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    Lead qualification for B2B sales

    Lead qualification is the process of deciding which leads deserve a salesperson's time, first by scoring fit and engagement, then by confirming interest on a call. This guide covers MQL vs SQL, a scoring model template and the checklist an SDR should complete before handing a meeting to an account executive.

    Open the hand-off checklistCompare every framework

    Quick answer

    What is the difference between an MQL and an SQL? A marketing qualified lead (MQL) fits your target profile and has engaged enough that marketing passes it to sales. A sales qualified lead (SQL) has been confirmed by sales, usually on a call, as having a real need, a relevant role and a reason to talk now. An MQL is a prediction; an SQL is a decision.

    What lead qualification is

    Every B2B team has more leads than it can call well. Lead qualification decides the order. It has two halves. Scoring happens before anyone talks to the lead: does the company fit your ideal customer profile, and has the person done anything that signals interest? Qualifying happens on a call: does this person have a problem you solve, a role in the decision and a reason to act?

    Scoring is a marketing and operations job. Qualifying is an SDR job, using a framework such as BANT or CHAMP. The hand-off between the two is where most lead programmes break.

    The lead stages, from contact to opportunity

    Different teams use slightly different names. What matters is that every stage has a written definition and an owner.

    B2B lead stages with definitions and owners
    StageDefinitionOwnerMoves on when
    Lead or contactA person in your databaseMarketingThey engage or match an outbound target list
    MQLFits the ICP and has engaged enough to pass the scoring thresholdMarketingSales accepts it for follow-up
    SAL (sales accepted lead)Sales has accepted the MQL and committed to follow upSDRThe SDR qualifies it on a call
    SQLConfirmed by the SDR as a real need with the right person and timing, usually with a meeting bookedSDRThe meeting is held and the account executive agrees there is an opportunity
    OpportunityThe account executive has confirmed a potential deal and opened it in the pipelineAccount executiveClosed won or lost

    These stage names were popularised by demand waterfall models, most famously the one SiriusDecisions introduced in the mid 2000s; SiriusDecisions is now part of Forrester. Outbound-only teams often skip MQL entirely: an SDR targets an ICP account, and the first qualification is the call.

    MQL vs SQL

    MQL and SQL compared
    MQLSQL
    Who decidesMarketing, through a scoring modelSales, usually an SDR on a call
    Based onFit data and behaviour: downloads, visits, eventsA conversation: need, role, timing
    What it predictsThis lead is worth callingThis lead is worth an account executive's time
    Typical evidenceA score above the thresholdA completed framework score and a booked meeting
    Common failureThreshold too low, so SDRs ignore the queueMeetings booked to hit a target without real qualification

    The most useful number to track is MQL to SQL conversion by source. If one channel produces MQLs that rarely become SQLs, the problem is the scoring or the channel, not the SDRs. Our guide to pipeline conversion rates shows how to measure each stage.

    How to build a lead scoring model

    1. Score fit and engagement separately. Fit is who they are; engagement is what they did. A two-axis model stops busy content readers outranking good-fit buyers.
    2. Start fit scoring from your ICP. Give points for industry, size, location and title, and take points away for disqualifiers such as personal email addresses, students and competitors.
    3. Weight high-intent actions. A demo request or pricing page visit means far more than a newsletter open.
    4. Decay old activity. Take points away when a lead goes quiet, so last year's webinar attendee does not sit at the top of the queue.
    5. Set thresholds with sales. Agree the score at which a lead becomes an MQL, and route demo requests straight to an SDR regardless of score.
    6. Review against outcomes every quarter. Compare scores with which leads became SQLs and opportunities, and adjust the weights.
    Example starting weights for a lead scoring model
    SignalTypeExample points
    Industry in ICPFit+20
    Employee range in ICPFit+20
    Title in target buyer listFit+25
    Personal email domainFit-20
    Competitor or studentFit-50
    Requested a demo or callEngagement+50
    Visited the pricing pageEngagement+20
    Attended a webinar or eventEngagement+15
    Downloaded a guideEngagement+10
    No activity for 60 daysEngagement-20

    These are starting assumptions, not benchmarks. Change them to match your own conversion data. The full model, with routing rules, is in the template below.

    Speed to lead: why the first hour matters

    An inbound lead who asked for a call is at their most interested in the minutes after they asked. Every hour of delay gives them time to talk to a competitor, get pulled into other work or forget why they asked. Set a response time rule for demo and call requests and measure it weekly.

    Our speed to lead guide covers response times for Australian B2B teams, and our inbound lead qualification service calls inbound leads for clients and qualifies them on the phone.

    SDR to account executive hand-off checklist

    Tick through it before every hand-off. If an item cannot be ticked, either fix it or write down why in the handover note.

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    Templates

    Copy, print or adapt. Highlighted placeholders are the parts to replace.

    All qualification templates

    Lead scoring model

    A two-axis fit and engagement model you can build in any CRM.

    LEAD SCORING MODEL: {{company}}   Reviewed: {{date}}

FIT SCORE (who they are), maximum {{100}}
Industry in ICP: +{{20}}
Employee range in ICP: +{{20}}
Title in target buyer list: +{{25}}
Seniority manager or above: +{{10}}
Location in served market: +{{15}}
Uses a tool that signals fit: +{{10}}
Personal email domain: {{-20}}
Competitor or student: {{-50}}

ENGAGEMENT SCORE (what they did), capped at {{100}}
Requested a demo or a call: +{{50}}
Visited pricing page: +{{20}}
Attended a webinar or event: +{{15}}
Downloaded a guide: +{{10}}
Opened or clicked three or more emails in 30 days: +{{10}}
Replied to outbound: +{{25}}
No activity for 60 days: {{-20}}

ROUTING
Fit {{60}}+ and engagement {{50}}+: MQL. Call within {{time}}.
Fit {{60}}+ and engagement under {{50}}: nurture, plus outbound if the account is a target.
Fit under {{60}}: marketing nurture only. No SDR call.
Demo request from any fit {{40}}+: call within {{time}} regardless of engagement.

SQL: an MQL becomes an SQL when the SDR confirms {{framework}} at {{score}} or above on a call.

    When to use it

    When inbound volume is high enough that SDRs cannot call every lead within an hour, or when marketing and sales disagree about what an MQL is.

    Why it works

    Separating fit from engagement stops a student who downloads five guides from outranking a buyer at a target account who visited the pricing page once. Negative points keep the queue clean.

    Variations

    • For outbound only teams, drop engagement scoring and use fit plus trigger events to rank the call list.
    • For product-led growth, add product usage points such as active users invited or a key feature used.

    Common mistakes

    • Scoring only engagement, so the busiest content readers rise to the top.
    • Never reviewing the weights against which scored leads actually closed.
    • Setting the MQL threshold so low that SDRs ignore the queue.

    Qualified meeting definition

    One page that tells your SDRs, or your outsourced SDR team, which meetings count.

    QUALIFIED MEETING DEFINITION: {{company name}}
Agreed by: {{sales leader}} and {{SDR lead or agency}}   Date: {{date}}

1. Right company
   Industry: {{industries in scope}}
   Size: {{employee range}} employees, or {{revenue band}}
   Location: {{states, regions or countries}}
   Exclusions: {{existing customers, open opportunities, competitors, partners}}

2. Right person
   Titles that count: {{titles}}
   Titles that count only with a second attendee: {{titles}}
   Minimum seniority: {{level}}

3. Confirmed need
   The prospect has said, in their own words, that they have {{problem you solve}} or are reviewing {{category}}.
   The SDR has written down what they said.

4. Timing signal
   One of: {{contract end date, project start, hiring plan, budget cycle, trigger event}} within {{timeframe}}.

5. Attended
   The meeting counts only when it happens with the right person. A no-show is rebooked, not counted.

Handover standard: every meeting arrives with the handover note completed within {{hours}} hours of booking.
Disputes: the account executive flags a meeting as unqualified within {{days}} business days, with the reason.

    When to use it

    Before the first dial of any campaign, and again whenever account executives start rejecting meetings. Sign it off with sales leadership and whoever books the meetings.

    Why it works

    Most arguments between SDRs and account executives come from a definition that was never written down. A short, specific definition makes every meeting easy to judge and gives the SDR something to qualify against on the call.

    Variations

    • For inbound leads, replace the timing signal with the action the lead took and how recently they took it.
    • For enterprise accounts, require a second stakeholder on the invite or a named next step with one.
    • For partner or channel recruitment, define the right company by customer base and capability rather than size.

    Common mistakes

    • Counting meetings booked rather than meetings held.
    • Listing titles but not saying what happens when an assistant or a junior attends instead.
    • Writing a definition so strict that no meeting from a cold call could ever pass it.

    SDR to account executive handover note

    The note an SDR sends with every booked meeting so the AE never starts cold.

    MEETING HANDOVER: {{prospect company}}
Meeting: {{date and time}}, {{length}} minutes, {{video or phone}}
Booked by: {{SDR name}}   Account executive: {{AE name}}

Who is attending
{{name}}, {{title}}. Reports to {{manager, if known}}.
Others invited or mentioned: {{names and titles}}

Why they agreed to meet (their words)
"{{the reason they gave, as close to verbatim as possible}}"

What they told us
Current situation: {{tools, team, process}}
Problem or goal: {{what is not working or what they want to achieve}}
Impact they mentioned: {{cost, time, risk, revenue}}
Timing: {{deadline, contract end, project start, budget cycle}}
Decision: {{who else is involved, how they buy}}
Budget: {{anything said, or "not discussed"}}

Qualification score: {{framework}} {{score}} of {{max}}. Gaps: {{elements scored below 2}}

What the prospect expects from the meeting
{{what the SDR promised: a conversation, a comparison, a specific question answered}}

Watch outs
{{objections raised, competitor mentioned, sensitivity, anything not to say}}

    When to use it

    Every time a meeting is booked, within a few hours of the call, in the CRM and in the calendar invite.

    Why it works

    The first five minutes of a discovery call are often wasted repeating what the SDR already learned. A structured note lets the account executive open with the prospect's own words, which is the fastest way to earn trust.

    Variations

    • For a CHAMP qualified meeting, replace the 'What they told us' block with the four CHAMP headings.
    • For an outsourced SDR team, add the campaign name and the list source so the client can trace the meeting.
    • For a short version in the calendar invite, keep only 'Why they agreed to meet' and 'What the prospect expects'.

    Common mistakes

    • Paraphrasing the prospect's reason into sales language. Keep their words.
    • Promising a demo when the prospect agreed to a conversation. The AE then opens with the wrong agenda.
    • Leaving out the watch outs. A competitor mention or a bad past experience changes how the AE opens.

    Agree what a qualified meeting is before anyone dials

    The checklist only works if everyone agrees what it is checking against. Write a qualified meeting definition with five parts: right company, right person, confirmed need, a timing signal and attendance. Sign it off with sales leadership, and if an outsourced SDR team books meetings for you, with them too.

    We explain how we do this with clients in how an outbound agency defines a qualified meeting. In our data, phone-sourced meetings become sales opportunities 50% of the time, against 32% for cold email, and 39% of offshore-booked meetings were rated unqualified by client sales teams, against 13% onshore. Qualifying properly on the call is how you keep meetings on the right side of those numbers.

    Compliance when you contact leads

    Scoring a lead does not give you permission to contact them. In Australia, commercial email and text fall under the Spam Act 2003: you need consent, which in B2B can sometimes be inferred where the message is relevant to the recipient's role and their address is conspicuously published, plus clear sender identification and a working unsubscribe. Telemarketing calls fall under the Do Not Call Register Act 2006, so wash lists against the Register where it applies. New Zealand's Unsolicited Electronic Messages Act 2007 sets similar email and text rules, and in Singapore the PDPA Do Not Call provisions and the Spam Control Act apply.

    This is a summary, not legal advice. See our guide to cold calling laws in Australia.

    Common lead qualification mistakes

    • One score for everything. Blend fit and engagement and the wrong leads rise to the top.
    • MQL thresholds nobody believes. If SDRs ignore the queue, the threshold is wrong. Fix it with sales, not by mandate.
    • Slow follow-up on demo requests. The best lead of the week goes cold in a day.
    • Counting meetings booked instead of meetings held. No-shows are not SQLs.
    • No feedback loop. Account executives must tell SDRs and marketing why a meeting was not qualified, in writing, within days.

    Frequently asked questions

    What is lead qualification?

    Deciding which leads deserve a salesperson's time: first by scoring fit and engagement, then by confirming need, role and timing on a call.

    What is the difference between MQL and SQL?

    An MQL has passed marketing's scoring threshold and is worth calling. An SQL has been confirmed by sales, usually on a call, as worth an account executive's time.

    What is a SAL?

    A sales accepted lead: an MQL that sales has reviewed and committed to follow up. It sits between MQL and SQL and shows whether sales trusts marketing's leads.

    What frameworks are used for lead qualification?

    BANT and CHAMP are the most common on first calls. ANUM is a BANT variant. MEDDIC and MEDDPICC are used later, to qualify deals rather than leads.

    How do you build a lead scoring model?

    Score fit from your ICP and engagement from behaviour, separately. Weight high-intent actions such as demo requests, take points away for disqualifiers and inactivity, set thresholds with sales, and review the weights against real outcomes every quarter.

    What should an SDR hand over to an account executive?

    The prospect's reason for meeting in their own words, what they said about the problem, timing and people involved, the framework score with evidence, what the prospect expects from the meeting and any watch outs.

    Do outbound teams need MQLs?

    Often not. In outbound, the SDR targets accounts from the ICP and the first qualification happens on the call. Track SQLs and meetings held instead.

    Can Nousu qualify our inbound leads?

    Yes. Our SDRs work in-house in Sydney, call inbound leads quickly, qualify them on the phone and hand over with a note. Pricing is starting at $7,000 a month.

    Related frameworks, tools and reading

    How an outbound agency defines a qualified meeting

    The definition we agree before launch

    Speed to lead in Australia

    Inbound response times that matter

    Inbound lead qualification

    Leads called and qualified by phone

    Ideal customer profile

    Fillable ICP template and example

    Meetings per dial calculator

    Find the weakest stage in your funnel

    All qualification frameworks

    Comparison, picker and templates

    Want qualified meetings handed over properly?

    Our SDRs work in-house in Sydney, qualify on the phone and send a handover note with every meeting. Book a 30-minute call and we will map your market and buyers.

    Book a 30-minute callSee pricing

    Starting at $7,000 a month. Exact fee quoted after a 30-minute call.