A win rate is the percentage of opportunities that turn into signed deals — closed-won divided by total opportunities in a period. If a rep worked forty qualified deals and closed nine, the win rate is 22.5%. It is the headline efficiency metric for account executives and closers, because it shows how well a rep qualifies and how effectively they close — and it does not reward just chasing volume.
In plain English
A win rate is your batting average in sales. It is not how many calls you make; it is how many of the opportunities you actually worked you converted into revenue. A high win rate with low volume can beat a low win rate with huge volume, because a win rate is about quality of qualification and closing skill.
Why it matters to you
Win rate is how you tell whether you are good at the last mile, and it is the number teams use to judge closers and predict quota attainment. It is also a lever you can move: qualify harder earlier and your win rate rises even before your closing improves. When you review your own performance, watch the win rate and the size of the deals — together they show whether you are closing the right deals, not just closing.