Lead qualification is essential to ensure that sales and marketing teams are focused on the prospects that are most likely to become customers. A well-defined lead qualification process helps both teams stay aligned. This starts with defining your lead qualification stages, including marketing qualified leads (MQL), sales accepted leads (SAL), and sales qualified leads (SQL). In this article, we’ll explain the definitions for each of the lead qualification stages and show how they work together to improve handoffs, boost conversion rates, and build a more efficient sales pipeline.
The Lead Qualification Stages
Unqualified Leads
A lead is a potential customer who has shown initial interest in your company, product, or service—typically by filling out a form, subscribing to a newsletter, or engaging with your content. At this stage, the lead has not yet been qualified by marketing and may or may not be a good fit.
Marketing Qualified Leads (MQL)
A Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL) is a lead that has been vetted by the marketing team and is considered ready for sales outreach. The marketing team will often use specific criteria to qualify leads, such as company size, role, and engagement level. This process is often automated using lead scoring software.
Sales Accepted Leads (SAL)
A Sales Accepted Lead (SAL) is a marketing-qualified lead that has been reviewed and accepted by the sales team as worth engaging. At this stage, sales typically confirms that the MQL criteria has been met, the lead is reachable, and falls within their territory or market. Accepting a lead as an SAL signals a formal handoff from marketing to sales and a commitment to follow up within a defined timeframe.
Sales Qualified Leads (SQL)
A Sales Qualified Lead (SQL) is a lead that has been engaged by sales and confirmed as a legitimate opportunity—typically meaning they have a clear need, budget, authority, and intent to buy. For example, they may have requested a demo, filled out a contact form, or asked for a quote. At this stage, the lead enters the sales pipeline and is actively worked as a potential deal.
How to Define Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL) Criteria
It’s important to define specific criteria for when leads are ready to be handed off to sales. The marketing team will be responsible for determining if leads meet this criteria–but both teams should be involved in defining the criteria. The following steps will guide you through this process.
1. Define Your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)
Start by identifying the characteristics of companies or individuals most likely to buy from you. This forms the foundation for your fit-based signals. Common attributes include:
- Company size
- Industry
- Job title or function
- Location
- Revenue or budget
2. Identify High-Intent Behavior
List the actions that show a lead is genuinely interested. These are behavior-based signals such as:
- Viewing key pages (e.g., pricing, demo, product features)
- Downloading gated content
- Attending webinars or events
- Repeated website visits or email engagement
3. Develop a Lead Scoring Model
Create a scoring system that combines fit and behavior signals. For example:
- +20 points for a director-level job title
- +15 points for attending a webinar
- +10 points for visiting the pricing page
Don’t worry about creating a perfect lead scoring model. You’ll have plenty of opportunities to improve the model as you collect more data.
4. Decide on a Lead Score Threshold
Next, we’ll set a threshold score that qualifies a lead as an MQL. Work with the sales team to agree on what score—or combination of attributes—signals that a lead is ready for handoff.
5. Test and Refine
Monitor MQL-to-SAL conversion rates and get feedback from sales to adjust your model. If too many MQLs are rejected, your criteria may need tightening.
How to Define Sales Qualified Lead (SQL) Criteria
A Sales Qualified Lead (SQL) has been vetted by sales and determined to be a legitimate opportunity worth pursuing. Most sales teams will use a structured framework such as BANT, CHAMP, or MEDDIC to qualify leads consistently. For example, BANT uses the following criteria:
- Budget: Do they have funds allocated?
- Authority: Are they a decision-maker or influencer?
- Need: Do they have a clear problem your product solves?
- Timeline: Is there urgency to act?
See our article on lead qualification frameworks for more information.
Why Lead Qualification Matters
The lead qualification process provides a number of benefits for B2B sales and marketing teams:
- Improved sales efficiency: Sales reps spend time on leads with the highest potential to convert.
- Sales and marketing alignment: Clear definitions (MQL, SAL, SQL) create shared expectations and smoother handoffs.
- Higher conversion rates: Qualified leads are more likely to move through the pipeline and become customers.
- Shorter sales cycles: Reps engage only with leads that are ready for sales conversations.
- More accurate forecasting: Qualified leads offer better pipeline visibility and predictability.
- Improved customer experience: Leads receive the right outreach at the right time based on their readiness.
Best Practices for Lead Qualification
The following best practices can help you optimize your lead qualification process:
- Define clear criteria for qualification stages: Align sales and marketing on what qualifies a lead at each stage.
- Measure conversion rates: You should be measuring the conversion rate between different qualification stages and comparing this to industry benchmarks.
- Use lead scoring models: Combine demographic fit and behavioral signals to prioritize leads.
- Automate where possible: Use marketing automation tools to qualify leads based on lead scores.
- Document the process: Maintain clear internal documentation so all team members understand qualification standards.
- Train both teams: Ensure marketing and sales know how to apply the criteria consistently.
- Use feedback loops: Let sales provide feedback on lead quality to improve future qualification.
- Segment by lead source or persona: Tailor qualification approaches based on different types of leads.
Conversion Rate Benchmarks
Tracking conversion rates between lead qualification stages helps you identify where leads are dropping off and whether your criteria are too strict or too loose. While benchmarks can vary by industry and business model, here are common B2B benchmarks to guide your analysis:
Lead to MQL: 20-40%
A lower conversion rate may indicate overly strict criteria or low-quality lead sources. A higher conversion rate may indicate your qualification criteria is not strict enough. You’ll want to compare this against your MQL to SAL conversion rate to determine if sales is rejecting too many leads from marketing.
MQL to SAL: 70-90%
A lower rate may point to misalignment between sales and marketing on what defines a qualified lead.
SAL to SQL: 30-50%
A lower rate may mean your SAL criteria is not strict enough or your sales outreach strategies are not effective.
SQL to Customer: 20-30%
A lower rate may suggest issues with product fit, sales execution, or qualification criteria.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is an Information Qualified Lead (IQL)?
An Information Qualified Lead (IQL) is a lead that has shown initial interest by requesting or downloading educational content, such as an eBook, guide, or webinar. At this stage, the lead is typically seeking information to better understand a problem or explore solutions—not necessarily ready to engage with sales. IQLs are usually at the top of the funnel and require further nurturing before they can be considered Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs).
What is a Sales Accepted Opportunity (SAO)?
A Sales Accepted Opportunity (SAO) is a sales-qualified lead that has been formally reviewed and accepted by an account executive or sales manager as a valid opportunity worth pursuing in the pipeline. This acceptance typically follows initial discovery and confirms that the opportunity meets key qualification criteria—such as budget, authority, need, and timeline.
What is an Automation Qualified Lead (AQL)?
An Automation Qualified Lead (AQL) is a lead that has been flagged as meeting MQL criteria entirely through automated systems, such as lead scoring in a marketing automation platform. All AQLs are considered to be MQLs, but not all MQLs are AQLs.
What comes first, SQL or SAL?
Leads become SALs before becoming SQLs. A lead becomes an SAL when sales accepts it from marketing and agrees to follow up. After initial outreach and discovery, if the lead meets qualification criteria (such as need, authority, and timeline), it is then promoted to SQL—indicating it’s a real sales opportunity ready to enter the pipeline.
How do the lead qualification stages align with the sales funnel?
The sales funnel usually consists of different stages that represent the customer’s journey from prospect to buyer. Many companies base their sales funnel on the AIDA model which includes the following stages: awareness, interest, decision, and action. The lead qualification stages align with this funnel by mapping internal processes to the buyer’s progression. A lead typically enters during the awareness stage, when they first engage with your brand. Once the lead shows stronger intent and meets fit criteria, they become a Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL)—aligning with the interest stage. When sales accepts the lead as worth pursuing, it becomes a Sales Accepted Lead (SAL), continuing through interest and early decision. A Sales Qualified Lead (SQL) represents a validated opportunity, often matching the decision or action stage, depending on your pipeline model.
What should happen with leads that don’t qualify to be MQLs?
Leads that don’t qualify to become MQLs should remain in a nurture campaign managed by marketing. These leads may still be early in their buyer journey or lack the right fit or intent—for now. You can continue engaging them with targeted content, educational resources, or periodic check-ins until they show stronger signals of interest or better alignment with your ideal customer profile. Leads that are clearly unqualified (e.g., spam, competitors, or out-of-scope companies) should be flagged and excluded from future outreach.
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Conclusion
Lead qualification is the foundation of an efficient and aligned revenue process. By clearly defining stages like MQL, SAL, and SQL, marketing and sales teams can work together more effectively, ensure smooth handoffs, and focus their efforts on the prospects most likely to convert. Whether you’re refining your existing process or building it from the ground up, understanding and applying these stages is key to driving predictable, scalable growth.
