# Sales qualified lead (SQL)

> Canonical page: https://wayhatch.com/glossary/sql/
> Evidence label: Research evaluated. Definitions: https://wayhatch.com/about/evidence-labels/
> Updated: 26 October 2026 (2026-10-26). Publisher: wayhatch, wayhatchai@gmail.com

A sales qualified lead (SQL) is a lead that Sales has qualified as a real buying opportunity, usually after a first conversation.

The SQL marks the point where Sales takes ownership. A clear definition stops leads sitting in limbo between teams and gives RevOps a clean point to create the opportunity and start the sales cycle clock. Some teams add a sales accepted lead (SAL) step between MQL and SQL, for leads Sales has agreed to work but not yet qualified.

Write the acceptance criteria down (for example, confirmed need, a contact with authority or access to it, and a plausible timeline) and record the date a lead becomes an SQL. Measure MQL to SQL and SQL to closed-won conversion, segmented by source.

Related terms: [Marketing qualified lead (MQL)](https://wayhatch.com/glossary/mql/), [Stage definitions](https://wayhatch.com/glossary/stage-definitions/), [Win rate](https://wayhatch.com/glossary/win-rate/)

Workflow: [Lead routing and speed-to-lead](https://wayhatch.com/workflows/lead-routing/)