Glossary
The Pipedrive Glossary
The sales metrics and CRM terms this site measures with. Each entry gives a precise definition, a worked example and the Pipedrive setup to track it.
Every sales team uses these words. Win rate, pipeline coverage, weighted pipeline, MQL. Very few teams measure them the same way, and that is where the arguments start. One manager counts every lead in the win rate. Another counts only qualified deals. Both report a number, neither number can be compared, and the board meeting runs on vibes.
This glossary fixes the definitions this site calculates with. Each entry gives one precise meaning in plain language, a worked example with real numbers, and the exact Pipedrive fields, filters and Insights reports that produce the metric. When a guide elsewhere on the site says your coverage ratio is thin or your adoption is fake, these pages are what those words mean.
The entries stand alone, so start anywhere. If you are building the system that feeds these numbers, the six step method and the reporting guide show where each metric plugs in. And remember the order of operations: a definition is only as good as the data under it, which is why half these entries end by pointing at data hygiene.
All guides in this series
- Weighted Pipeline: Definition, Formula and SetupWhat weighted pipeline value means, how stage probabilities produce it, a worked example with real numbers, and how to read it in Pipedrive Insights.
- Sales Velocity: Definition, Formula and MeasurementThe sales velocity formula explained with a worked example, the four levers inside it, and how to pull each input from Pipedrive Insights.
- Win Rate: Definition and How to Measure It HonestlyWhat win rate actually measures, why the denominator decides everything, a worked example, and the Pipedrive Insights reports that keep it true.
- Activity-Based Selling: Definition and SetupThe idea Pipedrive is built on: manage the actions you control, not the outcomes you hope for. Definition, worked example and the setup to run it.
- Lead Attribution: Definition and Tracking SetupWhat lead attribution means, first touch versus last touch, a worked example, and the source fields that make it measurable in Pipedrive.
- Forecast Categories: Definition and Pipedrive SetupCommit, best case and pipeline explained, how categories differ from stage probability, and how to model them in Pipedrive without a category field war.
- Pipeline Coverage: Definition, Formula and RatiosThe coverage ratio explained: open pipeline against quota, why 3x is a starting point and not a law, and the Pipedrive reports that track it.
- MQL vs SQL: Definitions and the Handoff That WorksWhat marketing qualified and sales qualified actually mean, why the handoff fails, a worked example, and how to model both in Pipedrive Leads.
- Average Deal Size: Definition and How to Use ItHow to calculate average deal size without fooling yourself, mean versus median, a worked example, and the Pipedrive reports that show the spread.
- CRM Adoption Rate: Definition and MeasurementWhat CRM adoption really measures, why login counts lie, a worked example with field completeness, and the Pipedrive reports that show the truth.
- The CRM Data Model: Definition and Pipedrive's VersionLeads, people, organisations, deals and activities, and how they relate. The data model explained for admins, with the modelling mistakes to avoid.
- API Tokens and Webhooks: Definitions for AdminsWhat an API token is, what a webhook does, how the two differ, and the security habits every Pipedrive admin needs before connecting anything.
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