Concept
SQL
Also known as: Sales Qualified Lead
Sales Qualified Lead — a lead that sales has qualified on budget, authority, need, and timeline and is actively pursuing.
An SQL (Sales Qualified Lead) is a lead that sales has scored against qualification frameworks like BANT (Budget, Authority, Need, Timeline) or MEDDIC. An SQL has a validated need, identifiable budget, and is in active follow-up in the sales funnel.
SQLs typically convert 15-30% to opportunities; opportunities typically convert 20-30% to closed deals. These per-stage conversion rates are the foundation of pipeline forecasting.
Note: SQL can also mean 'Structured Query Language' in a data-engineering context. In this glossary, SQL refers to Sales Qualified Lead.