> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.snowdoughnut.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Sales-led metrics starter pack > A researched, cited set of standard B2B and lead-generation metric definitions and formulas, grouped by funnel stage, ready to drop into your data dictionary and flat file instead of starting from a blank page. *A reference set for a B2B or sales-led business, where marketing generates and qualifies leads that a sales team closes. Adopt what applies, rename anything your team already calls something else, and drop unused rows. Metric names use the lowercase, underscore-separated format the [flat file](/flat-file-template) expects.* This is a starting point, not a mandate. Definitions here follow common industry usage, cited below, but your business gets the final call on inclusions and exclusions, recorded in your [data dictionary](/marketing-reporting-data-dictionary#metric-formulas). In particular, agree the MQL and SQL thresholds with sales in writing; a lead qualification standard marketing sets alone doesn't hold up past the first disagreement. ## Funnel volume Store the count at each stage. Every conversion rate between stages is derived, never stored separately. | Metric name | Definition | Unit | Typical source | | :-------------- | :------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | :---- | :------------------------- | | `visitors` | Site or landing page visitors | count | Analytics platform | | `leads` | Contacts captured, regardless of quality | count | CRM | | `mqls` | Marketing qualified leads: meet an agreed scoring threshold for sales follow-up | count | CRM / marketing automation | | `sqls` | Sales qualified leads: vetted by sales as ready for a direct conversation | count | CRM | | `opportunities` | Open deals in active pursuit | count | CRM | | `closed_won` | Deals won | count | CRM | **MQL and SQL, defined.** A marketing qualified lead is a lead a scoring model, built from behavior, demographic, or firmographic signals, has flagged as ready for sales attention. A sales qualified lead has been vetted by an actual salesperson and judged ready for a direct sales conversation. The distinction matters because an MQL is a marketing judgment and an SQL is a sales judgment; conflating them is a common source of friction between the two teams. As of 2026, most B2B organizations treat the MQL as an early milestone worth tracking rather than the primary measure of marketing's success, since an MQL alone doesn't guarantee a sale. ## Funnel conversion rates | Metric name | Definition | Formula | Unit | | :------------------------ | :-------------------------------------- | :--------------------------------- | :------ | | `lead_to_mql_rate` | Share of leads that become MQLs | `mqls / leads × 100` | percent | | `mql_to_sql_rate` | Share of MQLs that become SQLs | `sqls / mqls × 100` | percent | | `sql_to_opportunity_rate` | Share of SQLs that become opportunities | `opportunities / sqls × 100` | percent | | `win_rate` | Share of opportunities that close won | `closed_won / opportunities × 100` | percent | A commonly cited MQL-to-SQL conversion rate sits around 13% at the median, with top-quartile programs closer to 28%, though this varies widely by industry and by how strict the MQL threshold is set. A lower threshold produces more MQLs and a lower MQL-to-SQL rate; a stricter one produces the reverse. Neither is inherently right, but the two teams need to agree on where the line sits. ## Cost and efficiency | Metric name | Definition | Formula | Unit | | :-------------------- | :---------------------------------------------------------- | :----------------------------- | :------- | | `marketing_spend` | Total marketing spend for the period | Stored input | currency | | `cost_per_lead` | Spend per raw lead | `marketing_spend / leads` | currency | | `cost_per_mql` | Spend per marketing qualified lead | `marketing_spend / mqls` | currency | | `cost_per_sql` | Spend per sales qualified lead | `marketing_spend / sqls` | currency | | `cost_per_closed_won` | Spend per closed-won customer, matched to the source period | `marketing_spend / closed_won` | currency | Cost per lead varies enormously by industry; a commonly cited 2026 median across B2B sits in the low hundreds of dollars, with top-quartile programs well below that and specialized or regulated verticals well above it. Use a citable industry figure only as a rough sanity check on your own number, not as a target, since your actual cost depends heavily on channel mix, competition, and how strict your lead definition is. **Match spend to the period that generated the result, not the period the deal closed in.** A deal closing this month was very often generated by leads, and spend, from months earlier. Dividing this month's spend by this month's closed deals credits current spend with previous months' work; report `cost_per_closed_won` against the cohort that generated the underlying leads instead. ## Pipeline | Metric name | Definition | Formula | Unit | | :------------------ | :---------------------------------------------------- | :------------------------------------------------------------------ | :------- | | `pipeline_value` | Total value of open opportunities | Stored input, summed from CRM deal values | currency | | `average_deal_size` | Average value of a closed-won deal | `closed_won_value / closed_won` | currency | | `sales_cycle_days` | Average days from opportunity created to closed | Stored input, calculated per deal in the CRM | days | | `pipeline_velocity` | Revenue-generating capacity of the pipeline over time | `(opportunities × win_rate × average_deal_size) / sales_cycle_days` | currency | Pipeline velocity is the single number that best captures whether the pipeline is speeding up, slowing down, growing, or shrinking, since it combines volume, quality (win rate), size, and speed into one figure. A rising velocity from more opportunities and a rising velocity from a shorter sales cycle mean very different things operationally, so read it alongside its four inputs rather than on its own. ## Related resources * [Data dictionary](/marketing-reporting-data-dictionary) * [Flat file template](/flat-file-template) * [Ecommerce metrics starter pack](/ecommerce-metrics-starter-pack) * [Reporting framework concepts](/reporting-framework-concepts) ## Sources Definitions and formulas above follow common usage from the following, current as of 2026: * [HubSpot: MQL vs. SQL](https://blog.hubspot.com/sales/sales-qualified-lead): marketing qualified lead and sales qualified lead definitions. * [Turtl: Lead generation KPIs](https://turtl.co/blog/lead-generation-kpis/): funnel-stage conversion rate definitions and pipeline value. * [Digital Applied: B2B lead generation statistics 2026](https://www.digitalapplied.com/blog/b2b-lead-generation-statistics-2026-data-points): 2026 cost-per-lead and MQL-to-SQL benchmark figures. Benchmark figures (cost per lead, conversion rates) are directional and vary widely by industry and lead-quality threshold; treat them as a reference point for a first target, not a fixed standard, and replace them with your own once you have a few months of real data.