What is MQL and SQL
An MQL (Marketing Qualified Lead) is a lead that has met marketing's qualification criteria: it matches the target audience and has shown enough interest. An SQL (Sales Qualified Lead) is a lead that has passed sales qualification: it has a confirmed need, budget and timeframe. MQL and SQL are two consecutive stages on a lead's path to a sales opportunity.
What qualification is for
Not every lead deserves a salesperson's time. Qualification is sorting: it separates the contacts worth sales work from those that still need to mature or do not belong in the company at all. MQL and SQL are two sieves in a row.
An MQL, Marketing Qualified Lead, is a lead that has passed the first sieve. The criteria are usually a combination of profile (matches the ICP: company size, industry, role) and behaviour (downloaded a price list, attended a webinar, repeatedly returns to product pages). An MQL says: this contact looks like our customer and is showing interest.
An SQL, Sales Qualified Lead, has passed a second sieve, held by sales. In conversation a salesperson has verified the need, budget, decision process and timeframe. An SQL says: here is a real sales case from which an opportunity in the pipeline is created.
Where it breaks
The acronyms are not the problem, the problem is their dual interpretation. When marketing defines an MQL on its own, it produces leads by criteria sales does not trust. Sales does not take them over, or takes them over formally, the leads grow stale and both sides gather evidence for their version of the story: "sales does not follow through" versus "marketing brings ballast".
The gap between the perception at the top and the reality at the bottom is measured: according to Forrester (2024), 82 % of company leaders consider marketing and sales cooperation to be working, while 65 % of the people inside the teams report a mismatch. A dual definition of a qualified lead is one of the main mechanisms by which that gap arises.
How to set up a functional handover
All it takes is one document and the discipline to enforce it:
- A shared definition of an MQL. Profile and behavioural criteria agreed by both sides, in writing. Not "a quality lead", but measurable conditions.
- A handover SLA. By when sales contacts an MQL (in hours, not days) and what happens if it does not.
- Feedback on rejection. Every rejected MQL has a reason, the reasons are evaluated monthly and the criteria tuned accordingly.
- One report. The conversion from MQL to SQL and from SQL to deal is seen by both sides in the same numbers.
This is typically the first thing we straighten out in companies - not because it is the hardest, but because without it nothing else in the funnel works.
Updated: July 2026
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between MQL and SQL?
Marketing qualifies an MQL by profile and behaviour: the lead matches the target audience and interacted with content. Sales qualifies an SQL in conversation: the lead has a real need, budget and timeframe. An MQL says 'worth reaching out to', an SQL says 'worth sales work'.
Who defines the MQL criteria?
Marketing and sales together, in writing. Criteria defined by marketing alone lead to MQLs that sales does not trust - and the whole qualification loses its point.
What should happen to an MQL that sales rejects?
It goes back to marketing with a reason for the rejection: bad fit, bad timing, insufficient information. The reasons are evaluated and the criteria adjusted accordingly. Rejected MQLs without feedback are discarded data.
One topic, one funnel
We treat marketing and sales as one system. To see what that looks like in practice, read the blog.