SQL (Sales Qualified Lead)
CRM & RetentionAlso: Sales Qualified Lead · Sales Ready Lead
Quick definition
A Sales Qualified Lead is a prospect that marketing has passed to sales because they meet specific criteria indicating they are ready for a direct sales conversation.
Where it shows up in the data
What it actually means
An SQL is a lead that has cleared two hurdles: marketing thinks they are worth pursuing and sales agrees. The distinction matters because marketing often defines success by volume while sales cares about close probability. A proper SQL definition includes explicit criteria — company size, budget signals, decision-making authority, specific behaviour like requesting a demo — that both teams agree predict conversion. Without that shared definition, marketing passes everything it can and sales ignores most of it.
The MQL-to-SQL gap is where most marketing-sales friction lives. Fixing it is usually a definition problem, not a volume problem.
The Australian context
In Australia's mid-market B2B space — where sales cycles often run 3 to 6 months and deal values are $20K to $200K — the SQL definition usually includes verified budget authority, a defined evaluation timeline and a specific pain point matching the product's core value. Businesses relying on inbound-only leads often find SQLs skewed towards smaller deals because large enterprise buyers rarely self-identify online.
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About New Rebellion
New Rebellion is a marketing intelligence consultancy. We build tools, score Australian businesses on how their marketing actually performs, and publish Debrief every day. This dictionary is part of how we work in the open.
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