The Most Overlooked HubSpot Settings That Could Be Costing You Revenue

If I could wave a magic wand over most of the messy CRMs I audit, I’d start with one thing: lifecycle stages and lead stages.

They’re two of the most powerful—and most misunderstood—tools inside HubSpot. And when they’re not set up right? Everything downstream starts to unravel: reporting, attribution, sales handoffs, campaign performance… you name it.

But when they are built correctly? Suddenly, everything starts to click.

Why This Matters (Especially for Tech and SaaS)

I’ve been helping a tech/SaaS client recently rebuild their HubSpot system. Like many growing companies, they had the right tools—but fuzzy execution. Everyone had their own definition of what an MQL or SQL was. Marketing thought a “lead” was anyone who filled out a form. Sales thought a “lead” didn’t exist until a call was booked.

The result? Duplicate work. Leads slipping through the cracks. Sales blaming marketing. Marketing blaming sales. And reports that looked good—but didn’t reflect reality.

We fixed it by getting everyone on the same page, defining each stage clearly, and then automating progression through those stages without creating extra work for the team.

Lifecycle vs. Lead Stage: What’s the Difference?

Lifecycle Stage

This field tracks the relationship a contact or company has with your business—from their first interaction through becoming a customer.

Default HubSpot lifecycle stages:

• Subscriber

• Lead

• Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL)

• Sales Qualified Lead (SQL)

• Opportunity

• Customer

• Evangelist

• Other

Lifecycle stage exists across Contacts, Companies, and Deals, and is critical for funnel reporting, sales handoffs, and segmentation.

Lead Stage

Lead Stage is part of the HubSpot Lead Object, introduced for better sales team tracking. It represents the internal motion between SQL and creating a deal—where SDRs/BDRs typically live.

Current defaults include:

• Attempting to Contact

• Connected

• Bad Timing

• Qualified

• Unqualified

Lead Stage lives in the Sales Workspace, and pairs perfectly with task queues and sequences—giving reps clear direction without messy manual notes.

What’s New in HubSpot 

Attribution-Informed Lifecycle Assignment

HubSpot now automatically sets the first lifecycle stage (typically “Lead”) based on original source and contact creation method.

If a contact fills out a form, engages with a chat, or clicks through from a paid ad and no lifecycle stage exists, HubSpot will assign “Lead” based on that default logic.

 This is not customizable in Settings > Data Management.
But you can create workflows to override or refine lifecycle stages:

• “If contact fills out pricing form → set lifecycle stage to SQL”

• “If original source is paid search → assign MQL”

• “If lifecycle stage is unknown → default to Lead”

Lead Object Automations

With the Lead Object, you can:

• Automatically create leads from form submissions or lists

• Route them to reps using round-robin assignments

• Trigger progression through Lead Stages based on email opens, replies, or task completion

• Use lifecycle-to-lead mapping to track conversion points without relying on assumptions

Lifecycle-to-Deal Sync

HubSpot gives you the option to auto-advance lifecycle stages when a deal is created (e.g., from SQL → Opportunity). This can also be turned off if your process requires manual validation.

How It All Comes Together

In the 3T project, getting this piece right had a domino effect:

• Cleaner reporting: For the first time, they could see how many MQLs were turning into SQLs, how many Leads were actually engaged, and where drop-off was happening.

• Sales and marketing alignment: Everyone now shares the same definitions for Lead, MQL, SQL, and Opportunity. Marketing knows what Sales expects, and Sales can trust the handoff.

• Smarter automation: Workflows aren’t a burden anymore—they’re a bridge. They automatically move contacts through stages based on behavior, not gut feelings.

Final Thought

There’s a reason lifecycle and lead stages are built into HubSpot—and when you ignore them, everything else starts to drift.

• Fix your lifecycle definitions.
• Use lead stages to support real sales conversations.
• Align workflows so your teams stop second-guessing the funnel.

This one cleanup unlocks better reporting, faster handoffs, and a real path to revenue optimization.