Inbound Marketing: Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs) vs Sales Qualified Leads (SQLs)

How does a Sales and Marketing team determine the definitions of a MQL vs a SQL? What are the factors that move a lead from one stage to the next down the funnel? What’s the best way to do this for your business, to ensure that you’re in alignment internally and can understand where the hand-off should take place from the marketing to the sales team, and what the lead nurturing process should look like?

A Marketing Qualified Lead, or MQL, is someone that has essentially shown a deeper interest and engagement in your offerings, but isn’t yet ready to be considered an opportunity by Sales. On the other hand, a Sales Qualified Lead, or SQL, is a contact who is at a stage where they are ready to be followed up with directly by Sales.

So how do you figure out what defines each of these lead types in the lifecycle of your funnel? Here are key considerations to keep in mind:

1:26 Fully Define MQLs vs SQLs
2:31 Ensure Alignment Between Marketing & Sales
3:06 Optimize Stages of the Sales Funnel
3:36 Create the Handoff Process