Deal Flow
Table of Contents
Deal flow refers to the number of potential sales deals that are moving through the sales pipeline at any given time.
Full definition
Deal flow refers to the rate and volume at which new sales opportunities enter and move through the sales pipeline. It reflects the overall momentum and health of the revenue generation process.
Deal flow includes every opportunity from initial lead qualification to deal closure. It measures how consistently new deals are created, how quickly they progress, and how many are actively moving through the pipeline at any given time.
Strong deal flow indicates effective lead generation, efficient sales execution, and healthy demand. Weak deal flow may signal problems with marketing performance, lead quality, outreach effectiveness, or sales capacity.
Deal flow is especially important for forecasting revenue, planning hiring, and identifying pipeline risks. It helps sales leaders understand whether enough opportunities exist to meet revenue targets.
Use cases
Monitoring pipeline health and activity.
Forecasting future revenue.
Evaluating sales and marketing performance.
Identifying pipeline bottlenecks.
Measuring sales team productivity.
Supporting hiring and growth planning.
Visual funnel
Leads generated
↓
Opportunities created
↓
Deals enter pipeline
↓
Deals progress through stages
↓
Deals closed or lost
↓
Deal flow analyzed and optimized
Frameworks
Pipeline velocity framework
Measures how quickly deals move through the pipeline.
Opportunity creation tracking framework
Monitors how many new deals are created.
Deal progression analysis framework
Evaluates movement between stages.
Revenue forecasting framework
Uses deal flow to predict future revenue.
Pipeline health monitoring model
Tracks overall deal activity and balance.
Common mistakes
Focusing only on closed deals instead of pipeline flow.
Ignoring early-stage pipeline activity.
Not tracking opportunity creation consistently.
Allowing pipeline stagnation.
Failing to identify deal flow bottlenecks.
Relying on inconsistent pipeline definitions.
Etymology
The term "deal flow" combines "deal," meaning a business agreement, and "flow," meaning movement over time. It describes the continuous stream of opportunities entering and progressing through the sales process.
Localization
EN: Deal Flow
FR: Flux d’opportunités
DE: Deal-Flow
ES: Flujo de oportunidades
UA: Потік угод
PL: Przepływ transakcji
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