The short definition
A sales qualified lead (SQL) is a lead that sales has reviewed and agreed to work.
The contrast is with a marketing qualified lead (MQL) — one that met criteria on paper, such as filling in the right form or matching a target profile, but which nobody has yet spoken to.
Why the two-stage model exists
In businesses where marketing and sales are separate teams, they disagree predictably. Marketing reports delivering hundreds of leads; sales reports that most were useless.
Splitting the definition makes the disagreement measurable. Marketing is accountable for MQLs; the conversion rate from MQL to SQL shows how many were genuinely worth working. If that rate is poor, marketing is generating volume rather than value — and now there is a number to discuss instead of a grievance.
Does a small service business need this?
Usually not, as formal stages. If the person who receives the enquiry is the person who sells the job, the two categories collapse into one and adding stages adds admin.
The underlying idea is still worth borrowing: distinguish enquiries that met your criteria from enquiries you have actually spoken to and want. Those are different numbers, and knowing both tells you whether your problem is volume or quality.
The three numbers worth tracking
- Enquiries received — everything that came in
- Enquiries worth working — met your criteria after a conversation
- Jobs won
The drop from one to two tells you about your marketing. The drop from two to three tells you about your selling. Businesses that track only the first and last cannot tell which they need to fix — and they usually blame the wrong one.
What qualifies a lead for sales
Beyond the basic criteria: someone has spoken to them, the need is real, they can decide, the timeframe is workable, and the scale suits you.
That conversation is the qualification. No form can do it, which is why over-engineering the form to try is a common waste.
The honest use
Where this genuinely helps a small business is in evaluating a lead source. A marketplace supplying fifty enquiries of which four are worth working is a different proposition from one supplying twelve of which eight are — even if the first looks better on volume and cost per lead.
Applying it
Start recording, for each enquiry, whether it was worth working after you spoke. Two months of that data settles most arguments about lead quality.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between an MQL and an SQL?
A marketing qualified lead met criteria on paper — the right form, the right profile. A sales qualified lead has been spoken to and accepted as worth pursuing. The gap between them measures lead quality.
Does a small service business need these stages?
Usually not formally — if the person receiving enquiries is the person selling the job, the categories collapse. The underlying distinction is still worth tracking informally.
Which numbers should I actually track?
Enquiries received, enquiries worth working after a conversation, and jobs won. The first drop tells you about marketing; the second tells you about selling.
Where is this most useful?
Evaluating lead sources. Fifty enquiries of which four are worth working is a worse deal than twelve of which eight are — even though the first wins on volume and cost per lead.