What is MQL & SQL (Marketing and Sales Qualified Leads)?
Lead qualification stages that define when marketing hands a lead to sales (MQL) and when sales confirms it's worth pursuing (SQL).
Definition
An MQL (Marketing Qualified Lead) is a lead that has engaged with marketing content enough to be considered a potential buyer. Engagement signals include downloading a whitepaper, attending a webinar, visiting the pricing page multiple times, or matching firmographic criteria. An SQL (Sales Qualified Lead) is an MQL that sales has vetted through direct conversation and confirmed has budget, authority, need, and timeline (BANT) for a purchase. The MQL-to-SQL handoff is one of the most critical (and most broken) processes in B2B organizations.
Why It Matters
MQL and SQL definitions create the shared language between marketing and sales. When these definitions are vague or misaligned, marketing sends garbage leads to sales, sales ignores them, and both teams blame each other. Clear, data-driven MQL/SQL criteria improve conversion rates and reduce friction between teams. The MQL-to-SQL conversion rate is also one of the best indicators of whether marketing is targeting the right audience.
Example
A company defines MQL criteria: visited the pricing page twice, works at a company with 50+ employees, and has a VP or C-level title. When a lead meets all three criteria, it's routed to an SDR. The SDR qualifies it via a discovery call: if the prospect has confirmed budget, a timeline, and is the decision-maker, it becomes an SQL and gets a demo on the calendar.