What is the Bowtie Model?

Think of your classic sales funnel: leads enter at the top, deals close at the bottom, and… that’s it? Not in B2B SaaS. Unlike traditional sales, where revenue is realized upfront, in SaaS, revenue is spread over the long term. Customers typically pay on a monthly or annual basis, and it may take months—or even years—before the revenue they generate covers your acquisition costs and starts turning a profit.

Now, take the old-school funnel, rotate it 90 degrees counterclockwise, and extend it to the right. You’ve got the Bowtie Model—where revenue is focused on acquisition, but also on post-sale retention and expansion throughout the entire Customer Lifecycle.

The Bowtie Breakdown: key lifecycle stages and metrics

At Vasco, the Bowtie Model is more than a concept—it’s the foundation for predictable, scalable revenue. Inspired by Winning by Design, it ensures alignment between GTM (Go-to-Market) teams and facilitates a seamless transition of leads across lifecycle stages.

Acquisition (from Lead to Closing)

On the left side of the bowtie, your goal is to attract, qualify, and convert leads into paying customers. Every stage serves as a checkpoint in their buying journey:

1. Lead → MQL (Marketing Qualified Lead) The lead is aware of a challenge and starts researching solutions. It’s a perfect match for marketing engagement, but they’re not yet sales-ready.

2. MQL → SQL (Sales Qualified Lead) At this stage, the lead has deepened their research and is comparing different approaches. They’re now a fit for both marketing nurturing and sales outreach.

3. SQL → SAL (Sales Accepted Lead) Decision time! They’re shortlisting vendors and making their pick. Leads book demos, request trials, and dive into product capabilities.

4. SAL → Customer Contract signed, deal closed! 🎉 Time to celebrat… briefly.

Key Metrics to Track (Acquisition Phase)

In addition to conversion rates between each stage, keep an eye on these key metrics:

• Sales Cycle Length: How long it takes to close a deal from initial contact.

• Pipeline velocity: How fast leads move through the stages.

• ARR growth: Annual Recurring Revenue, or new revenue added.

• Funnel Leakage: Where leads ghost you and fall out of the process.

Expansion (post-sale)

On the right side of the bowtie, the real game begins—keeping customers and maximizing their value.

5. Customer → Active User: The onboarding phase kicks off, with Customer Success (CS) guiding the way. Customers start using the product consistently and continue to pay their subscription.

6. Active User → Retention or Churn: When renewal time comes, customers either stay (retention) or leave (churn).

7. Renewed Customer → Expansion (Upsell/Cross-sell): Happy customers expand usage: adding seats, upgrading, or purchasing more features.

Key Metrics to Track (Expansion Phase)

In addition to conversion rates between each stage, key metrics to monitor include:

• Time to First Value (TTFV): How quickly customers experience value from the product.

• Product Adoption Rate: How effectively customers are using the product post-onboarding.

• Gross Retention Rate (GRR): The percentage of customers retained over a period.

• Churn Rate: The rate at which customers leave the service.

• Net Revenue Retention (NRR): The percentage of recurring revenue retained, including expansion revenue.

• Customer Lifetime Value (CLV): The total revenue a customer generates throughout their relationship with the company.

Successful RevOps teams understand that Customer Retention and reducing Churn are crucial to creating long-term value.

RevOps Tech Stack for the Bowtie Model

Mastering the Bowtie Model means mastering your data. Without the right Tech Stack for RevOps, you're flying blind.

This is where an all-in-one RevOps platform like Vasco, integrated with CRMs like HubSpot or Salesforce, changes the game. Vasco equips RevOps teams with:

• Revenue Architecture: A science-based blueprint for scaling your Go-To-Market (GTM) strategy.

• Radar: Data health monitoring to ensure your insights are built on reliable, accurate data.

• Business Intelligence: Bowtie-based and custom reporting for full-funnel clarity, so you can see the bigger picture.

• Gama AI: Your AI-powered revenue architect copilot, because manual work won’t scale growth.

With unified data, automated processes, and AI-driven insights, Vasco eliminates guesswork and turns RevOps into a predictable, scalable growth engine.