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By Flair Interactive Services
As a marketing manager or director, you might have heard about MQLs and SQLs, but what exactly do these terms mean?
Understanding the difference between marketing-qualified leads (MQLs) and sales-qualified leads (SQLs) is essential to maximize the effectiveness of your sales funnel.
In this post, we’ll explain what MQLs and SQLs are, how to identify and target them, and why it’s crucial to nurture these leads for better conversions.
What is a Marketing-Qualified Lead?
A marketing-qualified lead (MQL) is a lead that has shown some level of interest in your product or service.
These leads have engaged with your brand in some way, such as by completing a form on your website, subscribing to your blog, or downloading a free resource.
MQLs typically match certain criteria that indicate their level of interest, such as their job title, company size, or website activity. These leads are more likely to move further down the sales funnel but aren’t quite ready to buy just yet.
An MQL is a critical part of the sales funnel for any organization. It represents a potential customer that has already shown some interest in what you have to offer. An MQL that is not effectively targeted and nurtured might never turn into a sales-qualified Lead (SQL), resulting in a lost opportunity.
However, nurturing the MQL with relevant information can result in a higher conversion rate. Engage with these leads based upon their interests and behaviors to help educate and fix their problems and this can eventually cause this lead to become a sales-qualified lead or even a customer.
What is a Sales-Qualified Lead?
A sales-qualified lead (SQL), on the other hand, is a lead that has been vetted and determined to have a strong likelihood of converting.
These leads have shown a higher level of interest in your product or service and have demonstrated intent to possibly make a purchase. They have interacted with your brand even more extensively than MQLS and have also met the sales team’s criteria. SQLs are closer to making a purchase and can potentially benefit from a sales conversation soon.
Unlike MQLs, sales-qualified leads (SQLs) are ripe for conversion. They are a heavily vetted subset of MQLs that have demonstrated high intent to purchase.
The qualification of these leads may involve booking a consultation or a sales call, which can help you get a better feel for their pain points and how your product or service can solve them.
Once these leads are identified, targeting them with the right message and offer can help to convert them to paying customers.
How Can I Identify and Target These Leads?
Identifying and targeting MQLs and SQLs requires aligning your marketing and sales teams, defining your lead qualification criteria, and determining the different touchpoints along the customer journey that demonstrate their readiness to engage.
- To identify MQLs, you need to determine what actions or criteria indicate that someone has shown an interest in your product or service, such as downloading a white paper or subscribing to your blog. Using automated lead scoring and segmented, targeted campaigns ensures that you’re attracting the right prospects, and sending the right message to them at the right time.
- To identify SQLs, you need to vet and qualify your leads further, whether through a consultation, a call, or meetings with your sales representatives. Sales reps will then score the leads, ensuring that they are ready to buy and are most likely to close.
Use content marketing, email campaigns, paid social ads, or sales outreach (depending on the qualification criteria) to reach and nurture these leads effectively, thus increasing the chances of closing them.
Get Results with Your MQLs and SQLs
Understanding the difference between MQLs and SQLs is crucial to meeting your marketing and sales goals.
By identifying, targeting, and nurturing these leads, you can increase the chances of more conversions and revenue. Our team is dedicated to helping businesses achieve success and growth through these strategies.
Contact us today to learn how we can help you identify, segment, and nurture your MQLs and SQLs effectively.
