This is part 4 of a 4-part series on PQLs: what they are, how to find them and how to build a winning Product Qualified Lead process

PQLs (Product Qualified Leads) are hiding in your data — find them!

Building a Product Qualified Lead process for your Simple Product

Building a Product Qualified Lead process for your Intermediately Complex Product

Building a Product Qualified Lead process for your Complex Product

In case you haven’t heard, PQLs are leads that are more likely to convert because they’ve found value in your product. If you’re a modern SaaS business, you want to find these leads. To do that, you need a Product Qualified Lead process.

So you’re convinced: you want to find PQLs and build a Product Qualified Lead process for your business. But where to start?

To build a Product Qualified Lead process, you need to:

Define the criteria that make a lead product qualified (your activation checklist).

Set guidelines for turning these leads into paying customers.

Let’s get started!

First off, how complex is your product?

When customers ask us how to design their Product Qualified Lead process, we start by asking:

How complex is your product?

In other words: how hard is it for a new user (or a small group) to self-serve their way to first value? Self-serve means without manual support from your team. The answer tells you how activated an account should be before your team steps in.

Ask yourself: of your last 10 signups, how many self-served their way to value? If fewer than 4, read on.

Complex products often need technical setup, data access or domain knowledge before users see value. They might offer a free trial, but they usually sell through demos. Think Salesforce.

Next, how big is the opportunity?

Now that you’ve decided your product is complex, consider how much revenue each trial could bring. You should categorise new signups into small, mid-size and large opportunities. Some use company size as a proxy, but you can define opportunity size by any criterion that suits your business.

Putting it together with Activation Rate

The more complex your product, the sooner your sales team should jump in. Likewise, the larger the opportunity, the faster you want them involved. Even with complexity, you might still wait until accounts hit a certain activation level so Sales and CS can focus on bigger deals.

Here are rule-of-thumb activation-rate guidelines for a complex product:

(Activation rate table removed; update manually later.)

As you read on, remember: balance your team’s time. Focus on larger deals, but don’t abandon smaller ones with a high chance to close.

Product Qualified Lead process for the Small Opportunity

Small opportunities are tricky for complex products. You know most users need help to get value, but can you afford much time on a small deal? Here’s the trick: small accounts that truly want your promise will make the effort to set up and see value. When their activation reaches around 50%, it’s worth your sales team’s time to reach out.

How to engage these Product Qualified Leads

Invite them to a demo when they hit 50% activation so they can see the full platform in action.

Product Qualified Lead process for the Mid-Size Opportunity

Mid-size opportunities are larger than small ones, with more users and more coordination. Few will self-serve to conversion. Aim to intervene around 25–50% activation.

How to engage these Product Qualified Leads

Focus on booking a time to talk rather than pushing them deeper into activation. A simple outreach to schedule a chat can make all the difference.

Product Qualified Lead process for the Large Opportunity

For large opportunities, you don’t need much usage to justify an early touch. Feel free to reach out soon after signup or at around 25% activation. Identify decision makers early and show them the complete value of your product. Book a demo ASAP so they can see what your product can really do.