Funnel conversion rate
Funnel conversion rate is the proportion of records that transition from one governed stage to the next, measured on a consistent cohort basis.
The measurement is only meaningful if the denominator is a cohort, records that entered the prior stage in a defined period, rather than a period-over-period ratio of two independent counts. Comparing this month’s MQLs to this month’s SALs mixes cohorts and produces a number that moves whenever volume changes.
Conversion rates are also stage-definition artifacts. A rate that improves after a stage definition changes has not improved; it has been redefined. This is why definitional change control belongs alongside the metric.
Where it breaks
Rates are computed as period ratios, so a volume spike is read as a conversion decline.
Related terms
- Lifecycle stage
- A lifecycle stage is a named condition for a declared object, with entry evidence, exit evidence, effective rules, and decision ownership.
- Cohort analysis
- Cohort analysis groups records by a shared start event and follows that fixed group over time, which is the only way to separate mix change from behavior change.
- Stage integrity
- Stage integrity is the property of a pipeline in which every stage change corresponds to a verifiable change in buyer commitment, evidenced on the record.
- Metric definition
- A metric definition is the governed specification of a measure, its formula, source fields, filters, grain, owner and known limitations.
Field notes on this
- The MQL debate needs an acceptance record
A recorded acceptance decision makes lead-quality disputes inspectable. It is a signal, not a complete diagnosis of demand performance.