What is SQL?
Sales Qualified Lead – a lead that sales has verified has genuine purchase intent.
Understanding SQL
SQL, or Sales Qualified Lead, is a lead that the sales team has qualified and confirmed has genuine interest and intent to purchase. SQLs have moved beyond marketing evaluation and are actively being worked by sales representatives.
The MQL-to-SQL conversion rate is a critical metric for measuring lead quality and marketing-sales alignment. Low conversion rates often indicate either poor lead quality from marketing or inadequate follow-up from sales. SQLs should meet BANT criteria (Budget, Authority, Need, Timeline) or a similar framework that confirms they're genuinely in-market and can make a purchase decision.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is SQL?
Sales Qualified Lead – a lead that sales has verified has genuine purchase intent.
SQL, or Sales Qualified Lead, is a lead that the sales team has qualified and confirmed has genuine interest and intent to purchase. SQLs have moved beyond marketing evaluation and are actively being worked by sales representatives.
What does SQL stand for?
Why is SQL important?
SQLs represent real revenue opportunity—they've passed both marketing and sales qualification hurdles and are actively in the buying process. Tracking SQL volume and conversion rates from SQL to closed-won deals provides crucial pipeline forecasting data. The velocity from SQL to close is a key efficiency metric that impacts cash flow and growth rate.