PQL
Product Qualified Lead
A Product Qualified Lead (PQL) is a prospect who has experienced meaningful value from your product — typically during a free trial or freemium tier — and has demonstrated behaviors that indicate readiness to buy. PQLs convert 5-10x better than MQLs because they've already proven the product works for them.
A project management SaaS defines PQL as: (1) Created 3+ projects (activation), (2) Active 5+ days in first 14 days (engagement), (3) Invited 2+ team members (expansion signal). When a trial user hits all three, they're flagged as PQL and routed to a sales rep for conversion outreach. These PQLs convert at 25% vs. 3% for non-PQL trial users.
PQLs are the holy grail of Product-Led Growth because they flip the qualification model. Instead of scoring based on who they are and what content they consumed, you're scoring based on whether they actually used your product and got value from it.
The challenge: defining what 'meaningful value' looks like. It's not just 'logged in 3 times.' It's reaching activation — the moment they experience the core value prop. For Slack, it's sending messages in a channel. For Dropbox, it's syncing files across devices. For your product, you need to define the aha moment and measure who's hitting it.
The RevOps implication: PQL models require product analytics instrumented and synced to your CRM. Most companies say they want to do PQL but haven't invested in the data infrastructure. That's why their trial conversion is 2% instead of 10%.
Define ItOther Definitions
“A product qualified lead is a lead who has experienced meaningful value using your product through a free trial or freemium model. PQLs have completed a key action that indicates they're ready to become a paying customer.”
“A PQL is a potential customer who has used a product and reached a pre-defined trigger that signals they are ready to become a paying customer. PQLs combine product usage data with intent signals to identify sales-ready accounts.”
“Product-qualified leads are users who have experienced your product's core value and shown buying intent through their in-app behavior. They typically convert 5-10x better than marketing-qualified leads.”
A PQL is a prospect who has used your product and demonstrated behaviors indicating readiness to buy. OpenView (pioneers of PLG methodology) emphasizes the 'meaningful value' component — it's not just usage, it's reaching the aha moment. Pocus adds the pre-defined trigger concept: you decide in advance what actions signal readiness. Amplitude provides the benchmark: 5-10x better conversion than MQLs.
Common PQL criteria include: (1) Activation — completed key onboarding milestones; (2) Engagement — regular usage over time (DAU/WAU thresholds); (3) Feature adoption — using sticky or paid-tier features; (4) Expansion signals — inviting team members, hitting usage limits; (5) Explicit intent — visiting pricing page, requesting demo, clicking upgrade.
The PQL model works best for PLG companies with freemium or free trial motions. Traditional sales-led companies may not generate PQLs, instead relying on MQLs and SQLs.
MistakesCommon Mistakes
Defining PQL as any trial signup (that's just a lead, not product-qualified)
Not instrumenting product analytics to track activation and engagement
Setting PQL thresholds too low (flags everyone) or too high (misses ready buyers)
No connection between product data and CRM — sales can't see PQL status
Treating PQLs like MQLs with the same sales motion (PQLs need product-aware conversations)
Trial users not converting?
We help PLG companies define PQL criteria based on what actually predicts conversion — then operationalize it in your sales motion.
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