THE SHORT ANSWER
A lead has shown or been assigned potential interest; a prospect appears to fit; a qualified lead meets agreed criteria; an opportunity is an active, plausible buying situation; and a customer has completed the business's defined purchase. These are working definitions, not a universal taxonomy.
Define stages by evidence, not optimism
| Term | Useful working meaning | Evidence may include |
|---|---|---|
| Visitor | An identifiable or anonymous person using a channel | Page, shop, event or product interaction |
| Subscriber | A person who requested a continuing communication | Valid preference and permission record |
| Lead | A person or account with a possible need | Enquiry, signup, referral or outreach response |
| Prospect | A lead that appears relevant to the offer | Initial fit and plausible need |
| Qualified lead | A lead meeting explicit fit and readiness criteria | Verified need, timing, access or intent |
| Opportunity | An active buying situation worth managing | Defined problem, process, next step and plausible outcome |
| Customer | A person or account that completed the defined purchase | Order, contract or first paid transaction |
| Repeat customer | A customer who buys again in the stated window | Second eligible order or renewal |
| Advocate | A customer who voluntarily recommends or supports the brand | Referral, review or reference with permission |
The labels vary because businesses vary
A retail shop may move from visitor to purchaser in minutes. A B2B service may involve a user, manager, procurement team and economic buyer across months. Subscription, marketplace and membership businesses also define conversion and continuation differently.
Do not import MQL, SQL or opportunity stages from a template without defining the observable condition that moves a record. Two teams can use the same label while measuring different things.
Evidence & context: OpenStax, Rice University
Make every stage operational
- Entry rule: what evidence puts a person here?
- Owner: who is responsible while the record is here?
- Next action: what useful step should occur?
- Exit rule: what evidence advances, pauses or closes it?
- Clock: when does delay become a problem?
- Reason: why was the record advanced, disqualified or lost?
A stage should reduce ambiguity. If it only changes dashboard colour, it is not helping the customer or the team.
Create a minimum shared dictionary
Choose only the stages needed for real decisions. Write one sentence for entry and exit, then test five recent records. If reasonable people classify the same record differently, improve the definition before measuring conversion.
Next, see how these stages fit inside the customer lifecycle and lead qualification.
Sources & further reading
- Customer Relationship Management
OpenStax, Rice University. Open educational material on managing customer relationships and value over time. CRM software and lifecycle messaging do not themselves create retention.
- The Business-to-Business Market
OpenStax, Rice University. Open educational material on organizational buyers and buying situations. Actual B2B decision roles and procurement requirements vary by customer and purchase.
Examples and exercises are illustrative unless attributed to a source. No independent expert review is claimed.
A correction, a counterexample or an experience worth sharing?
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