Definition

An SQL (Sales Qualified Lead) is a prospect vetted by sales as having genuine buying intent, budget, authority, and need — ready for active pipeline pursuit.

Detailed Explanation

SQL criteria often use BANT: Budget, Authority, Need, Timeline. An MQL becomes SQL after sales qualification call or discovery meeting.

Track SQL→Opportunity→Closed-won rates to measure marketing quality, not just lead volume.

Nepal Context

Phone qualification remains standard in Nepal B2B — sales should log SQL criteria in CRM even when process is informal. Marketing optimizes for SQL rate, not raw form fills.

Practical Examples

  • An ERP vendor marks a lead as SQL after a call confirms the company has budget approved for next quarter and the finance head is involved.
  • A consultancy marks a student enquiry as SQL once a counsellor confirms the intake, destination, and ability to pay fees.

How to Check It

  1. In the CRM, report the share of MQLs that become SQLs each month, by source.
  2. Review rejected leads with sales to refine the criteria.
  3. Upload SQLs to Google Ads or Meta as offline conversions so campaigns can optimise for them.

Key Takeaways

  • SQL = sales confirms real opportunity
  • Optimize marketing for SQL conversion, not MQL volume alone
  • Closed-loop reporting: upload SQL/closed deals back to ad platforms

Common Mistakes

  1. No distinction between MQL and SQL
  2. Marketing judged on lead count, sales on revenue — misaligned KPIs
  3. No CRM feedback to ad platforms for optimization