Define MQL, SQL, and Sales Acceptance

What you will complete

Complete MQL, sales-acceptance and SQL definitions with required evidence, owners, response expectations and reason codes.

Make each stage an operating state

You may not need the sales accepted lead label. Add it when leads disappear between teams and you need to distinguish receipt from qualification. If one acceptance event already records both ownership and the SQL decision, another stage may add noise.

The score can recommend an MQL or prioritize review. A person should accept the SQL because that state starts an active sales process and depends on context the model may not hold.

Write the handoff contract

State the required fields and evidence marketing supplies, the response target for sales, the available decisions, and who owns a record after the response target passes. Add a short reason-code list: wrong market, unsupported use case, missing information, duplicate, existing owner, no current project, later timing, referral needed or other with a note.

“Not qualified” is not a useful reason. It cannot tell the team whether to repair the form, refine the ICP, change the scoring policy or fix routing. A returned lead needs a destination and owner. It cannot fall back into an unmonitored list.

Define recycle separately from rejection. A fit account with later timing may return to a dated nurture or review path. A confirmed poor fit may receive a useful referral or close reason. The system should respect contact preferences and never invent a follow-up.

Worked example: Harborline handoff

Fictional example: Harborline creates an MQL when an Ontario employer matches the offer, provides a meaningful training request and supplies enough evidence for review. Revenue operations owns enrichment and submits a brief. Sales must accept responsibility, return it with a reason, or defer it to a dated review queue.

The lead becomes an SQL only after the salesperson confirms a relevant problem and an appropriate active next step. A strong score with no current project remains an MQL or recycled lead. A referral from an existing partner can reach review with little digital engagement because the source and request provide useful context.

Harborline records the accepted owner and next action. If the reviewer returns a lead for missing location, revenue operations owns that gap. If the lead is an existing customer, the account owner receives it under the routing policy in Module 5.

Complete section 3 of the workbook

1. Write one-sentence definitions for MQL and SQL that name evidence and ownership.
2. Decide whether a sales accepted lead state clarifies your handoff.
3. List the fields marketing or revenue operations must supply.
4. Set an internal review target and name the fallback owner when it is missed.
5. Define accept, return, defer, decline and recycle actions with reason codes.

Use section 3 of the workbook.

Review the handoff with both teams

Apply the definitions to recent accepted, rejected and missed leads. Ask sales to show what information changed the decision. Ask marketing which fields it can supply reliably. Rewrite rules that depend on information neither team can collect.

The goal is not agreement with every historical decision. It is a process people can operate, inspect and improve without arguing about labels.

Check your decision