MQL (marketing qualified lead) is a lead that meets predefined marketing criteria—profile fit plus engagement—so it is ready for sales qualification and outreach.

How it works

B2B sales-led growth funnels typically stage leads:

1. Raw lead: Form fill, event scan, or inbound email—may be student, competitor, or wrong segment.
2. MQL: Passes scoring rules—e.g., VP at 200+ employee SaaS company who attended a webinar and visited pricing.
3. SQL (sales qualified lead): Sales confirms budget, authority, need, and timeline after discovery.
4. Opportunity: Active deal in pipeline with expected close date.

Scoring blends firmographics (industry, size, role) and behavior (content downloads, product trial, repeat site visits). Marketing automation tools assign points; crossing a threshold creates an MQL and triggers CRM routing.

MQL definitions differ by company stage. Early startups may manually qualify; at scale, misaligned MQL rules either starve sales (too strict) or bury them in noise (too loose).

Investors examine MQL volume, MQL-to-SQL conversion, and SQL-to-close rate—not MQL count in isolation. High MQLs with low conversion signal weak targeting or sales mismatch.

Why it matters

• Founders: Agree on MQL criteria in writing between marketing and sales. Revise as ICP sharpens post first customers.
• Investors: Efficient CAC depends on quality leads, not top-of-funnel inflation. Ask how MQL definition changed over the last two quarters.

Common mistake

Labeling every webinar attendee an MQL to hit growth charts. Inflated MQLs destroy sales trust and make unit economics look worse when conversion is calculated honestly.

Related ideas

See also sales-led growth, CAC, LTV:CAC, and magic number.