PQL (Product Qualified Lead)
A user who has experienced meaningful value in your product and is likely to convert to a paying customer.
What is a Product Qualified Lead (PQL)?
Product Qualified Leads (PQLs) emerge from product-led growth models. Unlike Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs) scored on demographics and engagement, PQLs are identified by in-product behavior. Examples: Slack counts teams that have sent 2,000+ messages. Calendly counts users who have booked 5+ meetings. Figma tracks teams with 3+ editors collaborating on files. PQLs signal buying intent through usage, not forms. Sales teams prioritize PQLs because they've already experienced value and are more likely to convert. The challenge: define the right PQL threshold. Too low and sales wastes time on tire-kickers. Too high and you miss warm leads. PQL-based sales works best for freemium and free-trial SaaS where users self-serve before buying.
Examples
Calendly treats a free user who has booked 5 or more meetings through their scheduling link as a PQL. That threshold correlates with a user who has felt the product's core value, so sales and lifecycle email can prioritize them over someone who signed up but never booked a single meeting.