Key takeaways
- An SQL is a lead sales has checked and chosen to work, not only one marketing rates highly.
- It needs both fit, who the lead is, and intent, a sign of a real need.
- Written, shared criteria stop leads being argued over or lost at the handover.
- Once accepted, an SQL should get a fast, personal follow-up from its owner.
What is the difference between an MQL and an SQL
An MQL is a lead marketing judges ready for sales, usually from engagement such as downloads or visits, while an SQL is one sales has confirmed is worth pursuing. The MQL is a recommendation; the SQL is an acceptance.
Many teams add a step between them, the sales accepted lead, for when a seller agrees to look at a lead but has not yet spoken to it. Whatever stages you use, the point is that each one means the same thing to everyone.
What criteria make a lead sales qualified
A lead is sales qualified when it fits your ideal customer, has a problem you solve and shows some sign it wants to act. Frameworks such as BANT (budget, authority, need, timing) and MEDDIC give structure, but your own criteria should come from deals you have actually won.
- Fit: the company and role match your ideal customer profile.
- Need: the lead has described a problem you solve.
- Authority or access: you are talking to the buyer or someone who can reach them.
- Timing: there is a reason to act in the coming months.
- Engagement: the lead has replied, asked a question or booked a call.
How does a lead become an SQL
A lead becomes an SQL when a seller or sales development representative checks it against the agreed criteria and accepts it. Picture an invented example: an operations manager at a 200-person logistics firm downloads a guide and later visits the pricing page. Marketing scores the lead and passes it on as an MQL.
A sales development representative reads the company's news, sees it has opened two new depots, and emails the manager about scheduling across sites. The manager replies that this is a current headache and agrees to a call. That reply confirms need and timing, and the lead becomes an SQL.
What happens after a lead becomes an SQL
After a lead becomes an SQL, it gets an owner, a first meeting and usually a deal record in the CRM. The discovery conversation then decides whether it becomes a real opportunity with a value and a close date, or goes back to nurturing with a note on why.
Where Pebbles Ai fits
Common questions
Who decides whether a lead is an SQL?
The sales team, usually a sales development representative or account executive, decides using criteria agreed with marketing. Marketing proposes; sales accepts or rejects with a reason.
What is a sales accepted lead?
A sales accepted lead is one sales has agreed to follow up but has not yet qualified in conversation. It sits between the MQL and the SQL in teams that track that step.
Can an SQL go back to being a lead?
Yes. If the conversation shows the timing is wrong or the need is not there, the lead goes back to nurturing. Record why, so the next person who picks it up starts from the facts.
About this page. Written by the Pebbles Ai team for people who run sales, marketing and growth. Last updated .
