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Sales + Marketing Alignment
Inside this Blog:
- Understand what a Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL) is
- Clarifying the difference between a MQL and a Sales Qualified Lead (SQL)
- How MSPs, VARs, and tech companies can nurture MQLs, including common mistakes to avoid
Growing a tech company is hard. Whether you need an edge on the competition, to increase your reoccurring revenue, or to expand your service portfolio and with it, your market share. It's crucial that your team effectively generates and qualifies leads that convert to customers.
For MSPs, VARs, and tech companies, driving sales starts with targeting the right leads: those who are already showing interest and fit your ideal customer profile. In your sales process, Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs) bridge the gap between marketing and sales, helping you prioritize prospects who are more likely to convert.
This is because not all leads are created equal. Some are simply browsing your website, others might subscribe to your newsletter, and a few are actively considering your product or service. The question is, are you able to distinguish between these types of leads? If you can, sales are more efficient and marketing more effective.
Understanding what an MQL is, why it matters, and how to nurture them can be the key to unlocking better conversion rates, smoother collaboration between marketing and sales, and ultimately, faster business growth.
What Is a Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL)?
A Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL) is a prospect who has shown interest in your product or service based on marketing efforts and is more likely to become a customer compared to other leads. However, they’re not quite ready to talk to sales yet.
MQLs have taken specific actions that indicate potential buying intent. These actions could include:
- Downloading a whitepaper or eBook
- Signing up for a webinar
- Repeatedly visiting high-value pages (like pricing or product pages)
- Filling out a contact form
- Subscribing to your newsletter or blog
- Interacting with your marketing emails or social media posts
These behaviors suggest that the lead is aware of your brand and is engaging with your content in a meaningful way—even perhaps considering you as a potential partner. Though each behavior carries a different weight, they’re each also enough to separate them from casual website visitors.
MQL vs. SQL: What’s the Difference?
To understand the full value of an MQL, it’s important to also understand what a Sales Qualified Lead (SQL) is and how the two are different. While MQLs are still being nurtured by the marketing team, SQLs has been vetted and researched by your marketing or business development department and deemed ready for direct engagement by the sales team.
Here’s a quick comparison:
- MQL: A lead showing interest based on marketing activities, such as downloads, signups, or page visits
- SQL: A lead showing intent to purchase, often after deeper engagement, such as requesting a demo or contacting sales
The transition from MQL to SQL typically involves lead scoring or further qualification to determine if a lead meets the sales team’s criteria for engagement.
Why Do MQLs Matter?
Here's why recognizing and nurturing MQLs is so important:
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Improves Sales Efficiency
When sales teams focus only on leads that are likely to convert, they save time and resources. MQLs have already expressed interest and are further down the buyer’s journey, perhaps considering your business as a potential partner, making them more receptive to sales outreach.
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Increases Conversion Rates
Leads that are nurtured with targeted content and engagement are more likely to convert. By identifying and nurturing MQLs, marketers can guide prospects through the sales funnel with personalized content that aligns with their interests. -
Optimizes Marketing Campaigns
Tracking which campaigns generate MQLs helps you refine your strategy. Instead of guessing what works, teams can analyze real data and double down on tactics that drive qualified leads.
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Strengthens Marketing and Sales Alignment
When marketing and sales agree on what defines an MQL, the hand-off process becomes smoother. This alignment helps prevent leads from falling through the cracks and ensures that high-potential prospects are followed up with in a timely and effective way.
How to Identify a Marketing Qualified Lead
Determining whether a lead is an MQL involves a combination of behavioral signals, demographics, and lead scoring.
Behavioral Signals:
Behavioral signals are observable actions or patterns that indicate a prospect's interest and intent. In the context of marketing qualified leads (MQLs), these signals help identify which leads are most likely to convert, enabling more targeted and effective outreach. These signals include:
- Visiting product or pricing pages multiple times
- Opening and clicking links in marketing emails
- Downloading resources or tools
- Spending a significant amount of time on your site
Demographics and Firmographics:
Demographics and firmographics for your target buyer also act as signals to help identify leads that are worth nurturing and pursuing. These include:
- Job title, industry, and company size
- Location and budget
- Alignment with your ideal customer profile
Lead Source:
Often, sales teams already know which sources the best quality leads come from—such as referrals—but if not, you can also use your CRM to run a historical analysis and see the breakdown of sources for leads who became customers.
Lead Scoring
Many marketing teams use a lead scoring model to assign points to different actions and attributes. For example, a lead who:
- Opens an email (+5 points)
- Downloads a whitepaper (+10 points)
- Visits the pricing page (+15 points)
- Has a job title that matches one of your buyer personas (+10 points)
Once the lead reaches a certain threshold (say 50 points), they’re flagged as an MQL and sent to sales or further nurtured until they’re ready.
How to Nurture MQLs
Just because someone is an MQL doesn’t mean they’re ready to buy today. The goal is to nurture them until they become a SQL.
This is where content comes in: using the information you’ve built into their lead profile, you can (automatically) deliver personalized content that matches the lead’s interest and where they are in their buying journey, as well as builds trust, educates, overcomes doubt or objections, and keeps your business top of mind.
This might look like a mix of:
- Email Drip Campaigns
- Retargeting Ads
- Case Studies & Testimonials
- Free Consults or Demos: offer low-risk opportunities to talk with you or try your services
Putting the right information in front of the right person at the right time is half the battle. Each touchpoint should move the lead closer to making a decision.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
It’s important to respect your leads’ buying process and journey in order to build trust and encourage them to move through the funnel. To successfully transition them to MQL and then SQL, avoid:
- Qualifying too early: Don’t push leads to sales too soon. They might not be ready and could be turned off.
- Not aligning marketing and sales: If your teams disagree on what defines an MQL, the process breaks down.
- Ignoring lead behavior: Actions speak louder than form fills. Track leads’ behavior over time to better assess their intent (did they just want that free resource or are they continuing to engage in other meaningful ways?).
Final Thoughts
A Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL) is a sign that your marketing efforts are resonating and attracting potential buyers. It also helps clarify who your marketing, and eventually sales, team should focus resources on to nurture conversions.
Don’t forget to regularly check in on your lead definitions and criteria so you keep the funnel flowing, the sales process streamlined, and see better ROI from your marketing spend.
Quick Answers
What is a Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL)?
A MQL is a lead who has shown interest in your product or service based on marketing efforts and is more likely to become a customer than other leads. They typically demonstrate this interest through defined behaviors and engagement with your business, such as reading your content and opening your emails.
How is a MQL different from a Sales Qualified Lead (SQL)?
A MQL is at the top of the funnel and has shown interest but may not be ready to buy. A SQL, on the other hand, has been vetted by sales and is further along in the buying process, showing clear consideration of your business and intent to make a purchase.
How do you identify a MQL?
MQLs are usually identified using lead scoring based on behavior (e.g., site visits, downloads, email opens) and demographics (e.g., job title, company size). The scoring helps determine when a lead is "warm" enough to pass to the sales team. It’s important that both marketing and sales teams are in alignment on your lead scoring system and what determines a SQL.
