MQL, SQL, opportunity: terms that only help if everyone reads them the same way
The abbreviations get adopted quickly and defined rarely. That is exactly where the problem sits: two people using the same word for different things argue past each other for months without anyone noticing.
In short
- The terms have no universally valid definition — only the one you settle in writing.
- Four stages are enough for small companies: contact, qualified enquiry, sales case, proposal.
- Every stage needs a verifiable condition for the transition, not a description of a feeling.
- Without a settled demotion rule, contacts only ever move forward — and after a year the numbers become useless.
Why adopted terms do harm
MQL stands for "marketing qualified lead", SQL for "sales qualified lead". Exactly what has to be met in each case is defined by no standard — every company settles that for itself.
If that does not happen, a predictable pattern emerges: marketing reports 40 MQLs, sales recognises 8 of them as usable, and both sides are right — because they have different conditions in mind. The discussion about it repeats every quarter and cannot be resolved while the definition is missing.
Worth knowing
The most common trigger of that discussion is not poor work but an unspoken assumption: marketing measures interest — someone downloaded something — while sales measures willingness to talk — someone wants a conversation.
Both are legitimate measures, and both are called "lead" in the report. As long as that stays so, every number in the meeting is disputable. One hour for a written definition ends a discussion that would otherwise return every quarter.
Four stages are enough
| Stage | Condition for the transition | Owner |
|---|---|---|
| 1 – Contact | an email address exists, the basis is settled | Marketing |
| 2 – Qualified enquiry | fits the audience, has a named concern | Marketing |
| 3 – Sales case | a first conversation has happened, the need is confirmed | Sales |
| 4 – Proposal | a proposal has gone out, the decision date is known | Sales |
More stages mean more maintenance and rarely more insight. Four cover the questions actually asked in the monthly report: is enough coming in at the top, and where does it break off?
Conditions that can be checked
Not checkable
"Shows interest", "is broadly open", "has potential", "is a good fit for us".
Problem: two people reach different conclusions about the same contact — and neither can show they are right.
Checkable
"Has described the concern in their own words", "is authorised to decide or names the person who decides", "has agreed to a meeting", "has named a time frame".
Advantage: the question "is that met?" has an answer nobody has to argue about.
Demotion
The point missing most often: a contact can also move backwards. Without a settled demotion rule everything only moves forward, and after a year the numbers become useless — because stage three holds cases where nothing has happened for eight months.
| Trigger | New stage |
|---|---|
| No contact for 90 days in stage 3 | back to 2, follow up later |
| Proposal declined | back to 2 with a reason |
| Unreachable after three attempts | back to 1 |
| Unsubscribe or objection | out entirely |
| The contact leaves the company | back to 1, find a new person |
With no demotion rule, stage three grows every quarter and never shrinks. After a year it holds eighty cases, a quarter of which are active — and the close rate calculated from that looks catastrophic without anything having changed in the work.
The consequence is doubly damaging: the number is wrong, and it leads to decisions about a state that does not exist. An automatic demotion after 90 days with no contact keeps the numbers honest — without anyone having to tidy up.
The hour in which it gets settled
- Both sides at the table — marketing and sales, even if that is the same two people.
- Go through twenty real contacts and ask for each: which stage? Where the answers diverge, the definition is missing.
- Phrase one checkable condition per stage. Not more than one — two conditions per transition make the assignment disputable again.
- Settle demotion rules, with deadlines.
- Write it on one page, both sign it, with a date. Without signatures it counts as a proposal.
Help us define our sales stages. Our situation: - People in marketing and sales: [number and roles] - Typical time to close: [details] - Enquiries per month: [number] - Terms we use today: [list] - What regularly leads to discussions today: [description] Twenty real contacts with what we know about them: [paste list] Tasks: 1. Assign each of the twenty contacts to one of four stages: contact, qualified enquiry, sales case, proposal. Name the contacts where the assignment is not unambiguous from my details – a definition is missing there. 2. Phrase exactly one checkable condition per stage for the transition. No phrasings like "shows interest". 3. Phrase demotion rules with deadlines, matched to our cycle length. 4. Name which metric we should report monthly per stage. 5. Write the result as an agreement on at most one page that both sides can sign. Do not invent details about the contacts.
In closing
The abbreviations are worthless until they are defined — and harmful, because they feign agreement where there is none.
Four stages, one checkable condition each, demotion rules with deadlines, one page, two signatures. An hour of work against a discussion that would otherwise return every quarter.
Common questions
What do MQL and SQL mean?
MQL means a contact classed as qualified by marketing, SQL one confirmed by sales. Exactly what has to be met is defined by no standard — every company settles that for itself. Adopted without a definition of your own, the terms feign agreement where there is none.
How many stages does a small company need?
Four: contact, qualified enquiry, sales case, proposal. More stages mean more maintenance and rarely more insight — four cover the two questions actually asked in the monthly report: is enough coming in at the top, and where does it break off?
How do you phrase a good transition condition?
Checkable rather than descriptive: "has described the concern in their own words", "is authorised to decide or names the person who decides", "has agreed to a meeting". Phrasings like "shows interest" or "has potential" lead to two people reaching different conclusions about the same contact.
Why do you need demotion rules?
Because without them everything only moves forward. After a year the sales stage holds cases where nothing has happened for months — and the close rate calculated from that looks bad without anything having changed in the work. An automatic demotion after 90 days with no contact keeps the numbers honest.
How do you settle the definitions?
With both sides at the table and twenty real contacts: each gets assigned to a stage, and where the answers diverge, a definition is missing. Only on a concrete case does the difference show — in the abstract discussion everyone agrees.
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