Sales Qualified Lead (SQL) is A lead that has been vetted by both marketing and sales as ready for direct sales engagement, meeting agreed-upon criteria for budget, authority, need, and timeline.
An SQL is a lead that sales has accepted and confirmed as worth pursuing. The distinction from an MQL matters because it represents a handoff agreement between two teams that historically blame each other: marketing says "we sent great leads," sales says "the leads were garbage." The SQL definition is the contract that settles the argument.
MQL to SQL Conversion
The MQL-to-SQL acceptance rate is one of the most revealing metrics in the funnel. Benchmarks vary, but healthy conversion sits between 25-40%. Below 20%, marketing's qualification criteria are too loose. Above 50%, the bar might be too high and you're leaving pipeline on the table.
Qualification Frameworks
BANT: Budget, Authority, Need, Timeline. Classic but rigid. Most buyers don't have a defined budget until they're deep in evaluation.
SPICED: Situation, Pain, Impact, Critical Event, Decision. More consultative, better for solution selling.
The SLA
RevOps owns the service-level agreement between marketing and sales. Marketing commits to delivering X SQLs per month at Y quality. Sales commits to following up within Z hours and providing disposition feedback. Without the SLA, finger-pointing replaces accountability.
Track SQL metrics alongside the full funnel in our RevOps KPI guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
What qualifies a lead as sales qualified?
Criteria vary by company, but typically an SQL has confirmed budget or budget authority, a defined need that maps to your solution, an identified decision-maker, and a reasonable purchase timeline. The specific thresholds should be agreed upon by marketing and sales through a formal SLA.
What is a good MQL to SQL conversion rate?
25-40% is healthy for most B2B companies. Below 20% signals a lead quality problem. Above 50% may mean marketing is holding the bar too high and limiting pipeline volume.
