The MQL Explained: What is a Marketing Qualified Lead?

Surprise! if you’ve ever clicked on an ad, subscribed for a newsletter, added a purchase to an online shopping cart, visited a website repeatedly, or submitted any kind of contact info on a website, you’ve probably been a Marketing Qualified Lead, or MQL!

Basically, you engaged with a piece of marketing and showed an interest or intent to purchase.

An MQL is one of those common sales terms you might have heard but aren't too familiar with.

So let's dive into the world of MQLs and why they're important!

But First: What Is an MQL, Exactly?

A MQL is a lead who has been vetted by marketing and determined to be more likely to buy your product or service.

MQLs are folks that are further along in the buyer's journey and are more likely to convert into a paying customer than someone who is still just learning about you at the top of the funnel.

MQLs are important for marketing teams because they tell companies more about what techniques are working, who’s buying what they’re selling, and who can be convinced with a little extra push. And they’re important to tech sales reps for the same reasons!

In order to be considered an MQL, they need to demonstrate certain behaviors or characteristics that indicate they are ready to be passed along to a sales rep. For example, an MQL might:

• Download a piece of content such as an eBook or white paper
• Attend a webinar or live event
• Fill out a contact form on your website
• Engage with your brand on social media
• Try a demo version of your product or service
• Click on an ad + fill out a form
• Add items to an online shopping cart

On top of their actions, MQLs also show they fit the profile of a likely buyer on a few other levels. These will depend heavily on your company, but might include factors like:

• Demographics: information about the person who’s making the purchase (age, gender identity, education, occupation, etc.)
• Firmographics: information about the company that’s interested in you (size, location, industry, revenue, etc.)
• Psychographics: information about the buyer’s interests, attitudes, values, and beliefs.
• Technographics: information about what technology the buyer uses (browser data, device preferences, software or hardware, etc.)

How do you define your MQLs?

The process for qualifying leads on the marketing team isn’t the same as the process you use within your sales team.

If you want to make sure your marketing friends share good leads with you, you’ll need to work together to establish a shared definition of what a good lead is in the first place!

That means agreeing on questions like:

• What marketing content do we expect MQLs to engage with the most?
• How do we expect MQLs to engage with that content?
• Which traits do our qualified leads tend to share?
• What desired characteristics and behaviors can we target in our marketing?

What about SQLs?

Of course, not all MQLs will become customers—nor should they. That's why there's also such thing as an SQL, or Sales Qualified Lead.

These are leads that have been passed along from marketing to sales, where they’re determined to be high-potential buyers.

From there, it's up to the sales rep to make sure they’re the right fit, close the deal, and turn them into paying customers. In short, the sales qualification process is your chance to gather more information like:

• The level of interest and purchase intent
• The use case for your product or service
• The urgency and priority of their need
• The budget they have available
• The timelines (and deadlines) they’re working with

Ready to Turn Your MQLs Into Closed Sales?

By definition, an MQL is further along in the buyer's journey than someone who is still just top-of-the funnel — but that doesn't mean they'll necessarily convert into paying customers.

That's where sales come in. What you do with those leads is up to you – and we have more than a few ideas from industry experts to share about attracting good leads and converting them into closed deals!

Whether you’re exploring tech sales for the first time and want to know about this critical skill for Career Success, or simply looking for the latest techniques to add to your sales qualification toolkit, we’ve got you covered! Check out our Career Success Catalog for a Course or Workshop that’ll bring you up to speed.