SQL
Also: SQL, Sales Qualified Lead, Sales Accepted Lead, SAL, prospect qualifié par les ventes, lead qualifié par les ventes
Sales Qualified Lead: a prospect the sales team has validated as ready for direct outreach and a proposal, having passed clear qualification criteria.
What it is
A Sales Qualified Lead (SQL) is a prospect that the sales team has reviewed and accepted as ready for direct engagement, such as a discovery call, a demo, or a proposal. It sits further down the funnel than a Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL), which is a lead that marketing considers promising based on behavior or profile but that sales has not yet validated.
The key difference is ownership and intent. An MQL shows signals of interest (downloaded a whitepaper, attended a webinar). An SQL has been checked against explicit criteria and judged worth a salesperson's time.
Why it matters
- Focus: Sales teams have limited capacity. SQLs tell reps where to spend it.
- Alignment: A shared SQL definition forces marketing and sales to agree on what a good lead looks like, reducing finger pointing.
- Forecasting: SQL volume and conversion rates feed pipeline and revenue predictions.
- Efficiency: Measuring the MQL to SQL conversion rate reveals whether marketing is generating the right leads or just volume.
How it is used in practice
Qualification is often structured with a framework such as BANT (Budget, Authority, Need, Timing) or MEDDIC. A lead becomes an SQL when it clears an agreed bar:
- There is a real, funded need.
- The contact has or can reach buying authority.
- The timeline is concrete, not hypothetical.
- The fit with the product is credible.
Once accepted, the SQL is assigned an owner, gets a stage in the CRM, and enters the active pipeline with an expected close date and value.
Worked example
A data platform vendor runs a campaign. Results:
- 1,000 leads captured from a webinar.
- 200 MQLs: marketing scores them on job title and engagement.
- 60 SQLs: sales calls them, and 60 confirm budget, authority, need, and timing.
- 12 deals close.
From this:
- MQL to SQL conversion: 30 percent (60 / 200).
- SQL to deal conversion: 20 percent (12 / 60).
If each deal is worth 50,000, the 60 SQLs represent an expected 600,000 in pipeline. Improving the SQL to deal rate from 20 to 25 percent would add three more deals, or 150,000, without any extra lead spend. That is why executives track SQL quality, not just quantity.
See also
Frequently asked questions
What is a Sales Qualified Lead (SQL)?
A Sales Qualified Lead is a prospect that the sales team has reviewed and accepted as ready for direct engagement: a discovery call, a demo, or a proposal. It has been checked against explicit criteria such as a real funded need, access to buying authority, a concrete timeline, and a credible product fit. Once accepted, the SQL gets an owner, a CRM stage, and an expected close date and value.
What is the difference between an MQL and an SQL?
An MQL (Marketing Qualified Lead) is judged promising by marketing based on behavior or profile, like downloading a whitepaper or attending a webinar. An SQL is that same lead after sales has validated it against agreed qualification criteria and judged it worth a rep's time. The difference is ownership and proven intent, not just interest signals.
Who needs to understand the SQL notion, and why does it show up in finance discussions?
Marketing and sales leaders need it to agree on what a good lead looks like, and finance needs it because SQL volume and conversion rates feed pipeline and revenue forecasts. A shared SQL definition reduces finger pointing between teams and makes the pipeline number auditable. That is why the term appears in CMO, CFO, and general management contexts alike.
Which criteria turn a lead into an SQL?
Qualification is usually structured with a framework like BANT (Budget, Authority, Need, Timing) or MEDDIC. A lead clears the bar when the need is real and funded, the contact holds or can reach buying authority, the timeline is concrete rather than hypothetical, and the fit with the product is credible. The exact bar has to be written down and agreed between marketing and sales, otherwise the label means nothing.
How do you calculate MQL to SQL conversion, and what does improving SQL quality actually earn?
Take a webinar generating 1,000 leads: marketing scores 200 as MQLs on job title and engagement, sales confirms 60 as SQLs, and 12 deals close. MQL to SQL conversion is 30 percent (60/200) and SQL to deal conversion is 20 percent (12/60). At 50,000 per deal, those 60 SQLs represent 600,000 of expected pipeline, and lifting the SQL to deal rate from 20 to 25 percent adds three deals, or 150,000, with no extra lead spend.