Sales cycle length and BPV: stage delay against the SLA
Online version: https://funneleconomics.ai/resources/glossary/bpv
BPV (Build-to-Perform Variance) measures, per stage, by what percentage the actual time opportunities spend in the stage deviates from the stage’s SLA. BPV thereby adds the view per stage to sales cycle length: positive values show delay against the SLA, negative values show acceleration.
How is BPV calculated?
BPV (%) = (actual dwell time − SLA days) / SLA days × 100
- Actual dwell time – the average time opportunities spend in the stage, in days
- SLA days – the target of the stage in days, set by the customer per stage and opportunity type
BPV is a percentage, and lower is better. A positive BPV means opportunities spent longer in the stage than the SLA provides for. A negative BPV means opportunities spent less time there.
BPV and SLA days yield the delay in days: SLA days × BPV / 100.
BPV is computed against the target of the stage, not against the upper limit, the second SLA value. Terminal stages such as Won and Lost carry no SLA and do not enter BPV.
How to find the stage that exceeds its SLA
The average sales cycle is a single number: the days from the creation of an opportunity to the won close. A rising sales cycle lengthens the wait for revenue. Sales cycle length does not show in which stage opportunities stay longer than intended.
BPV shows the delay against the SLA per stage. The stage with the highest positive BPV exceeds its SLA the most in relative terms. The yardstick is the customer's own target: the SLA applies per stage and opportunity type, and the same stage carries a different target under a different type.
Funnel Economics does not assume a fixed benchmark for the SLA. Each organisation sets the SLA values itself during setup. The main data point for setting the values is the age of previously won opportunities.
Over time, BPV is compared chronologically across the periods of the same model, never between different models. SLA discipline counts as structurally improved only when BPV of the current period is below the value of the prior period and below the value one full seasonal cycle earlier (for quarterly periods: the same quarter a year earlier).
How BPV differs from sales cycle length and sales velocity
Sales cycle length and sales velocity are each one number across all stages, BPV describes a single stage.
SLA Health is a third view: SLA Health classifies each individual open opportunity by its total age in the funnel, BPV averages the dwell time per stage. A BPV and a health band are not the same statement, and neither confirms the other.
| BPV | Sales cycle length | Sales velocity | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Measures | deviation of the dwell time per stage from the SLA | average days to the won close | the value that moved through the pipeline in a completed period, per day of an average full sales cycle |
| Unit | percent | days | currency per day |
| Reading | lower is better | lower is better | higher is better |
| Use | find the stage with delay | track the time to close | compare completed periods |
Related terms
- SLA Health
- rEFV
- Average Sales Cycle
- Sales Velocity
FAQ
How is sales cycle length calculated?
The average sales cycle is the mean age of won opportunities at closing, in days. Each won opportunity counts exactly once. Sales cycle length is therefore a single number for the whole path from creation to the won close. BPV adds the view per stage: BPV measures by what percentage the time spent in a stage deviates from the SLA of that stage.
What does a positive or a negative BPV mean?
Positive values stand for delay against the SLA, negative values for acceleration. Lower is better. An example with invented numbers, not a benchmark: with a target of 73 days and a dwell time of 99 days, BPV is +35.6%, rounded. With a target of 53 days and a dwell time of 29 days, BPV is −45.3%, rounded.
Is there a fixed benchmark for the SLA of a stage?
No, Funnel Economics does not prescribe one. The customer sets the SLA values during the setup of Funnel Economics, per stage and per opportunity type. The same stage carries a different target under a different opportunity type. The main data point for setting the values is the age of previously won opportunities. BPV therefore measures the deviation from the customer's own target, not from an industry figure.