Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL)

What is a Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL)?

A Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL) is a lead that's passed marketing's threshold for "worth handing to sales." Definition varies by company but usually combines: ICP fit (firmographic match) + engagement (downloaded a key asset, attended a webinar, visited pricing twice) + score above threshold.

Why it matters

• The contract between marketing and sales — what marketing promises to deliver
• Volume target for marketing programs; quality bar for sales acceptance
• Wrong threshold = either sales drowns in junk or marketing is starved of credit

MQL vs. SQL vs. PQL

• MQL — qualified by marketing engagement + fit
• SQL — sales has talked to them and confirmed real opportunity
• PQL — qualified by product usage signals (PLG)

Common MQL pitfalls

• Definition changes silently — quarterly recalibration needed
• Score threshold too low → SDRs waste time
• Score threshold too high → leads age out before sales touches them
• No feedback loop from sales → marketing keeps producing the wrong leads

How TexAu helps

Use AI Column to score every inbound lead on fit + intent and only mark as MQL when both clear the threshold — feeding back fewer, better leads to sales.