Why MQLs Are Broken
The Marketing Qualified Lead was a great idea in 2010. Define some criteria, score some behaviors, and hand 'qualified' leads to sales. Simple. Except it doesn't work anymore.
The buying process has changed. Decisions are made by committees, not individuals. Buyers are 70% through their journey before they talk to sales. And the MQL model — built around individual lead scoring — can't capture this complexity.
The Problem With Individual Scoring
When you score individuals, you miss the forest for the trees. A VP who downloads one whitepaper scores lower than an intern who reads every blog post. But which one actually influences the purchase decision?
The Committee Reality
Gartner research shows the average B2B buying group includes 6-10 decision makers. Your scoring model needs to account for the entire buying group, not just the person who filled out the form.
What Replaces the MQL
Three models are emerging as MQL replacements:
1. Buying Group Engagement
Instead of scoring individuals, score accounts based on the collective engagement of the buying group. When multiple stakeholders from the same company are engaging with your content, that's a signal.
2. Signal-Based Selling
Intent data, technographic changes, and behavioral signals replace static scoring. When a target account starts researching your category, that's more valuable than any form fill.
3. Revenue Qualified Leads
Let the buyer self-qualify. Remove friction from the funnel, make pricing transparent, and let people book meetings when they're ready. The leads that come through are actually qualified — by definition.
Implementing This in HubSpot
HubSpot's target accounts feature, combined with custom behavioral events and company-level scoring, can support all three models. The key is shifting your workflows from individual-based triggers to account-based triggers.
