MQL vs SQL

[liza89]

WHAT IS A LEAD?
A lead is a person who has shown interest in some way in your company's products or services. The way in which the person showed interest varies greatly, and may have come from a cold call or an online form. However, there is a common basis – there is an open line of communication, that is, the person is willing to receive more information about the company.

THE LEAD CYCLE
While the exact definitions of the various stages of the lead cycle depend largely on the type of customer your company has, the cycle should look something like this:

Lead MQL SLQ Opportunity Customer
You have completed some form
or contacted us directly to request
more information, but have not yet
revealed your phone number You have completed some type of form
or contacted us directly and
provided your information, to
be contacted again, and/or need Lead has already email data been evaluated by the
sales team and qualified as a potential
customer, as their needs fit the
products or services The sales team has identified the
lead as a
viable potential customer, as they are already
open to receiving more information or a demonstration. The sales team
successfully managed to convert
the potential customer into an actual customer
MQL vs SQL
Both a Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL) and a Sales Qualified Lead (SQL) are qualified leads. However, the type of qualification varies, especially since they are usually developed by different departments and with different goals. See our article on parameters to consider when defining MQL and SQL .

The main difference between the two types of leads is the amount of information. In other words, an MQL is a lead that has sparked interest and may or may not become an opportunity. However, it can only become an opportunity if the person's needs fit into the solutions that the company offers. And if they do, that's when it becomes an SQL.

As you can see in the table above, an SQL is an MQL with a greater aggregation of information. This collection of information is what makes it possible to adapt the speech and the advantages of the solution to the person.

This is why it is very important that the marketing department and the sales department are properly aligned and work together to define the characteristics of each type of lead.