Lifecycle velocity
Lifecycle velocity is the time records take to move between governed stages, measured as a distribution rather than an average.
The average is nearly useless here, because lifecycle timing is almost always bimodal: a fast cohort that converts in days and a slow cohort that takes months. An average lands between the two and describes neither. The median and the spread describe the system; the mean describes nothing.
Velocity is most valuable as a leading indicator of a definitional problem. When time-in-stage rises without any change in demand mix, the usual cause is that the exit criteria for that stage became harder to satisfy, often because someone added a required field.
Where it breaks
Average time-to-MQL is reported monthly and moves constantly, because it is an average of two populations with different behaviour.
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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Sales accepted lead (SAL)
- A SAL is an MQL that the receiving sales function has explicitly accepted as workable, creating the only honest measurement of demand quality.
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.