If you’ve spent any time around B2B marketing teams, you’ve probably heard these three acronyms thrown about like confetti at a wedding: MQL, SQL, and SAL. But what do they actually mean, and why should you care about the differences?
Understanding these lead qualification stages is crucial for any business looking to streamline their sales process and boost conversion rates. Let’s break down each one and explore how they fit into your B2B funnel.
The foundation of B2B lead qualification
Before diving into the specifics, it’s worth understanding why we categorise leads in the first place. Not every person who downloads your whitepaper or fills out a contact form is ready to buy your product. Some are just browsing, others are conducting early research, and a select few are genuinely ready to make a purchasing decision.
By categorising leads into different stages, your sales and marketing teams can tailor their approach accordingly. This means better resource allocation, higher conversion rates, and ultimately, more revenue for your business.
MQL: Marketing Qualified Lead
A Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL) is someone who has shown interest in your product or service but isn’t quite ready for a direct sales conversation yet. Think of them as window shoppers who’ve lingered a bit longer than usual.
What makes someone an MQL?
MQLs typically exhibit behaviours such as:
- Downloading content like ebooks or whitepapers
- Subscribing to your newsletter
- Attending webinars
- Visiting key pages on your website multiple times
- Engaging with your social media content
The key characteristic of an MQL is engagement without clear buying intent. They’re interested enough to consume your content but haven’t yet indicated they’re ready to speak with sales.
How to nurture MQLs effectively
The goal with MQLs is nurturing, not selling. This is where marketing automation truly shines. You might send them educational content, case studies, or invite them to product demonstrations. The idea is to build trust and demonstrate value whilst gradually moving them down the funnel.
Email sequences work particularly well here, as do retargeting campaigns that keep your brand top of mind. Remember, patience is key – rushing an MQL into a sales conversation often results in a lost opportunity.
SQL: Sales Qualified Lead
A Sales Qualified Lead (SQL) represents the next step up the ladder. These are prospects who have moved beyond casual interest and shown genuine buying intent. They’re ready for a proper sales conversation.
Identifying SQLs in your funnel
SQLs typically demonstrate behaviours such as:
- Requesting product demos or consultations
- Asking specific questions about pricing or features
- Downloading bottom-of-funnel content like ROI calculators
- Engaging with sales-focused pages on your website
- Responding positively to direct outreach attempts
The transition from MQL to SQL often happens when someone takes a more decisive action. They’re no longer just consuming content – they’re actively seeking solutions to their problems.
The handover process
This is where the magic happens between marketing and sales teams. A smooth MQL to SQL transition requires clear communication and well-defined criteria. Both teams need to agree on what constitutes sales-readiness, and there should be a systematic process for passing leads over.
At SendIQ, we’ve seen countless businesses struggle with this handover. Often, marketing thinks a lead is ready whilst sales believes they need more nurturing. Having clear, agreed-upon criteria eliminates this confusion and ensures no opportunities slip through the cracks.
SAL: Sales Accepted Lead
Here’s where things get interesting. A Sales Accepted Lead (SAL) is an SQL that your sales team has reviewed and agreed to pursue. Not every SQL becomes a SAL, and that’s perfectly normal.
Why the extra step matters?
You might wonder why we need another category. The answer lies in sales team efficiency. Just because marketing deems someone sales-ready doesn’t mean the sales team agrees. Perhaps the lead doesn’t fit your ideal customer profile, lacks sufficient budget, or isn’t the decision-maker.
By having sales formally accept or reject SQLs, you create a feedback loop that helps marketing refine their qualification criteria over time. It also ensures sales reps focus their energy on the most promising prospects.
The qualification conversation
When sales accepts a lead, they typically schedule an initial qualification call. This conversation aims to understand the prospect’s needs, budget, timeline, and decision-making process. It’s here that many leads either progress to opportunity status or get redirected back to marketing for further nurturing.
How these stages work together in practice
Understanding the theory is one thing, but how does this play out in real B2B scenarios?
Let’s say someone visits your website after clicking on a LinkedIn ad. They download a guide about improving operational efficiency (MQL behaviour). Over the following weeks, they open your nurture emails and visit your pricing page several times.
Then, they fill out a form requesting a product demo (SQL behaviour). Your sales team reviews their information, confirms they fit your target market, and accepts them as a SAL. The sales rep reaches out to schedule a discovery call, and the formal sales process begins.
This progression isn’t always linear, and leads can move backwards as well as forwards. Someone might seem sales-ready but then go quiet for months. Understanding these natural fluctuations helps set realistic expectations and improves forecasting accuracy.
Common pitfalls to avoid
Many businesses struggle with lead qualification, often making these mistakes:
- Rushing the process: Pushing MQLs too quickly towards sales conversations typically results in rejection and damaged relationships.
- Poor handover communication: When marketing and sales aren’t aligned on qualification criteria, good leads get lost and poor ones waste everyone’s time.
- Ignoring feedback loops: If sales consistently rejects certain types of SQLs, marketing needs to adjust their criteria accordingly.
- Inconsistent follow-up: Each stage requires different approaches. Using the same tactics for MQLs and SQLs rarely works effectively.
Making it work for your business
The specific criteria for MQL, SQL, and SAL will vary depending on your industry, deal size, and sales cycle. A software company selling to enterprise clients will have different thresholds than an agency targeting SMEs.
Start by mapping out your current lead journey. Where do prospects typically enter your funnel? What actions indicate genuine buying intent? How long does your average sales cycle take?
From there, define clear criteria for each stage and ensure both marketing and sales teams understand and agree with them. Regular reviews and adjustments keep the system working effectively as your business evolves.
Remember, the goal isn’t perfection – it’s progress. A well-implemented lead qualification system dramatically improves conversion rates and helps your teams work more efficiently together.
