Marketing qualified lead (MQL)
A marketing qualified lead (MQL) is a lead that has met criteria agreed by Marketing and Sales, usually fit plus engagement, and is ready to pass to Sales.
In practice
The MQL is the first formal handoff in the funnel. If the criteria are vague or set by Marketing alone, Sales stops following them up and the definition loses meaning. RevOps writes the rule down, puts it in the CRM and keeps both teams to it.
Define an MQL with explicit fit criteria (from the ICP) and engagement criteria (actions, not page views alone). Track MQL volume, MQL to SQL conversion and the reasons Sales rejects MQLs; a rising rejection rate means the definition needs revisiting.