MQL vs. SQL: Definitions, Qualification Criteria, and Handoff Rules
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Category: Media Strategy, Ad Measurement
Authors: Shusaku Yosa
An MQL is a lead marketing considers ready for sales review. An SQL is a lead sales has qualified for a concrete evaluation or selling process. Exact definitions vary by company and CRM. Adopting the labels does not automatically align the teams.
Agree on the evidence, decision-maker and next action for each transition. Also decide whether an SQL and an opportunity are the same stage or separate stages.
Example lifecycle definitions
Stage | Illustrative rule | Next check |
|---|---|---|
Lead | A contactable prospect record exists | Duplication, fit and communication conditions |
MQL | Fit and a relevant intent signal are verified | Sales checks the purpose |
SQL | Sales confirms a problem and a next evaluation step | Determine opportunity readiness |
Opportunity | A specific evaluation or proposal is managed | Participants, timing and value |
Won | The company’s contract criteria are met | Revenue and ongoing use are separate measures |
These are design examples, not universal definitions. A download need not make someone an MQL, and answering a call need not make them an SQL. Route support requests and out-of-scope inquiries separately.
Agree on both sides of the handoff
Dimension | Marketing provides | Sales verifies |
|---|---|---|
Fit | Match between problem and offer | Actual operating conditions |
Intent | A stated request or relevant action | The next decision the buyer wants to make |
Evidence | Source, date and known facts | Missing information |
Ownership | Notification and response target | Acceptance, deferral or rejection |
Contact conditions | Permission, refusal and preferences | Appropriate follow-up |
Specify business hours and cover for absent owners. An acceptance deadline, such as the next business day, is an internal operating choice. Acceptance can mean taking responsibility for review; it need not imply a promised sale.
Make rejection and recycling informative
Replace “poor quality” with specific reasons: out of scope, future timing, duplicate, missing information, unreachable contact or capacity constraint. Record what would allow reconsideration. Do not push questions only sales can answer back to marketing by default.
Deferred records need a review date or trigger. Explicit refusals and unsubscribed contacts must not automatically enter another promotional sequence.
Calculate conversion from the same cohort
Suppose 100 fictional MQLs acquired in one month are followed for 60 days. Sales accepts 80, qualifies 40 as SQLs, creates 30 opportunities and wins six.
Metric | Calculation | Result |
|---|---|---|
MQL acceptance | 80 ÷ 100 | 80% |
MQL to SQL | 40 ÷ 100 | 40% |
Accepted to SQL | 40 ÷ 80 | 50% |
SQL to opportunity | 30 ÷ 40 | 75% |
Opportunity to won | 6 ÷ 30 | 20% |
If cases remain open after 60 days, this is an interim result. Dividing this month’s wins by this month’s new MQLs can combine unrelated cohorts. Display counts, observation time and unresolved cases alongside rates.
Use a handoff worksheet and review rhythm
Record: case ID; acquisition date and source; the prospect’s stated problem; fit evidence; intent and timing; contact conditions; stage; owner; next action and deadline; return reason.
Weekly reviews should resolve unassigned work, overdue actions and missing reasons. Monthly reviews should compare accepted and progressed cases by source at equivalent ages. Cheap leads that never become suitable cases may require different acquisition criteria, but capacity and proposal quality also deserve investigation.
Version the definitions when products, target customers or sales operations change. Explain where a historical comparison is no longer like-for-like. Shared language is useful because it supports coordinated action, not because every company uses the same acronym in the same way.
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