Sales Qualified Lead
A sales qualified lead is a prospect that sales has accepted as ready for direct sales engagement based on fit, need, timing, or intent.
Primary keyword
sales qualified lead
Plain-English definition
An SQL is a lead sales believes is worth pursuing now, not just someone who interacted with marketing.
Why it matters
SQL quality determines whether marketing-sourced pipeline is trusted and whether reps spend time on the right accounts.
Example
A target account's VP RevOps requests a demo, confirms budget ownership, and describes an active data quality initiative.
Common mistakes
Treating every demo request as equally qualified, letting MQLs auto-convert without sales review, or failing to record rejection reasons.
TurnkeyGTM angle
TurnkeyGTM can preserve the notes, transcripts, and buyer evidence behind sales acceptance so funnel reviews do not depend on memory.