SQL (Sales Qualified Lead)
A Sales Qualified Lead (SQL) is a lead that sales has accepted as worth their time — having met the criteria for active sales engagement — typically after passing through the MQL stage and through SDR qualification.
What is SQL (Sales Qualified Lead)?
SQL is the stage where a lead becomes sales' responsibility. The criteria are stricter than MQL: an SQL has both fit and demonstrated interest sufficient that an AE will spend real time. The transition from MQL to SQL is often handled by SDRs — they qualify the MQLs marketing produces and pass through only those that warrant AE attention. Strong SQL definitions include explicit qualification criteria (often BANT-style: Budget, Authority, Need, Timeline) and a documented SLA on AE engagement time.
Why it matters
- Sales' acceptance gate — sales decides who's worth their time.
- MQL-to-SQL conversion rate is a key sales-marketing alignment metric.
- Clear SQL criteria reduces the most common sales-marketing dispute.
Use cases
- AE engagement gate. AEs work only SQLs, not raw MQLs or inbound leads.
- Funnel-conversion reporting. MQL-to-SQL conversion as the primary sales-acceptance metric.
- Quality feedback loop. SQLs that close vs SQLs that stall feed back into qualification criteria.
How turgo helps
turgo's qualification flow produces SQL-tier leads automatically — combining ICP fit, engagement, and explicit qualification answers — ready for AE engagement without manual triage.
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