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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Data-Driven Marketing

Data-driven marketing uses customer data to inform marketing decisions, optimize campaigns, and deliver personalized experiences to consumers.

Data-Driven Marketing

No Spam

“No Spam” is a commitment to sending only relevant, solicited messages. It means avoiding bulk, unwanted emails to respect the recipient's inbox.

No Spam

Customer Lifecycle

The customer lifecycle is the journey a person takes from first becoming aware of your brand to becoming a loyal, repeat customer.

Customer Lifecycle

Ballpark

Learn about ballpark, including estimating with ballpark figures, understanding ballpark estimates in sales, & ballpark estimates vs. precise quotes.

Ballpark

Product-Market Fit

Product-market fit is when a product meets the needs of a strong market, leading to high demand, customer satisfaction, and organic growth.

Product-Market Fit

Call Disposition

Call disposition is the process of labeling the outcome of a call. It helps sales teams track interactions and plan their next steps effectively.

Call Disposition

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

Customer Data Platform (CDP)

A Customer Data Platform (CDP) centralizes customer data from all sources to create a complete, unified profile for each individual customer.

Customer Data Platform (CDP)

Ad-hoc Reporting

Ad-hoc reporting is the creation of one-off reports to answer specific business questions as they arise, providing instant, targeted insights.

Ad-hoc Reporting

Target Account List

A Target Account List (TAL) is a focused list of high-value companies that a business specifically aims to convert into customers.

Target Account List

Email Deliverability Rate

Your email deliverability rate is the percentage of sent emails that successfully land in a recipient's inbox, rather than bouncing or going to spam.

Email Deliverability Rate

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

Customer Churn Rate

Customer churn rate is the percentage of subscribers or customers who cancel their service with a company during a given time frame.

Customer Churn Rate

Artificial Intelligence in Sales

AI in sales uses smart technology to automate repetitive tasks, analyze customer data, and help sales reps close deals more efficiently.

Artificial Intelligence in Sales

Loss Aversion

Loss aversion is our tendency to feel the sting of a loss more acutely than the pleasure of an equivalent gain.

Loss Aversion

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

Referral Marketing

Referral marketing is a strategy that incentivizes existing customers to recommend a company's products or services to their personal network.

Referral Marketing

Inbound Sales

Inbound sales attracts interested prospects who've engaged with your brand, letting sales reps connect with warm leads instead of cold outreach.

Inbound Sales

Targeted Marketing

Targeted marketing focuses on specific consumer groups whose needs align with your product, allowing for more personalized and effective messaging.

Targeted Marketing

Text message marketing

Text message marketing is a strategy where businesses send promotional messages, offers, and updates to customers via SMS or MMS.

Text message marketing

Lead Generation Tactics

Lead generation tactics are the strategies and methods used to attract potential customers and convert them into leads for your sales team.

Lead Generation Tactics

Personalization in Sales

Personalization in sales means tailoring outreach to a prospect's specific needs, interests, and context to make communication more relevant.

Personalization in Sales

On-premise CRM

An on-premise CRM is a system hosted on a company's own servers, offering complete control over data, security, and system maintenance.

On-premise CRM

Marketing Attribution

Marketing attribution is the process of identifying which touchpoints contribute to a conversion and assigning value to each of them.

Marketing Attribution

X-Sell

X-Sell, or cross-selling, is a sales strategy of selling additional, related products or services to an existing customer base.

X-Sell

Inbound Lead Generation

Inbound lead generation is the process of attracting potential customers to your business with valuable content and tailored experiences.

Inbound Lead Generation

Customer Segmentation

Customer segmentation is dividing customers into groups based on shared traits. This allows for more targeted and effective marketing efforts.

Customer Segmentation

Sales Bundle

A sales bundle groups multiple products or services into a single offering, often at a discounted price to provide greater value to customers.

Sales Bundle

SEO

SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is increasing the quantity and quality of traffic to your website through organic search results.

SEO

Statement of Work

A Statement of Work (SoW) is a document that outlines a project's scope, deliverables, and timeline. It acts as a contract between parties.

Statement of Work

Remote Sales

Remote sales is selling from a distance. Reps use digital tools to connect with prospects and close deals without meeting them in person.

Remote Sales

Direct-to-Consumer

Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) is a business model where companies sell products directly to customers, bypassing traditional retail middlemen.

Direct-to-Consumer

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

Data Mining

Data mining is the process of discovering patterns, trends, and useful information from large datasets to make better business decisions.

Data Mining

Price Optimization

Price optimization is the process of finding the ideal price for a product or service to maximize profitability or other business objectives.

Price Optimization

Latency

Latency is the delay between a user's action and a system's response. It's the time it takes for a data packet to travel to its destination.

Latency

B2B Sales Process

Learn about B2B sales process, including key components of B2B sales processes, & crafting an effective B2B sales strategy.

B2B Sales Process

Sales Training

Sales training is the process of honing a salesperson's skills and knowledge to enhance their effectiveness and drive sales success.

Sales Training

Business Continuity

Learn about business continuity, including understanding key components, steps to ensure continuity, common challenges, & best practices.

Business Continuity

Application Programming Interface Security

API security is the practice of protecting application programming interfaces from attacks, preventing data breaches and unauthorized access.

Application Programming Interface Security

Buyer Intent

Learn about buyer intent, including understanding buyer intent signals, strategies to capture buyer intent, & buyer intent vs. customer interest.

Buyer Intent

Marketing Automation

Marketing automation uses software to automate repetitive marketing tasks, such as email marketing, social media posting, and ad campaigns.

Marketing Automation

Guided Selling

Guided selling simplifies complex sales by giving reps step-by-step instructions and data-driven recommendations to close deals faster.

Guided Selling

User-generated Content

User-generated content (UGC) refers to any form of content, like images, videos, or text, created and shared by users on online platforms.

User-generated Content

SDK

A Software Development Kit (SDK) is a set of tools that allows developers to create applications for a specific software package or platform.

SDK

Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity is the practice of protecting computer systems, networks, and data from digital attacks, theft, and unauthorized access.

Cybersecurity

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

Load Balancing

Load balancing is the practice of distributing incoming network traffic across a group of backend servers, ensuring no single server is overworked.

Load Balancing

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

Lead Velocity Rate

Lead Velocity Rate (LVR) is the growth rate of your qualified leads, measured month-over-month. It's a key indicator of future revenue.

Lead Velocity Rate

Customer Experience

Customer experience (CX) is a customer's total perception of your business, based on every interaction across the entire customer lifecycle.

Customer Experience

Internal signals

Internal signals are data points from your own systems, like website visits or product usage, that indicate a customer's buying intent.

Internal signals

Customer Retention Rate

Customer Retention Rate (CRR) is the metric that measures the percentage of customers a company has kept over a specific period of time.

Customer Retention Rate

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

Lead Qualification Process

The lead qualification process is how you determine which prospects are most likely to become customers by evaluating them against specific criteria.

Lead Qualification Process

Average Customer Life

Average Customer Life is the average time someone remains a customer. It's a key metric for predicting revenue and measuring customer loyalty.

Average Customer Life

Version Control Systems

A version control system (VCS) tracks changes to files over time, allowing you to recall specific versions and collaborate without conflicts.

Version Control Systems

Email Deliverability

Email deliverability is the ability for your emails to successfully land in your recipients' inboxes instead of their spam folders.

Email Deliverability

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

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

Sales Coach

A sales coach is a mentor who trains and guides sales reps to enhance their skills, boost performance, and ultimately close more deals effectively.

Sales Coach

Inside Sales Metrics

Inside sales metrics are quantifiable measures used to track the performance, activities, and effectiveness of an internal sales team.

Inside Sales Metrics

Operational CRM

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

Operational CRM

Reverse Logistics

Reverse logistics is the process for goods moving from the customer back to the seller, covering returns, repairs, recycling, and disposal.

Reverse Logistics

Virtual Selling

Virtual selling is the process of selling to customers remotely using technology like video calls, rather than meeting them in person.

Virtual Selling

Account-Based Marketing Software

Account-Based Marketing (ABM) software helps teams coordinate personalized marketing and sales efforts to land high-value customer accounts.

Account-Based Marketing Software

Business Intelligence

Learn about business intelligence, including key components of business intelligence, the role of BI in decision making, business intelligence tools and techniques.

Business Intelligence

Warm Calling

Warm calling is contacting prospects with a prior connection, like a referral or social media interaction, to make your outreach more relevant.

Warm Calling

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

Sales Sequence

A sales sequence is a series of automated touchpoints sent to prospects over time to guide them through the sales funnel.

Sales Sequence

Mobile App Analytics

Mobile app analytics involves collecting and analyzing data from mobile apps to understand user behavior and optimize the app's performance.

Mobile App Analytics

Accessibility Testing

Accessibility testing is a software testing method that verifies an application is usable by people with disabilities, like vision or hearing loss.

Accessibility Testing

Infrastructure as a Service

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) is a cloud computing service that offers essential compute, storage, and networking resources on-demand.

Infrastructure as a Service

Sales Stack

A sales stack is the suite of tech tools—from CRMs to prospecting software—that sales reps use to close deals faster and more efficiently.

Sales Stack

Corporate Identity

Corporate identity is the visual and verbal persona of a company, encompassing its logo, color palette, communication style, and core values.

Corporate Identity

Marketing Funnel

The marketing funnel is a model illustrating the path potential customers take, from initial awareness to making a purchase.

Marketing Funnel

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

No Cold Calls

No Cold Calls is a sales strategy that replaces unsolicited calls with warm outreach to prospects who have already demonstrated interest.

No Cold Calls

Multi-Channel Marketing

Multi-channel marketing uses various platforms—like email, social media, and direct mail—to engage with customers wherever they are.

Multi-Channel Marketing

Sales Manager

A Sales Manager leads a sales team, setting goals, analyzing performance, and developing strategies to drive revenue and meet targets.

Sales Manager

Digital Contracts

Digital contracts are legally binding agreements created, signed, and stored electronically, offering a faster, more secure alternative to paper.

Digital Contracts

Technographics

Technographics is data that outlines a company’s technology stack, helping B2B teams identify prospects based on the software and hardware they use.

Technographics

Consultative Sales

Consultative selling is a sales approach where a salesperson acts as an advisor, focusing on understanding and solving a customer's specific needs.

Consultative Sales

B2B Data

Learn about B2B data, including sources and types of B2B data, leveraging B2B data for sales success, & ensuring the accuracy of B2B data.

B2B Data

Cold Email

A cold email is an initial outreach sent to a potential customer with whom you've had no prior contact, aiming to introduce your business.

Cold Email

Mobile Optimization

Mobile optimization adapts your website to ensure visitors on smartphones and tablets have a seamless, user-friendly experience.

Mobile Optimization

Lead Generation Software

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

Lead Generation Software

Trade Shows

Trade shows are events where companies in a specific industry showcase their latest products and services to find new customers and partners.

Trade Shows

OAuth

OAuth is an open standard for access delegation. It lets you grant apps access to your data on other services without sharing your password.

OAuth

Open Rate

The open rate is the percentage of recipients who opened an email. It's a primary indicator of a subject line's effectiveness.

Open Rate

Sales Pitch

A sales pitch is a persuasive presentation of a product or service, aimed at convincing a potential customer to make a purchase.

Sales Pitch

Closed Opportunities

Closed opportunities are potential deals that have concluded. They are categorized as either 'closed-won' (a sale was made) or 'closed-lost'.

Closed Opportunities

Draw on Sales Commission

A draw on commission is an advance payment a salesperson receives against future earnings, which is later repaid from earned commissions.

Draw on Sales Commission

Sales Engagement

Sales engagement is the sum of all interactions between a seller and a prospect, aimed at building a relationship and moving a deal forward.

Sales Engagement

Digital Rights Management

Digital Rights Management (DRM) is technology that controls access to copyrighted digital content, restricting its use, modification, and distribution.

Digital Rights Management

Retargeting Marketing

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

Retargeting Marketing

Small to Medium-Sized Business

A small to medium-sized business (SMB) is a company whose employee count and annual revenue fall below certain industry-specific thresholds.

Small to Medium-Sized Business

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

Dynamic Data

Dynamic data is information that updates in real-time. Unlike static data, it reflects the most current state of information automatically.

Dynamic Data

User Experience

User Experience (UX) refers to a person's overall feelings and perceptions while interacting with a product, system, or service.

User Experience