This glossary defines key terms as LeanScale uses them in the GTM OS. Where industry practice varies, we note common alternatives and why we use our definition.
Marketing Terms
| Term | Definition | Notes |
|---|
| MAL (Marketing Accepted Lead) | Any contact in database | Email address exists — could be personal, non-ICP |
| MEL (Marketing Engaged Lead) | Contact who has engaged with content | Chat, gated content, paid ad click, etc. |
| MQL (Marketing Qualified Lead) | High-intent or target account contact | Demo request, beacon product request, or BDR/Sales identified target |
| SAL (Sales Accepted Lead) | Lead with meeting scheduled | Sales person has accepted a meeting |
| CPL (Cost Per Lead) | Marketing spend divided by leads generated | Varies wildly by channel ($31 SEO to $110 LinkedIn) |
| Lead Scoring | Numerical ranking of lead quality/intent | Can be behavioral, firmographic, or both |
| Attribution | Crediting marketing touchpoints for revenue | See attribution methodologies below |
On MQL definitions: Industry practice varies significantly. Some companies define MQL as any demo request; others require firmographic fit. LeanScale defines MQL as high-intent OR target account — this captures both inbound demand and outbound-sourced meetings.
Attribution Methodologies
| Method | What It Measures | Best For |
|---|
| First Touch | Initial lead source | High velocity sales (0-60 day cycles) |
| Last Touch | Final source before SQL | Mid-long cycles, outbound-heavy |
| Blended | Both first and last | Most use cases with proper reporting |
| Multi-touch | All touchpoints | Enterprise (ACV >$100K, cycle >6mo) |
Sales Terms
| Term | Definition | Notes |
|---|
| SQL (Sales Qualified Lead) | Opportunity created after sales qualifies lead | Post-meeting qualification; some orgs call this "Opportunity" |
| Closed Won (CW) | Deal signed | Contract executed |
| Closed Lost | Deal lost | Competitor win, no decision, or lost to status quo |
| ACV (Annual Contract Value) | Annualized value of a contract | If 3-year deal at $300K total, ACV = $100K |
| TCV (Total Contract Value) | Full value of a contract | If 3-year deal at $300K total, TCV = $300K |
| Win Rate | Deals won / Deals closed | Measure at each stage for funnel health |
| Sales Cycle | Time from opportunity creation to close | Track median, not average (outliers skew) |
| Pipeline Coverage | Pipeline value / Quota | 3-4x is healthy; varies by win rate |
| Quota Attainment | Revenue closed / Quota assigned | >70% at quota is healthy team performance |
On SQL vs Opportunity: Some orgs use "Opportunity" once Sales accepts. LeanScale uses SQL to mean "qualified opportunity created" — the moment a deal enters the pipeline with a real chance to close.
Qualification Frameworks
| Framework | Focus | Best For |
|---|
| BANT | Budget, Authority, Need, Timeline | Transactional sales |
| MEDDIC | Metrics, Economic Buyer, Decision Criteria, Decision Process, Identify Pain, Champion | Enterprise sales |
| MEDDPICC | MEDDIC + Paper Process, Competition | Complex enterprise deals |
Customer Success Terms
| Term | Definition | Notes |
|---|
| GRR (Gross Revenue Retention) | Revenue retained excluding expansion | Target: >85-90% |
| NRR (Net Revenue Retention) | Revenue retained including expansion | Target: >100-110% (sales-led), >120% (PLG) |
| Churn | Revenue lost from customers leaving | Can be logo churn (count) or revenue churn ($) |
| Expansion | Additional revenue from existing customers | Upsell, cross-sell, or usage growth |
| Health Score | Composite metric predicting retention risk | Varies by company; combine usage, engagement, support |
| Time to Value (TTV) | Days from closed won to first value milestone | Shorter TTV = better retention |
| CSM (Customer Success Manager) | Person responsible for customer outcomes | Not support; focused on adoption and retention |
On NRR benchmarks: 105% is the Series A/B standard for sales-led motions. PLG and usage-based companies often see 120-130%+ due to natural expansion. Comparing NRR across motions is misleading.
Customer Success Stages
| Stage | Definition | Entry Criteria |
|---|
| Pre-onboarding | CS involved before close | CS gets context pre-signature |
| Onboarding Completed | Handoff done | Sales-CS handoff complete |
| Implementation Completed | Technical setup done | Defined implementation milestones met |
| Early Adoption | First value realized | Initial time to value achieved |
| Mature Adoption | Full value realized | Renewal occurred or ongoing value proven |
Financial & Reporting Terms
| Term | Definition | Notes |
|---|
| ARR (Annual Recurring Revenue) | Annualized recurring revenue | MRR × 12; excludes one-time fees |
| MRR (Monthly Recurring Revenue) | Monthly recurring revenue | ARR ÷ 12 |
| CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost) | Cost to acquire a customer | Sales + Marketing spend / New customers |
| LTV (Lifetime Value) | Total revenue from a customer | ACV × Gross Margin × (1 / Churn Rate) |
| LTV:CAC | Ratio of lifetime value to acquisition cost | Target: >3:1 |
| CAC Payback | Months to recover acquisition cost | Target: under 18 months |
| Magic Number | Sales efficiency metric | (QoQ ARR growth × 4) / Prior Q S&M spend |
| Rule of 40 | Growth + Profitability balance | ARR Growth % + EBITDA Margin % ≥ 40 |
| Gross Margin | Revenue minus COGS | Target: >70% for SaaS |
On CAC calculation: Industry varies on what to include. LeanScale includes fully-loaded Sales + Marketing spend (salaries, tools, programs) divided by new customer count. Some orgs use new ARR in denominator instead.
Benchmark Ranges (Series Stage)
| Metric | Series A | Series B | Series C+ |
|---|
| ARR | $1-5M | $5-20M | $20-50M+ |
| Growth Rate | 100%+ | 75%+ | 50%+ |
| NRR | 100%+ | 105%+ | 110%+ |
| CAC Payback | under 24 mo | under 18 mo | under 12 mo |
| LTV:CAC | >2:1 | >3:1 | >4:1 |
GTM Stage Terms
| Term | Definition | Characteristics |
|---|
| Build | Pre-PMF, founder-led sales | Under $1M ARR, proving the model works |
| Stabilize | First repeatable sales motion | $1-3M ARR, first dedicated sales reps |
| Scale | Scaling what works | $3-15M ARR, building the team |
| Optimize | Efficiency and segmentation | $15-40M ARR, unit economics focus |
| Platform | Multi-product, multi-segment | $40M+ ARR, enterprise complexity |
Contentious Terms
These terms have different meanings across functions or industries. Here's how LeanScale defines them:
Opportunity vs SQL
| Perspective | Definition |
|---|
| Sales view | "Opportunity" = any deal in pipeline |
| Marketing view | "SQL" = qualified lead handed to sales |
| LeanScale OS | SQL = qualified opportunity created after sales meeting |
We use SQL because it's clearer that qualification happened. "Opportunity" can mean anything from first call to verbal commit.
MQL Definition Variance
| Company Type | Typical MQL Definition |
|---|
| High-velocity | Any demo request |
| Enterprise | Demo request + firmographic fit + engagement score |
| PLG | Product usage threshold + expansion signal |
| LeanScale OS | High-intent (demo request) OR target account (BDR-sourced) |
Pipeline Coverage Targets
| Motion | Typical Coverage |
|---|
| SMB (high velocity) | 2-3x |
| Mid-Market | 3-4x |
| Enterprise | 4-5x |
| LeanScale default | 3-4x (adjust for win rate) |
Coverage requirements scale with sales cycle length and win rate uncertainty.
Lead Source Categories
| Category | Examples |
|---|
| Demand | Email, Blog, Gated Content, Podcast, Webinar |
| Organic | Organic Search, Organic Social, Website, Chat |
| Paid | Paid Search, LinkedIn, Facebook, Display |
| Partner | Affiliate, Referral, Reseller |
| Events | Trade Shows, Customer Events, Prospect Events |
| Outbound | SDR/BDR prospecting, Sales prospecting |
| Referral | Customer referrals, Employee referrals, Investor referrals |
| Product | Referral codes, In-app upsell |