Are you struggling to increase your B2B sales? Do you feel like you're constantly chasing leads and not making any progress? Well, you're not alone. Many companies struggle to generate enough pipeline and revenue to grow their business.
But what if we told you that there's a better way? A way that focuses on your website as the number one revenue source and aligns your marketing and sales teams for accelerated growth? Enter pipeline velocity, the north star metric for B2B marketing.
What is Pipeline Velocity?
Pipeline velocity, is a function of how much pipeline moves through your funnel to closed won over a period of time. Measuring and reporting on this quarterly is optimal, as it normalizes the data and allows for strategic decision making.
The formula for PV is as follows:
Why should you focus specifically on Website Sales Velocity (WSV)?
1. Your website should be your #1 revenue source.
When you acknowledge this strategically, you realize that your marketing team should own a number for website qualified pipeline every quarter. This path to conversion deeply aligns with how B2B buyers buy today. If your website isn’t your most effective source of pipeline & revenue in 2022, then something is wrong.
2. WSV aligns marketing and sales teams for optimized revenue metrics.
Three of the four metrics for the WSV calculation are made from closed won deals, allowing for better alignment and optimization with your sales team. This creates a more seamless and efficient sales process that generates more revenue.
3. There are multiple angles to drive accelerated growth.
Most companies only think about getting “more top of funnel pipeline,” but this calculation acknowledges that there are multiple angles to drive accelerated growth. Cutting your sales cycle length by 50% has the same effect on growth rate as doubling the amount of pipeline you create during a period.
4. You can calculate WSV by pipeline source.
Comparing WSV between your primary pipeline and revenue sources - such as events, website high intent conversions, outbound calls, incentivized demos with gift cards, etc. - shows you where to focus and how to optimize. Just because one source creates more “pipeline” doesn’t mean it drives faster growth for your business.
Real-life example of WSV in action:
To illustrate the power of WSV, let’s take a look at a Series D company that partnered with CITRUS for the past three fiscal years. After analyzing their WSV, the results were staggering: a 1656% increase in quarterly website sales velocity. And breaking that down:
- ACV increased by 42%
- Sales cycle decreased by 43%
- Qualified pipeline created increased by 482%
- SQO win rate increased by 100%
- Revenue increased by 248%
Now, it's time to focus on your own WSV. Here are some actionable tips to get started:
- Track and report on your website sales velocity quarterly.
This will help you identify trends and make strategic decisions for growth.
- Focus on your website as your #1 revenue source.
Align your marketing team to own a number for website qualified pipeline every quarter.
- Use WSV to align your marketing and sales teams.
With three of the four metrics based on closed won deals, WSV aligns your teams for optimized revenue metrics.
- Use WSV to identify multiple angles for accelerated growth.
Cutting your sales cycle length by 50% has the same effect on growth rate as doubling the amount of pipeline you create during a period.
- Compare WSV by pipeline source.
Comparing WSV by pipeline source will help you identify which sources are driving faster growth for your business. This will help you optimize your marketing and sales efforts accordingly.
- Use WSV to make data-driven decisions.
By tracking and reporting on WSV quarterly, you'll have the data you need to make informed decisions about where to focus your resources and how to optimize your revenue metrics.
Putting it all together
Pipeline Velocity and specifically Website Sales Velocity is the north star metric for B2B marketing. By focusing on WSV, you can align your marketing and sales teams for optimized revenue metrics and accelerate your growth. Track and report on WSV quarterly, focus on your website as your #1 revenue source, use WSV to identify multiple angles for accelerated growth, compare WSV by pipeline source, and use WSV to make data-driven decisions.
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