What is win rate?

Written by Madalena Rugeroni, founder of Mazo · Updated 15 September 2026

Win rate is the share of qualified sales opportunities that end in a signed customer: deals won divided by all deals closed as won or lost in the same period. It measures how well qualification, discovery, demos and pricing turn real buying conversations into revenue, not how many leads you generate.

Win rate formula

Win rate = deals won ÷ (deals won + deals lost) × 100

Count "no decision" as a loss — the buyer chose to keep doing what they were doing, and that's your most common competitor. Leave open deals out entirely. You can also calculate win rate by value (euros won ÷ euros closed), which matters when deal sizes vary a lot.

Worked example

In one quarter a fictional B2B SaaS closes out 40 opportunities and has 15 still open.

10 won, 8 lost to a competitor, 22 went quiet or chose to do nothing.
Win rate = 10 ÷ (10 + 8 + 22) = 25%.
If the 22 "no decisions" were wrongly left out, the win rate would read 10 ÷ 18 = 56% — and hide the real problem, which is that most buyers didn't see a reason to change.

What your win rate is telling you

Very high: Madhavan Ramanujam's Monetizing Innovation calls a close rate of 95% or more a sign of "minivation": the right product priced too timidly. The fix is to raise prices.
Low, with mostly "no decision" losses: usually positioning or discovery. Buyers don't understand what you replace, or the demo never connected to their pain.
Low, with losses to one competitor: look at your positioning against that alternative, not just features.

Mazo's rule of thumb: if nobody ever pushes back on your price, or you win nearly every deal, raise it — and keep existing customers on their old price the first time. Only count an opportunity once discovery has happened, or your win rate measures your lead list instead of your sales process.

Why it matters from €0 to €1M ARR

Pre-revenue to 10 customers: too few deals for a percentage. Write down why each deal was won or lost instead.
Around €10k MRR: calculate it quarterly and split by source — inbound and outbound deals behave differently.
€50k+ MRR: win rate sets how much pipeline you need (see pipeline coverage) and, once you hire, lets you compare reps on the same process.

Common win rate mistakes

Excluding "no decision" losses. It inflates the number and hides the biggest leak.
Counting every lead as an opportunity. It deflates the number and makes a good sales process look broken.
Blending segments. A 60% win rate on referrals and 10% on cold outbound average into a number that describes neither.
Celebrating a near-perfect win rate. It's usually a pricing signal.

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FAQ

What is a good win rate for B2B SaaS?

It depends on how strictly you qualify opportunities and on your sales channel, so compare against your own trend. A win rate of 95% or more is a warning sign rather than a success: it usually means the product is underpriced.

Should "no decision" count as a lost deal?

Yes. A buyer who decides to keep their current workaround has chosen an alternative. Excluding them inflates the win rate and hides positioning and discovery problems.

What is the difference between win rate and conversion rate?

Conversion rate can describe any funnel step, such as visitor to signup. Win rate is specific to sales: the share of qualified opportunities that close as won rather than lost.

Who wrote this

Madalena Rugeroni built Mazo. She's an ex-Googler, a startup advisor and investor, and runs a portfolio of internet companies. Before that, as Head of Growth at Amplemarket, she scaled a B2B SaaS to $10M ARR. LinkedIn

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Further reading. Operators and books referenced: Madhavan Ramanujam (Monetizing Innovation). These are published methodologies credited to their authors; Mazo is not affiliated with or endorsed by them.