MQL
MQL (Marketing Qualified Lead) - a lead that meets the ICP criteria and has shown interest: registered, downloaded materials, visited the site.
MQL - Marketing Qualified Lead, qualified marketing lead. This is a lead who: 1. Matches ICP (target audience) profile 2. Showed marketing activity (registered, downloaded, left a contact) 3. I am not ready to talk with the sales manager yet
MQL is an intermediate stage of the funnel between “cold contact” and SQL (sales-qualified lead). The marketer submits the MQL for sale, the sale further qualifies it to SQL.
In my b2b projects, MQL → SQL conversion is usually 25–40%. If it’s below 15%, it means marketing is giving away irrelevant leads. If it’s above 60%, marketing filters too harshly and loses potential customers at an early stage.
In b2c projects, the MQL/SQL distinction is less formalized: the lead goes straight to sale. But I still use the concept: I separate “left a contact” (MQL equivalent) and “ready to buy” (SQL equivalent) - these are different creatives and different communications.
Frequently asked questions about MQL
What is MQL?+
What is the normal MQL to SQL conversion?+
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