A marketing-qualified lead (MQL) is a potential customer that has been pre-screened by the marketing team or marketing system and satisfies company-specific criteria determined to be necessary for the sales team to perform their role in closing a deal. 

Why not pass all leads onto the sales team? 

Not every lead is worth pursuing and some may even be competitors. Asking questions to understand the prospect better will help you save time and money by not pursuing a lead that isn’t in a position to invest in your product or service. 

Three key benefits of qualifying a lead 

1. Getting to the decision maker: By asking marketing qualifying questions you can get to know who will make the ultimate decision to buy your product or service. By speaking to them directly, the buyer will get the right information first-hand and the seller will understand the key factors involved in the buying decision.    
2. Efficiency: As mentioned above, not every lead is ready to buy nor able to. Investing your sales team’s skills, time, and effort in leads that aren’t quite ready, increases your cost of acquiring new customers and decreases your bottom line. For leads that didn’t pass the marketing qualifying process and aren’t quite ready to buy, you can nurture them through various marketing automation tools or discard the lead altogether if they simply aren’t a good fit.   
3. Focus on your ICP: Speaking of being a good fit; each business has an ideal customer profile (ICP) that is the best fit for the way they work and the products and services they offer. By qualifying the lead, you are able to focus on the right prospects/customers that are just right for your business. There is also a benefit to the customer when you focus on your ICP because you are able to expertly deliver your product or service exactly the way they want and need it. 

In closing, by pre-screening or qualifying your leads you create efficiencies that positively impact the bottom line. You get to work with the customers that are the best fit for your organization, and your customers get the best service because you are operating in your “sweet spot”. It’s a win/win.