Glossary
MQL (Marketing Qualified Lead)
A lead that has shown enough interest in your marketing to be worth a sales follow-up.
Definition
A Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL) is a contact who has taken actions (downloaded an asset, attended a webinar, repeatedly visited high-intent pages) that meet a defined scoring threshold. The MQL is handed from marketing to sales for follow-up — not for closing.
Why it matters
MQLs are a useful funnel waypoint, but only if scoring criteria are tight. Loose MQL definitions create friction between sales and marketing and bury SDRs in low-intent contacts.
More terms
ICP (Ideal Customer Profile)
The exact firmographic, persona and trigger combination of the accounts most likely to buy from you.
SDR (Sales Development Representative)
The role responsible for prospecting and booking qualified meetings for closers.
BDR (Business Development Representative)
An outbound prospecting role, often used interchangeably with SDR.
SQL (Sales Qualified Lead)
A lead that sales has accepted and confirmed is worth working toward a deal.
SAL (Sales Accepted Lead)
The intermediate step between MQL and SQL where sales accepts ownership.
BANT (Budget, Authority, Need, Timing)
A classic four-part lead qualification framework.
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