Sales Qualified Lead (SQL)
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.
- MEDDPICC: Metrics, Economic Buyer, Decision Criteria, Decision Process, Paper Process, Identify Pain, Champion, Competition. Enterprise-grade, thorough, complex.
- 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.
Get Weekly RevOps Intelligence
Salary benchmarks, tool reviews, and job market insights for revenue operations leaders. Every week.