From MQL to PQL: rethinking the funnel

The MQL was always a proxy

The MQL was invented to give marketing credit for activity that sales could not see. In a world where the product itself is the strongest qualification signal, that proxy is doing more harm than good.

What a PQL actually looks like

A useful Product Qualified Lead is two things at once: an account that has crossed a usage threshold AND a contact at that account with the authority to expand. One without the other is just noise.

Define the usage threshold

Look at the last 100 closed-won deals. What is the usage signal that 80% of them had two weeks before they paid? That is your threshold. Resist the urge to invent one in a workshop.

Identify the expansion contact

Enrich the workspace with firmographics and contact data. The PQL only fires when a manager-or-above title is present in the workspace, or when a self-serve user invites someone with that title.

The handoff

When a PQL fires, sales gets a notification with the usage context, the expansion contact, and a recommended next action. The first message references the product behavior, not a generic 'are you the right person' opener. Conversion to opportunity at this stage routinely runs 3x what a traditional MQL produces.

Keep the MQL for one thing

MQLs still have one job: routing high-intent inbound (demo requests, pricing visits) into sales fast. Use them as a routing trigger, not a goaling metric.