Summary
- The Demand Funnel defines six sequential stages (Inquiry → MQL → SAL → SQL → Opportunity → Closed-Won) that create shared language between marketing and sales about prospect readiness.
- Each stage has entry and exit criteria, eliminating ambiguity about when a lead moves forward and enabling predictable pipeline forecasting based on conversion rates.
- Clear SLAs between teams prevent leads from falling through cracks—when both marketing and sales know their response-time commitments, handoffs become clean and efficient.
- Implementation requires more than CRM configuration—you need joint definitions, scoring models, dashboards both teams trust, and RevOps governance to keep the system operational.
- SaaS-specific adaptations matter: Free trials create PQLs, usage data becomes behavioral scoring, and expansion revenue demands post-sale funnel logic.
What Is the Demand Funnel?
The Demand Funnel is a standardized model that defines six distinct stages through which a prospect moves from initial awareness to customer acquisition. Each stage represents a discrete decision point where marketing, sales, or both teams validate that the prospect is ready for the next step. The framework creates alignment by establishing shared criteria for qualification at each stage and clear ownership of leads as they transition between teams.
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