Marketing Qualified Lead / Marketing Terms Marketing Qualified Lead A marketing qualified lead (MQL) is a contact who has shown a clear level of interest or engagement with your brand and is more likely to become a customer or supporter than a typical lead. MQLs have taken specific actions that signal intent, such as downloading a resource, subscribing to a newsletter, attending a webinar or frequently visiting key pages. While they are not ready for a sales pitch, they are considered valuable enough for further nurturing. MQLs are identified based on lead scoring or behavioural criteria defined by your marketing and sales teams. These criteria may include demographic data, engagement metrics or content interaction. For example, a person who visits a pricing page and downloads a buyer’s guide may receive a high score and qualify as an MQL. Marketing automation tools like HubSpot, Pardot or Marketo can help track and score leads in real time, allowing for automated segmentation and follow-up. The purpose of defining MQLs is to improve alignment between marketing and sales, shorten the conversion path and ensure that outreach efforts are timely and relevant. For B2B and SaaS companies, MQLs help prioritise leads who are more likely to convert, which boosts sales efficiency. For nonprofits, an MQL might be someone who registers for an event, shares content or donates a small amount, signalling potential for deeper engagement. Moving an MQL toward becoming a sales qualified lead (SQL) involves further nurturing through targeted content, emails and touchpoints tailored to their interests.