Marketing Qualified Lead vs. Sales Qualified Lead. A classification system to determine where a prospect is in the buying journey.
An MQL is someone who has engaged with marketing (downloaded an ebook) but isn't ready to buy.
An SQL is someone who has been vetted by the team and is ready to talk to sales (requested a demo).
The handoff between marketing (MQL) and sales (SQL) is where most B2B revenue is lost.
The war between Sales and Marketing usually starts here. Marketing says 'We sent you 100 leads!' Sales says 'They were all junk!'
Defining MQL vs SQL is the peace treaty. It sets a strict standard: Marketing only promises to send leads that meet specific criteria (e.g., 'Has budget, is decision maker').
More MQLs is better.
Reality:Quality over quantity. 10 SQLs are worth more than 1,000 bad MQLs.
It's static.
Reality:No. A lead can move backward. They become an SQL, talk to sales, say 'Not now', and go back to being an MQL for nurturing.
Lead Scoring: Giving +10 points for visiting the pricing page (SQL signal) and +1 point for liking a tweet (MQL signal).
SLA (Service Level Agreement): Marketing agrees to deliver 50 SQLs/month; Sales agrees to call every SQL within 2 hours.
Sales Accepted Lead. The intermediate step where Sales says 'Okay, I agree this is a good lead, I will work on it'.
Rarely. In B2C e-commerce, people usually skip the 'Lead' stage and go straight to 'Customer'. This is a B2B concept.
We Can Help With
Looking to implement MQL vs SQL for your business? Our team of experts is ready to help.
Explore ServicesDon't let technical jargon slow you down. Get a clear strategy for your growth.