# How should we calculate stage conversion rates?

On a cohort basis — of the deals that entered stage N in a period, what share ever reached stage N+1 — not as a snapshot ratio of what currently sits in each stage. Snapshot ratios move when volume moves and tell you almost nothing about performance.

This requires entered-stage timestamps, which is why stamping them is a design decision rather than a reporting one. Give each cohort enough time to mature before reading it; a cohort measured before the median cycle time has elapsed always looks worse than it is.

## Sources

- **Method** — [Executive GTM Reporting playbook — Cohort conversion rate](https://www.leanscale.team/knowledge/playbooks/executive-reporting-playbook/)

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Cluster: Stages · https://www.leanscale.team/knowledge/answers/stage-conversion-rate-calculation/