“What is your sales cycle?”

What they're really asking

How long between spending and earning? Investors rarely care about the question on its own. They're testing whether you know your numbers cold, whether your assumptions are honest, and whether you can explain them simply.

How to answer, step by step

1. Give the average days from first contact to paid.
2. Explain how it varies by customer size.
3. Show how it affects cash (working capital).

An example answer

Self-serve customers convert within two weeks; larger teams take 30-45 days. That lag is why we keep a cash buffer in the plan.

Figures are from Loopdesk, the fictional SaaS company in our sample files. Swap in your own numbers and keep the structure.

The answer that loses trust

Where the proof lives

Before the meeting, find the number behind your answer. In our workbooks it lives in: Working Capital, Raise Planner. If you can open that tab and point to it, the follow-up question is easy.