment Tools

Lead enrichment tools are platforms that automatically add missing data to your leads, like contact info, firmographics, and buying signals.

Lead Enrichment Tools

B2B Data Erosion

Learn about B2B data erosion, including causes of B2B data decay, strategies to combat data erosion, & measuring the impact of data erosion.

B2B Data Erosion

HubSpot

HubSpot is a customer relationship management (CRM) platform with tools for marketing, sales, and service, all aimed at helping businesses grow.

HubSpot

Consumer Relationship Management

Consumer Relationship Management (CRM) is a strategy for managing all of a company's relationships and interactions with its customers.

Consumer Relationship Management

B2B Intent Data Providers

Learn about B2B intent data providers, including evaluating intent data quality, leveraging intent data for growth, & B2B intent data: key providers comparison.

B2B Intent Data Providers

Applicant Tracking System

An Applicant Tracking System (ATS) is a software application that manages your entire hiring and recruitment process from a single dashboard.

Applicant Tracking System

Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is a performance-based model where affiliates earn a commission for promoting another company’s products or services.

Affiliate Marketing

Chatbots

Chatbots are AI-powered programs that simulate human conversation. They interact with users via text or voice, typically for customer support.

Chatbots

Sales Intelligence Platform

A sales intelligence platform is software that provides sales teams with data and insights about prospects to help them sell more effectively.

Sales Intelligence Platform

Point of Contact

A Point of Contact (POC) is the designated individual or department that serves as the main hub for information and communication on a matter.

Point of Contact

Lead Scrape

Lead scraping is the process of automatically extracting contact information and other relevant data about potential customers from online sources.

Lead Scrape

SAM

Serviceable Addressable Market (SAM) is the portion of the market your business can realistically serve with its current products and sales channels.

SAM

Sales Development

Sales development is the process of identifying and qualifying potential customers to create a pipeline of sales-ready leads for closers.

Sales Development

Stress Testing

Stress testing is a type of software testing that determines a system's robustness by pushing it beyond its normal operational capacity.

Stress Testing

B2B Sales

Learn about B2B sales, including key strategies for B2B success, types of B2B sales models, & B2B vs. B2C sales: understanding the differences.

B2B Sales

Sales and Marketing Analytics

Sales and marketing analytics involves measuring and analyzing performance data to maximize effectiveness and optimize return on investment (ROI).

Sales and Marketing Analytics

Account Mapping

Account mapping is comparing your customer list with a partner's to find common prospects and unlock new sales opportunities.

Account Mapping

Product-Led Growth

Product-Led Growth (PLG) is a business strategy where the product itself drives user acquisition, conversion, and expansion.

Product-Led Growth

Objection Handling

Objection handling is the process of responding to a prospect's concerns or hesitations about a product or service to move a deal forward.

Objection Handling

Account Executive

An Account Executive (AE) is a sales professional responsible for closing new business deals and managing existing client relationships to drive revenue.

Account Executive

Data Security

Data security protects digital information from unauthorized access, corruption, or theft throughout its entire lifecycle.

Data Security

Retargeting Marketing

Retargeting marketing is a digital advertising strategy that targets users who have previously interacted with your website or brand online.

Retargeting Marketing

Predictive Lead Generation

Predictive lead generation uses data and AI to find prospects most likely to buy, helping teams focus their efforts on high-value leads.

Predictive Lead Generation

Marketo

Marketo is a marketing automation platform used by B2B marketers to manage lead generation, nurturing, email marketing, and analytics.

Marketo

Net New Business

Net new business is revenue from customers who have never purchased from your company before. It’s a crucial indicator of sustainable growth.

Net New Business

Customer Buying Signals

Customer buying signals are the actions, behaviors, or statements a prospect makes that indicate they are moving towards a purchase decision.

Customer Buying Signals

Inside Sales

Inside sales is a remote sales process where reps sell products or services via phone, email, and other digital tools instead of in person.

Inside Sales

Sales Objections

Sales objections are reasons or concerns raised by a potential customer as to why they are hesitant or unwilling to make a purchase.

Sales Objections

Demand Generation Framework

A demand generation framework is a strategic process for creating awareness and interest in your product, ultimately driving new business.

Demand Generation Framework

Email Cadence

An email cadence is a scheduled sequence of emails sent to prospects over a specific period to nurture leads and drive engagement.

Email Cadence

Pipeline Coverage

Pipeline coverage is a key sales metric. It's the ratio of your total open pipeline value to your sales quota for a specific period.

Pipeline Coverage

Marketing Attribution Model

A marketing attribution model is a framework for assigning credit to the marketing touchpoints that lead a customer to convert.

Marketing Attribution Model

Lead Qualification

Lead qualification is the process of determining which prospects are most likely to become paying customers based on predefined criteria.

Lead Qualification

Customer Centricity

Customer centricity is a business approach that puts the customer at the heart of every decision, aiming to build loyalty and long-term value.

Customer Centricity

Custom API integration

A custom API integration is a bespoke connection between software, enabling them to communicate and share data to meet unique business requirements.

Custom API integration

Representational State Transfer Application Programming Interface

A Representational State Transfer (REST) API is a web service that uses a simple, stateless architecture for systems to communicate online.

Representational State Transfer Application Programming Interface

Competitive Intelligence (CI)

Competitive intelligence (CI) is the ethical gathering and analysis of market data to inform strategic business decisions and gain an advantage.

Competitive Intelligence (CI)

Elevator Pitch

An elevator pitch is a short, memorable summary of what you do, designed to be delivered in the time it takes to ride an elevator.

Elevator Pitch

Product Recommendations

Product recommendations are a marketing strategy that uses customer data to suggest relevant products, boosting sales and customer engagement.

Product Recommendations

Lead Scoring

Lead scoring is the process of assigning points to leads based on their attributes and actions to determine their sales-readiness.

Lead Scoring

Sales Engineer

Sales Engineers blend deep technical knowledge with sales acumen, demonstrating a product's value and solving customer problems to drive revenue.

Sales Engineer

Knowledge Base

A knowledge base is a self-serve online library of information about a product, service, department, or topic.

Knowledge Base

Account

An account is a company or organization that you're targeting for sales. It can be a prospective, current, or even a past customer.

Account

Total Addressable Market (TAM)

Total Addressable Market (TAM) represents the maximum revenue a company can earn by selling its product or service in a specific market.

Total Addressable Market (TAM)

Objection Handling in Sales

Objection handling in sales is the process of responding to a prospect's concerns about a product or service to move the deal forward.

Objection Handling in Sales

Accounts Payable

Accounts Payable (AP) is the money a company owes its suppliers for goods or services bought on credit. It's listed as a current liability.

Accounts Payable

Demand

Demand is the economic principle describing a consumer's desire and willingness to purchase a specific good or service at a particular price.

Demand

End of Day

End of Day (EOD) refers to the close of business hours. It's a common deadline for tasks and reports to be completed before the workday ends.

End of Day

Account Management

Account management is the post-sales practice of building and nurturing long-term relationships with a company's most valuable clients.

Account Management

Lead Nurturing

Lead nurturing is the process of developing and reinforcing relationships with buyers at every stage of the sales funnel.

Lead Nurturing

Content Management System

A Content Management System (CMS) is software for creating, managing, and modifying website content without needing specialized technical skills.

Content Management System

Account-Based Selling

Account-Based Selling is a B2B strategy where sales and marketing treat high-value accounts as markets of one, using personalized outreach.

Account-Based Selling

Commission

A commission is a service charge paid to an agent for a transaction. It's typically a percentage of the sale, rewarding performance directly.

Commission

Generic Keywords

Generic keywords are broad search terms that lack specific details like brand or location. They attract a wide audience with less specific intent.

Generic Keywords