Why Looking at Deal Velocity Patterns Matters
Once you’ve defined how to measure deal velocity, the next step is to understand what the patterns are telling you about pipeline health.
If you focus only on a single “average sales cycle”, you risk missing the underlying story:
- Where deals are genuinely progressing.
- Where they are quietly stalling.
- Where internal pressure is creating artificial movement.
When you ask what role does deal velocity play in pipeline health, part of the answer is: it helps you see where your pipeline is honest and where it is hiding problems.
This article takes Step 2 in our series and shows you how to spot and diagnose unhealthy deal velocity patterns in your funnel, building on the main guide on what role does deal velocity play in pipeline health.
Start With Stage Ageing and Stage “Hot Spots”
Stage ageing is one of the clearest ways to see where deals slow down.
Begin by looking at, for each stage:
- Median time spent in stage.
- Percentage of opportunities that exit forwards (progress) vs exit backwards or close (disqualified, lost, no decision).
- How those numbers compare across key segments (for example, enterprise vs mid-market, new vs existing customers).
Then look for stage “hot spots”:
- Stages where deals spend significantly longer than others.
- Stages where a high proportion of opportunities die.
Examples:
- A proposal stage where deals often sit for 30–60 days with minimal buyer activity.
- A security or legal review stage where strategic deals regularly slow down.
These hot spots are your first clues that something in your sales motion, buyer journey or internal process is affecting deal velocity.
Look for Stage Bloating and “Parking Lots”
Stage bloating happens when too many opportunities accumulate in one or two stages over time.
Typical symptoms:
- A middle stage (for example, “proposal” or “business case”) has a disproportionate share of total pipeline value.
- Many deals in that stage have no recent activity.
- Notes and next steps are vague or outdated.
This is a strong signal that the stage is acting as a parking lot rather than a true step in the buyer’s journey.
Questions to ask:
- Do we have clear, observable entry and exit criteria for this stage?
- Are reps using this stage to “park” deals they don’t want to close out yet?
- What specific buyer actions should we expect to see before a deal enters or leaves this stage?
Fixing stage bloating is often one of the fastest ways to improve both deal velocity and pipeline health.
Spot End-of-Quarter Spikes and Artificial Velocity
Another unhealthy pattern is the end-of-quarter spike:
- Deals that have been slow for weeks suddenly move multiple stages in a short period.
- Forecasted close dates cluster around quarter or year-end, regardless of buyer timelines.
Some movement at the end of a quarter is natural. But when velocity changes dramatically without corresponding buyer actions, it suggests internal pressure is driving behaviour more than real momentum.
Signals to look for:
- Stage changes and forecast updates clustered in the last two weeks of a period.
- Discounting and commercial changes used mainly to hit internal numbers.
- Deals “pulled forward” that then slip repeatedly.
Ask in reviews:
- “What buyer events justify this deal moving through these stages now?”
- “If this quarter didn’t end on this date, would we still expect this deal to close now?”
This helps separate genuine acceleration from artificial velocity.
Watch for Recycling Between Stages
Recycling is when opportunities move forwards and backwards between the same stages multiple times.
For example:
- From proposal back to discovery after new stakeholders appear.
- From negotiation back to solution design when scope changes dramatically.
Some recycling is normal in complex B2B deals. But frequent, unstructured movement suggests:
- Weak initial discovery and qualification.
- Poor stakeholder mapping and engagement.
- Unclear solution scope or value case.
To diagnose:
- Identify deals with multiple forward/backward movements between stages.
- Review call notes and mutual action plans (if you use them).
- Ask, “What information did we not have when we moved this deal forward the first time?”
The answer often highlights gaps in your sales process that slow deals down and create false velocity.
Identify Silent Ageing and Ghost Deals
Silent ageing occurs when deals sit in a stage for a long time with little or no meaningful activity.
Indicators include:
- No meetings, emails or calls recorded for several weeks.
- No new stakeholders added.
- No updates to notes, next steps or documents.
These “ghost deals” inflate pipeline value and distort deal velocity metrics.
Practical steps:
- Create simple reports that show opportunities with no meaningful activity in the last 14, 30 or 60 days, depending on your typical cycle.
- Review them regularly in pipeline meetings.
- Encourage reps and managers to either re-engage deliberately (with a clear hypothesis) or close them out.
Removing ghost deals makes your pipeline and deal velocity metrics much more truthful.
Compare Velocity Across Segments and Reps
Sometimes unhealthy patterns only show up when you compare deal velocity between segments or teams.
Consider:
- By segment
Are there industries, regions or deal sizes where deals consistently move more slowly or quickly than expected?
- By product or solution
Does introducing a particular product or service tend to slow deals down at certain stages?
- By team or rep
Are some teams consistently faster at progressing deals without sacrificing win rate and value? Are others habitually slow or prone to stalled deals?
These comparisons help you distinguish between:
- Deals that are slow because the segment is inherently complex.
- Deals that are slow because of internal skill, process or enablement gaps.
Use this to direct coaching, support and process improvements where they will matter most.
Read Deal Velocity Alongside Win Rate and Value
Deal velocity becomes even more powerful when you interpret it alongside win rate and deal value.
Look for combinations like:
- Fast + Low Win Rate
Deals may be rushed through discovery or focused on low-fit prospects.
- Slow + Low Win Rate
Time and energy are being spent on opportunities that rarely convert.
- Fast + High Win Rate + Healthy Value
A good indicator that you’re targeting and executing well in that segment.
If a particular stage shows long ageing and low conversion from that stage onwards, it is a strong signal that something about how you handle that part of the process needs to change.
Use Deal Reviews to Add Context to the Numbers
Numbers show you where patterns exist; conversations show you why.
Once you’ve identified suspicious patterns in deal velocity, bring a small selection of opportunities into deal reviews and ask:
- “What has actually happened in this deal over the last 30–60 days?”
- “Which buyer actions have moved it forward – and where have we been waiting?”
- “What could we have done earlier to prevent this stall or recycling?”
Use call recordings, emails and mutual action plans to ground the discussion.
This turns deal velocity from a static metric into a live coaching tool.
Common Diagnostic Mistakes to Avoid
As you start diagnosing deal velocity patterns, be aware of common pitfalls:
- Blaming individuals too quickly
Many velocity issues are systemic (for example, approvals, process steps), not purely performance problems.
- Ignoring context by segment
Comparing enterprise deals to mid-market deals without adjusting for complexity.
- Overreacting to short-term changes
Drawing conclusions from one month of data instead of looking at multi-quarter trends.
- Treating every slow deal as bad
Some strategic deals legitimately take longer; the key is to know which and why.
Focus on patterns across multiple deals and segments rather than isolated anecdotes.
How Step 2 Supports the Deal Velocity Series
Spotting and diagnosing unhealthy deal velocity patterns is how you turn measurement into insight.
It prepares you to:
- Redesign stages and criteria so they reflect real buyer movement.
- Focus deal coaching on the stages and segments where stalls are most common.
- Decide where mutual action plans, internal process changes or AI insights will have the biggest impact.
Use this article alongside the main guide on what role does deal velocity play in pipeline health to run your next pipeline review with a specific focus on deal velocity patterns – and to identify where your pipeline is truly healthy, and where it just looks full.