$ man lifecycle-stage

Lifecycle Stage

A property in HubSpot that defines where a contact is in the sales process. Subscriber → Lead → MQL → SQL → Opportunity → Customer.

Lifecycle stages let you filter and automate by intent and readiness. You don't email a Customer the same way you email a Lead. You don't score an Opportunity the same way you score an MQL. Lifecycle stage is the primary segmentation axis in most CRMs.

I sync qualified contacts from Clay into HubSpot as "Lead" by default. If they reply to outbound, they move to "MQL." If an AE qualifies them, they move to "SQL." If a deal opens, they move to "Opportunity." I use lifecycle stage in views — "show me all SQLs created this month" or "show me Leads with no outreach in 30 days." I don't manually update lifecycle. It's automated based on activity (reply = MQL, meeting booked = SQL).