POC-to-Close Ratio
Definition
Of the proof-of-concept projects a team runs, the share that result in closed deals. A low ratio usually means POCs are being granted as a default concession rather than earned through qualification — consuming weeks of SE engineering time on deals that were never funded or never winnable. Most technical sales leaders have never calculated theirs.
A low ratio is a qualification problem
POCs are among the most expensive things a technical sales team does, often weeks of engineering effort each. When the ratio is poor, the cause is almost never execution — it is that POCs were granted on request, as a way to keep a stalling deal moving, rather than earned by a buyer who had budget and a decision process.
Calculate it before defending it
Most technical sales leaders have never worked the number out, which makes POC policy a matter of opinion. Once it exists, the conversation changes: a ratio of one in five is an argument for entry criteria that a request-by-request negotiation will never win.
Entry criteria are the lever
Named success criteria, a named buyer-side owner, a fixed end date and confirmed budget. Requiring all four moves the ratio more than anything that happens during the POC itself.
Related terms
Further reading
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