Using Lead Status and Lifecycle Stage in HubSpot

Lifecycle stage and lead status are often confused or ignored when implementing HubSpot. However, failing to leverage these fields will create unnecessary friction in funnel reporting and content personalization.

Take a look at the difference between these two fields and the recommended values for each. We’ve also included recommendations to automate stage changes to optimize your sales enablement strategy.

HubSpot Lifecycle Stage - indicates funnel progression

• Subscriber = subscribed to the blog or newsletter
• Lead = a contact that has converted on more than a subscription sign up (contact form, ebook download, etc)
• Marketing Qualified Lead = HubSpot Score reaches a certain number indicating qualification
• Sales Qualified Lead = sales team member has spoken with the contact and determined they are a good fit
• Opportunity = contact is associated with a deal
• Customer = contact is associated with a deal in the stage Closed Won
• Evangelist = customer that serves as a reference or promoter
• Other = None of the above fits or we’ve spoken with them and decided they’re unqualified

Lead Status - indicates the lead’s progression from sales qualified lead to customer

• New = All form submissions, inbound leads, and imported leads should be set to Lead Status = New
• In Progress = set when the sales team has qualified the lead and is preparing to contact them (Lifecycle Stage = Sales Qualified Lead)
• Attempted to Contact = sales has sent a tracked email or enrolled them in a sequence and they haven’t responded or scheduled a meeting
• Connected = the lead has responded to a tracked email or sales is engaged in an ongoing conversation
• Open Deal = set when a deal has been created and associated with the contact (Lifecycle Stage = Opportunity)
• Unqualified = Sales has made contact and this contact is not currently qualified to continue (set manually)
  • We recommend adding an additional field for “Unqualified Reason”. This field serves a similar purpose to “Lost Reason” on the deal object. When the lead is moved to Lead Status = Unqualified, prompt the sales team to add a reason why in this dropdown field.
    • Can’t Fulfill Their Needs = they need features/services we can’t provide
    • Competitor = they’re a competitor looking for information on our offering
    • Not Interested | they may be a fit, but they don’t want to continue
    • Not a Fit - Never Will Be = they don’t meet our requirements for a strong customer and will never meet that profile
    • Not a Fit - Might Be in the Future = they’re not a good fit but they may be in the future
    • Not Ready = they’re a fit but the timing isn’t right
    • Not a Prospect = industry contacts, marketing inquiry, etc
• Lost = Deal Status = Closed Lost
• Won = Deal Status = Closed Won

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