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One of the dreams of every business is to make sales and gain profits. This can be achieved through the generation and incorporation of Sales Qualified leads and Marketing qualified leads. These leads place the customer in groups based on the type of information they have received.
Besides, they also give the business owners an idea on the type of customers they are dealing with. Before we dive into the differences that exist between these two forms of business leads, it is quite essential that we define the two terms.
What is a Sales Qualified Lead?
A sales qualified lead otherwise known as SQL can be defined as a prospective customer who has been researched, vetted and then contacted by the organisation’s marketing department or sales team and is considered ready to be engaged in the next step of the sales process. He is so named because the business believes the customer is ready to place an order for the company’s products and services. In simple terms, we can say that an SQL is an individual who has developed an interest to purchase a particular product from a company and has met the organisation’s lead requirements or criteria which is used to determine the worthiness of a buyer.
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What is a Marketing Qualified Lead?
A marketing qualified lead otherwise known as MQL can be described as a lead judged more likely to become a customer. In this stage, the company has been able to identify that the client is more likely to become a customer compared to other types of leads such as lead intelligence which is mostly informed or created by closed-loop analytics. After the company has successfully identified the customer, plans will now be implemented on how the marketing or sales department can contact these potential customers to turn them into SQL. In creating a good MQL, it is essential that you sit down and analyse demographics, activities and behaviours which qualify a lead in your company. The values you create for your MQL is based on the qualifications that define the basis of your lead scoring system.
Differences between MQL and SQL
As a business owner, knowing the difference and drawing the line between SQL and MQL is very important since it can serve as a guide on how your business can make sales. A successful categorisation of your customers into Sales qualified or Marketing qualified will give you a general idea of how these customers can be treated. While the differences existing between these two main business leads may not be too obvious as the MQL becomes SQL, there are slight differences which exist and should be taken note of.
The major differences existing between the MQL and SQL are summarised based on the following headings:
1. Category of customer:
In SQL the lead has been researched, vetted and contacted by the sale or marketing department of the company on the need to become a fulltime customer. In most cases, these individuals must have developed interests to transact business with the company while in MQL, the lead has been judged to be more likely to become a customer. While SQL is built based on certainty and data gathered from research, MQL is strictly based on probabilities and speculations.
2. Area of coverage:
SQL covers the entire needs of the intending customer and get the deals closed as fast as possible before losing the customer to the competitors while the MQL only covers what the market links and enables the company to identify potential customers who can be contacted and turned into buyers. In some cases, MQL can also include studying the certain behaviours of the clients such as demographic traits, which can reveal to the company that the status of the deal, whether it needs to be closed or not. SQLs are the most important of the two types because if MQL deal is closed correctly, they can go ahead to become SQL but when they fail this, the MQL goes down the drain.
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3. Certainty:
In the aspect of certainty, MQLs are mere speculations, theories or probabilities that the client may be interested in the company’s products and services while in the case of SQL, the company is sure of the customer’s readiness to engage the firm by purchasing what they have to offer. In the business world, everybody can be an MQL, but not all customers are qualified to become SQL unless they openly declare their interest in the services of the clients.
While a difference may occur between the two types of leads, it is important to note that there must be a synergy that operates between the two. This synergy will determine if the speculated customer can turn into the expected customer. The most important reason why leads are generated is to make sales. As long as the business can draw the line between MQL and SQL, they will undoubtedly become unstoppable in the market.