Product-Qualified Lead (PQL)

Using a product is stronger evidence of intent than reading an ebook. A PQL definition tells a small sales team which accounts deserve a conversation now. Without one, two things tend to happen. Either every free user gets a sales call, which wastes time and annoys people who are still exploring, or nobody gets one and ready buyers upgrade late or drift away.

1. Look at customers who paid and list what they did in their first weeks.
2. Pick one or two actions that clearly separate them from users who left, and set a threshold such as "connected a tool and invited two colleagues in the first fourteen days".
3. Flag the account automatically with a trigger the moment the threshold is crossed.
4. Contact the person within a day and refer to what they did, since the moment is short.
5. Review the threshold every quarter, because product changes alter what an action means.

A PQL is a lead qualified by what a person does inside the product, not by what they filled in on a form. A marketing qualified lead has shown interest in content, such as downloading a guide. A PQL has actually used the product and behaved like a customer would.

Typical signals are inviting a colleague, connecting another tool, creating several projects or hitting the limit of a free plan. PQLs only exist where people can try the product before paying, which is why they belong to product-led growth.

• Using logins as the signal. Frequent logins show habit, not value.
• Guessing the threshold instead of checking it against people who converted.
• Ignoring fit. A PQL at a company far outside the ideal customer profile may still not be worth a sales call.