SQL vs. MQL – What’s the Difference?
Sales/marketing teams may categorize leads in different ways that represent their progress through the customer journey. Two of the most common categorizations are SQLs, and Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs) – but do you know the key differences in how these categories are defined?
An MQL is a prospective customer that has shown interest in becoming a customer and could be considered ready for a conversation with a member of the sales team. That conversation often consists of a “discovery call” that will assess the prospect’s readiness to convert, and may result in them being designated as an SQL. Prospects may be designated as MQLs once they have shown sufficient interest in the organization’s products and services, often by engaging with targeted content and/or reaching a predetermined lead score in the organization’s lead scoring system.
An SQL is a prospective customer that is ready to be converted into a paying customer. While marketing teams are responsible for generating and nurturing leads up to MQL status, the job of the sales team is to qualify prospects as SQLs through direct engagement. Prospects may be designated as SQLs after a discovery call with the sales team confirms their interest and intent to purchase.
Another lead categorization used by some B2B SaaS marketing teams is Product Qualified Leads (PQLs). A PQL is a prospective customer who has already experienced success with the selling organization’s product or services through a free trial or freemium product experience. Today’s B2B prospects frequently want to discover for themselves what a SaaS product has to offer before interacting with the sales team. Prospects may be designated as PQLs if they match the organization’s ideal customer profile, enjoy a positive experience with the product, and show some purchasing intent.
Categorizing leads as SQLs, MQLs, or PQLs allows sales/marketing teams to organize, prioritize, and manage leads according to their engagement history and deliver the right experiences to the right prospects at the right time to maximize revenue.