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MQL-to-SQL Rate
The percentage of Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs) that sales accepts and converts into Sales Qualified Leads (SQLs) — the primary measure of marketing-to-sales handoff quality.
What it shows
A low MQL-to-SQL rate signals marketing is passing leads that sales rejects as unqualified, indicating a misalignment in ICP definition, lead scoring thresholds, or qualification criteria — wasting both marketing spend and SDR time.
Formula
MQL-to-SQL Rate = SQLs Created from MQL Source ÷ Total MQLs Passed to Sales × 100. Track by source channel and lead origin to identify which programmes produce the highest-quality lead flow.