MQL and SQL: what are the differences?

In an optimal sales cycle, your prospect must go through several qualification stages before becoming a customer. It will thus evolve from visitor to Lead, then to MQL (Marketing Qualified Lead) and finally to SQL (Sales Qualified Lead). But what really sets each of these qualification stages apart? MQL vs SLQ, we tell you everything.

The conversion cycle from a marketing perspective

When you have an inbound marketing strategy in place, the cycle is well-defined and structured. This is called the inbound marketing funnel or conversion tunnel. By following this path, you can guide your website visitors through the conversion process, leading them to become qualified leads and then loyal customers.

From visitor to lead

The marketing conversion funnel is based on a solid foundation: visitors. Without traffic on your site, there's no one to convert, it's as simple as that. But even if you have a lot of traffic, you don't know who's viewing your content. You remain in the dark until a visitor fills out a form and gives you information about them. It is at this precise moment that this visitor turns into a lead and comes out of anonymity.

From Lead to MQL: definition of MQL

An MQL, or “Marketing Qualified Lead,” is a visitor to your website who has shown a strong interest in your content. This could be an avid reader of your articles, a regular downloader of your white paper, or a regular subscriber to your newsletter. In short, it is a lead qualified by marketing and therefore identified.

Their online behavior can give you valuable insights into their needs and preferences. For example, if they love your guides on account-based marketing and regularly visits your pricing page for this offer, you can assume that they are interested in this solution.

It is therefore the SDRs (Sales Development Representative) who deal with MQLs:

• MQL with open status
• MQL trying to contact
• The nurturing of MQLs in bad timing

We talk about MQLs throughout the prospecting cycle, from assignment to an SDR, to SDR qualification, including update and lead scoring.

From MQL to SQL: definition of SQL

An SQL is a lead qualified by the sales team, a real prospect to contact! We switch from MQL to SQL when making an appointment when a demo is scheduled. Where an MQL belongs to the prospecting cycle, an SQL is part of the sales cycle.

But be careful, to reach this stage, you must first meet several conditions of commitment and targeting. We are talking here about MQLs who have already shown a strong interest in your content and for which you have several pieces of information in hand, such as the company where he works and his position.

And don't think that all of this is done by itself! The marketing team has a key role to play in making this happen. It must implement effective lead scoring and lead nurturing strategies to move prospects through the conversion funnel. This allows you to send them the right content, at the right time, to engage them and transform them into real business prospects.

Here too, SDRs deal with SQLs with the status contact attempt. As for current SQLs, Account Executives are in charge of them.

Lead, MQL, and SQL: simple diagrams to understand everything

The fuzzy terms MQL and SLQ are the consequence of a lack of communication between two cultures: that of marketing and that of sales. To take a visitor to the customer stage, it is crucial that these two teams collaborate effectively.

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Find a more detailed diagram, created by our head of growth, Bastien. You can navigate through it to fully understand the differences between these two marketing concepts.

Is it a good thing to have a high conversion rate in MQL and SQL?

There is no hard and fast rule for defining the MQL and SQL qualification stages in your sales cycle. That depends entirely on your team and your goals. If you want to maximize your conversion rate, you can be less selective in qualifying MQLs and SQLs. However, it is crucial to ensure the quality of the SQL sent to the sales team in order to optimize your chances of closing sales. In other words, it is better to focus on quality over quantity.

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