Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL)

Technical explanation

MQL criteria combine explicit profile data and selected behaviours, often through rules or scoring. The designation should trigger a defined review, nurture or hand-off and remain distinct from a sales-qualified lead and an opportunity.

Business relevance

A shared MQL definition helps marketing and sales manage volume, measure qualification quality and focus follow-up on records more likely to progress.

Implementation example

A target-account contact who attends a relevant product webinar and requests an assessment becomes an MQL, then enters sales review under a documented service-level agreement.

Limitations and common misconceptions

MQL is an organisation-specific operational label, not a universal measure of purchase intent. Weak thresholds can inflate pipeline, bias reporting and create poor hand-offs.

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