Glossary
What is a sales qualified lead (SQL)?
A sales qualified lead, or SQL, is a lead that the sales team has checked and accepted as worth a real sales conversation: the company fits, a person with influence is involved, and there is an interest or need. It comes after a marketing qualified lead and before an opportunity in most funnels.
Published by Sellinger AI. Numbers and settings checked on 24 October 2026 against the fact register. Report an error.
How is an SQL different from an MQL?
| Stage | Who decides | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Lead | Nobody yet | A contact you know about |
| MQL | Marketing | Showed interest that fits a marketing rule, such as a download |
| SQL | Sales | Checked by sales and worth a conversation |
| Opportunity | Sales | A deal is being worked, with a value |
What makes a lead an SQL?
Teams set their own criteria, and the worst problems come from not writing them down. Common criteria: the company matches the ideal customer profile, the contact has influence on the decision, the person replied with interest or asked for a call, and nothing rules them out, such as a contract they just signed elsewhere.
Why does the definition matter?
If marketing counts an SQL one way and sales another, every report becomes an argument. Agree the definition in one sentence, apply it the same way every month, and count SQLs that became meetings held, not only SQLs created. Count meetings honestly explains why.
How Sellinger handles it
Sellinger does not use the MQL and SQL labels in its funnel. Sellinger's analytics count people, not messages: the funnel runs Reached, Replied, Meetings and Deals, with show rate, meetings held, no shows and deals won, and a breakdown by ICP, channel, campaign or source. Cost per meeting held is shown; cost per meeting booked is deliberately not. Most teams treat a booked meeting from a qualified reply as their SQL point.
Common questions
Who decides whether a lead is an SQL?
Is a reply an SQL?
How many MQLs become SQLs?
Sources and method
General sales practice. Sellinger analytics as described in the analytics help article, checked 24 October 2026.
Related: Marketing qualified lead, Product qualified lead, Lead qualification, Sales funnel.
