How a lead becomes
a patient.
A working guide to the five stages every Thermora lead passes through, the criteria that govern each one, and the point at which ownership transfers to your clinic. The goal is a shared, disciplined view of the pipeline — from first inquiry to completed procedure.
Every lead is one of these stages.
Here is the operating principle. The moment a prospect expresses interest, they enter the pipeline as a lead and occupy exactly one stage at any given time — never two. Each stage is a qualification gate anchored to a single decision: Are they a fit? Have we made contact? Is a consult booked? The answer determines placement.
A lead advances only when it satisfies the criteria for the next stage, and it exits the pipeline when it does not. Classification is not a manual exercise — as the team logs activity, records reclassify automatically. A contact reaches Customer only after clearing every gate in sequence, which is precisely why volume compresses toward the base of the funnel and why the contacts at the bottom represent completed procedures.
The percentages are illustrative benchmarks, not Meribel data. They exist to calibrate expectations and will be replaced by actuals as weekly results accrue. "Fit-led" signals that the final stage is governed by clinical candidacy rather than a fixed conversion target.
+ Where these stages live: HubSpot and Hive Expand
The same five stages exist in two connected systems, each serving a different half of the pipeline.
- HubSpot holds the record of every lead and its current stage. As activity is logged, HubSpot reclassifies each contact automatically — this is the single source of truth for pipeline volume and stage counts.
- Hive is where your clinic logs the operational outcomes — contact attempts, consult attendance, clinical fit, and completed procedures. Those entries propagate to the later stages in HubSpot.
Keeping both disciplined is what keeps the funnel accurate for both teams.
What each stage represents.
The same five stages, defined in operating terms your team can act on — each with the criterion that qualifies a lead into it.
A prospect has submitted a form via paid media, the website, or a referral. Interest is established; qualification has not yet begun.
The lead meets both threshold criteria: within the Seattle service area and prepared to self-pay. They warrant active outreach.
Contact has been made and the prospect is ready to discuss scheduling. This is the point of handoff to your clinic.
A consultation is on the calendar. Conversion now hinges on attendance, clinical fit, and the patient's decision to proceed.
The Thermora procedure has been performed at your clinic. Progression to this stage is governed by clinical candidacy, so no fixed target applies.
How Thermora and the Seattle clinic connect.
The same five stages, drawn as two lanes. Meribel Health runs Thermora demand and qualification across the top; the Seattle clinic converts and delivers across the bottom. A lead crosses from one lane to the other at a single point, and outcomes circulate back on a weekly cadence.
Marketing builds demand. Your clinic converts it.
Two teams share one pipeline. Marketing owns the top and is accountable for qualified volume. Your clinic owns the bottom and is accountable for conversion. Ownership transfers the moment a lead is ready to book.
We source demand, qualify it, establish contact, and prepare the prospect to book. Stages we own:
- Lead — generate demand through paid media and web forms
- MQL — verify service area and self-pay readiness
- SQL — establish contact and secure consult readiness
You take the consult-ready prospect and carry them through to the procedure. Stages you own:
- Opportunity — conduct the consult and confirm clinical fit
- Customer — perform the Thermora procedure
When a lead reaches consult-ready (SQL), ownership transfers from marketing to your clinic. From the consultation forward, the patient relationship is yours. Disciplined logging keeps the pipeline accurate for both teams.
Your outcomes recalibrate the entire pipeline.
The funnel is a living model, not a fixed chart. Each week, clinic outcomes flow upstream to refine both the targets and the quality of leads routed to you.
Speed. Response time is the single largest driver of downstream conversion.
Treat every new inquiry with the urgency of a ringing phone, and a materially higher share of leads will reach a booked consult.