Product-led: signup to paid

Signup
free tier or trial; the work email is matched to an account, or a new one is created and enriched

Activated
the first-value event: a project created, a report run, a teammate invited

PQL
usage threshold crossed; rolled up from users to the account; written to the CRM

Account size?

Dormant
signed up, never activated; automated re-engagement; most of the volume

owner · Product instruments and writes the PQL; Sales acts on sales-assist; Customer Success feeds back which usage predicts retention; RevOps owns the threshold and the routing. measured by · signup to activation, activation to PQL, PQL to paid, time to each

WHAT MAKES A PQL

Depth
how much of the product they use: features touched, volume processed, integrations connected

Breadth
how many people: seats active, teams invited, admin roles assigned; the account signal, not the user signal

Frequency
how often they come back: weekly active, sessions per user; decays like a lead score

Fit
company size and industry from enrichment; this is what decides self-serve vs. sales-assist, not the usage

When a company runs both motions, an account can be an MQL and a PQL at the same time. The rule has to be written down: usually the PQL wins because it is evidence of behavior, and the MQL source is kept for attribution. Sales-assist reps are usually a separate, lower-cost pool from the outbound AE team, because the lead is already warm and the deal is smaller.