Marketing qualified lead
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A lead that marketing has scored and deemed ready for sales follow-up based on fit and engagement signals.
An MQL is a lead that marketing says is worth a sales conversation. The lead has done enough of the right things: visited the pricing page, downloaded a technical guide, attended a demo webinar, and matches the ICP on firmographic data.
The handoff from marketing to sales is where most B2B companies break. Marketing defines MQL criteria too loosely, sales gets flooded with unqualified names, and everyone blames each other. The fix is simple: agree on the criteria upfront and measure the MQL-to-SQL conversion rate. If less than 20% of MQLs become SQLs, your criteria are too loose.
Some companies have moved away from MQLs entirely in favor of product-qualified leads in PLG motions. The signal comes from product usage, not marketing engagement. But for sales-led companies, MQLs remain the primary handoff mechanism.
Examples
A marketing automation system scores a lead.
A director of engineering at a 500-person company downloads your API documentation, visits the pricing page twice, and attends a webinar. Their lead score crosses 75 points. The system marks them as an MQL and routes them to the BDR team.
A quarterly review between marketing and sales.
Marketing generated 800 MQLs last quarter. Sales accepted 600 as SALs. Of those, 180 became SQLs. The MQL-to-SQL rate is 22.5%. That is healthy. If it were 8%, marketing and sales would need to revisit MQL criteria.
A company switches from MQLs to PQLs.
After launching a free tier, the team finds that users who complete three API calls in their first week close at 5x the rate of traditional MQLs. They shift the BDR team to prioritize product usage signals over content engagement.
In practice
Read more on the blog
Frequently asked questions
What is a good MQL-to-SQL conversion rate?
Between 20% and 40% is healthy for most B2B companies. Below 15% means your MQL criteria are too loose. Above 50% might mean you are too restrictive and missing potential opportunities.
Are MQLs still relevant in PLG companies?
Many PLG companies supplement or replace MQLs with product-qualified leads (PQLs), which are based on product usage signals rather than content engagement. The concept of qualifying leads before sales contact remains. The signals change.
Related terms
A lead that a salesperson has vetted and confirmed has real buying intent, budget, and authority.
A person or company that has shown interest in your product. The starting point of every sales pipeline.
Assigning numerical values to leads based on their fit and engagement to determine which ones are ready for sales follow-up.
The total dollar value of deals your sales team is actively working. The most important leading indicator in any sales organization.
Business development rep / Sales development rep. The people who prospect, qualify leads, and book meetings for account executives.
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