What is Deal Age?
Deal age is the simplest health signal there is: how long has this deal been open. Its meaning comes entirely from comparison to your cycle length.
An old deal in a short-cycle segment is a red flag; the same age in an enterprise segment may be perfectly normal, which is why context matters.
Short answer
Deal age is the total number of days an opportunity has been open since creation. Compared against your average sales cycle length, an old deal is a warning: it may be stalling or its close date is likely to slip. Deal age is a simple, always-available signal, most powerful when combined with engagement trend to separate genuine stalls from naturally long cycles.
Key takeaways
- Days a deal has been open since creation.
- Read against average cycle length.
- Old deals signal likely stalls or slippage.
- Strongest combined with engagement trend.
Why it matters
A deal far older than your cycle length is either stalling or headed for slippage. Watching deal age flags these deals for attention or disqualification before they quietly distort coverage and the forecast.
How Ardovo handles it
Ardovo tracks deal age against your segment cycle length, so Rook can flag deals aging past the norm and pair that with engagement signals to tell a real stall from a naturally long cycle.
Frequently asked questions
What is deal age?
It is the total number of days an opportunity has been open since creation. Compared against your average sales cycle length, an old deal warns of a likely stall or a close date that will slip.
How is deal age different from time-in-stage?
Deal age is total days open since creation; time-in-stage is days in the current stage. Deal age flags overall staleness, while time-in-stage pinpoints which specific stage a deal is stuck in.
When is an old deal a problem?
When it exceeds your average cycle length for its segment without movement, especially alongside falling engagement. In a long enterprise cycle an old deal may be healthy, so always read deal age against your cycle norms.