Your marketing team has been working on the ideal campaign for weeks. The landing page is optimized, the ads are doing well and Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs) are flooding your CRM.
Sounds exciting, right?
Then reality sets in. After following up, your sales team does nothing. None of the leads reply, show no interest and claim to have been merely “researching.”
You’re not alone if this sounds familiar to you. According to studies, up to 80% of MQLs never convert into customers. Here, the most troubling aspect is the system, not the leads.
Let’s explore what a Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL) is and how to turn them into actual revenue.
What is a Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL)?
By definition, A lead who has expressed interest in your offering but isn’t quite ready to make a purchase is known as a Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL).
The majority of marketers define MQL as a lead who has interacted with marketing content and demonstrated a desire to purchase.
Sounds simple, right? Not exactly.
In the scenario that MQLs are “ready for sales,” why do so many of them never reach the finish line? The problem lies in how MQLs are identified.
Most businesses employ lead scoring based on behaviors such as opening emails, attending webinars and downloading eBooks.
The problem is that actions ≠ intent. It’s not always the case that someone who downloads an eBook is prepared to make a purchase. It only indicates that they were interested.
Let’s rethink the definition of MQLs.
4 Pillars of a Marketing Qualified Lead
Not all leads are created equal. A person is not necessarily ready to buy just because they have downloaded an ebook. Also, someone who visits your website does not necessarily have the potential to become the next big customer.
We need a better way to qualify MQLs so that we can avoid wasting time on dead-end leads. Here are Four Pillars of a True MQL that distinguish high-intent purchasers from casual viewers.
1.Behavior: Are They Truly Engaged?
Consider lead behavior as body language in the digital world. If a visitor keeps coming back to your website, spends time on your pricing page and clicks on emails, it means they’re sending strong buying signals.
Certain behaviors are more valuable than others and we must acknowledge it.
Some of the high-value behaviors or strong buying signals are,
- Several visits to your pricing page
- Watching a case study or product demonstration video
- Downloading a resource with a high level of intent like ROI calculator, not just a blog guide
- Having discussions with your team via live chat
- Requesting a free trial or completing a contact form
The key takeaway here is the MQL signal is stronger when the participant is more involved and engaged.
2.Intent: Are They Showing Signs of Buying?
If the behavior is what they’re doing, then the intent is why they’re doing it. You can have two leads who both visited your website three times this week. However, one is actively seeking a solution, while the other is just curious.
Some of the Indicators of strong intent are,
- Inquiring about contract details or pricing
- Comparing you with the competitors by looking up “[Your Company] vs. [Competitor]”
- Scheduling a sales call or going to a demonstration
- Posing thorough queries during a webinar or live chat Q&A
- Making use of the “Get Started,” “Request a Proposal” or “Talk to Sales” buttons
To distinguish between high-intent and low-intent actions, make use of lead scoring. For instance, requesting a demo deserves to be worth far more points than merely clicking on a blog.
3. Fit: Do They Match Your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)?
The harsh reality is that, if your leads aren’t a good fit for your product, even the most engaged leads are worthless.
Consider this: You are selling an enterprise software and your case study is being downloaded by a small business owner. Are they really an MQL? Probably not.
Then, How to Assess Lead Fit?
- Industry → Do they reside in an industry that benefits from your product?
- Size of Company → Do they have the budget and infrastructure to utilize your product
- Job Role → Do they make decisions or are they just an intern looking for answers?
- Revenue/Budget → Can they afford your product?
- Tech Stack → Do they utilize software that integrates with yours?
Consider this, for selling AI-powered marketing software for B2B SaaS companies, then a freelance consultant is not a great MQL. A CMO at a $50M SaaS company is a perfect fit.
To gather this information without overwhelming the consumer, use progressive profiling into your lead forms. Ask for, Job Title in the first interaction, Company Size & Industry in the second, Budget & Tech Stack before handing off to sales.
Finally, the important takeaway is unless a lead is a perfect fit for your company, they aren’t really “qualified.”
4. Timing: Are They Ready to Buy Now?
A lead is engaged, has strong intent and is a perfect fit. Does that imply that they are ready to make a purchase right now? Not always.
It’s all about timing. You must determine whether they are,
- “Just Browsing” – Early-stage research, not yet ready for purchase.
- “Shortlisting Options” – Comparing solutions in real time.
- “Decision-Ready” – Ready to pull the trigger
How to Determine Buyer Readiness?
1.Their need is urgent
- “We need a solution by next quarter.”, “Our current vendor isn’t working out.”
- Their budget and decision-making process are clearly defined.
- “We’ve allocated $X for this project.”, “Our leadership team is reviewing vendors next month.”
3.They inquire about results and implementation.
- “How long does onboarding take?”, “Do you have case studies from companies like ours?”
Don’t push a lead to sales if they are a perfect fit but not yet ready. Instead, put them in a nurture sequence with Case studies, Product comparisons, ROI calculators and Exclusive webinars. Until they’re ready to buy, you remain at the forefront of their mind.
MQL vs SQL: The $100,000 Mistake You’re Making
The handoff from MQL to SQL is one of the most significant issues in B2B marketing.
On average, the MQL-to-SQL conversion rate varies across industries. According to SaaS marketing benchmarks, a healthy conversion rate typically ranges between 20-30% for high-performing SaaS companies.
Here are some common scenario:
- When marketing reaches a lead score threshold, they forward a lead to sales.
- The lead isn’t ready to buy when sales contact them.
- The lead goes cold, and sales dismisses all MQLs as “junk.”
- Marketing becomes irritated when sales fails to follow up appropriately.
The Fix? Establish a Clear MQL-to-SQL qualifying procedure.
- Create Lead Nurturing Tracks for MQLs who require further time.
- Use progressive profiling to gather more data before passing to sales.
- Automate lead re-scoring based on real buyer signals.
How to Fix Your MQL Strategy?
So, you’re not getting the desired outcomes from your Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL) strategy? You’re not alone, so don’t worry!
Finding and nurturing the proper leads is a challenge for many firms, but the good news is that it is resolvable.
Big wins will come from small changes! To improve your MQL strategy and ensure that you’re drawing in leads that convert, let’s go over a few crucial stages.
1. Are You Targeting the Right Audience?
Are you certain that your ideal client meets your MQL criteria? If the leads you’re drawing in never become paying clients, Your ideal customer profile (ICP) needs to be reviewed.
Verify that the demographics, industry and pain areas of your most successful clients are reflected in your targeting.
2.Are Your Lead Scoring Criteria Too Loose (or Too Strict)?
Your team will become frustrated if you send weak leads to sales because your MQL criteria are too broad. If they are overly rigid, you will lose out on possible customers.
Instead of focusing solely on content downloads, modify your lead scoring system to include high-intent behaviors such as demo requests, price page visits and email responses.
3.Are You Nurturing Your MQLs Effectively?
Not all MQLs are ready to purchase immediately. Leads will require improved lead nurturing if they are leaving before converting.
Are you following up with customized messages? Are you offering the right mix of educational content, case studies and testimonials? To keep them engaged, use sales touchpoints, remarketing ads and email workflows.
4.Is Sales & Marketing Alignment Off?
Inconsistency between the marketing and sales teams is one of the main reasons why MQL strategies fail. You must work with sales teams to refine what qualifies as an MQL if they believe the leads are “not ready” or “low quality.”
Regular check-ins and feedback loops between sales and marketing will have a significant impact.
For SaaS companies, this seamless alignment ensure that MQLs are nurtured into paying customers. Implementing robust SaaS lead generation strategies will bridge this gap effectively.
5.Are You Tracking & Optimizing the Right Metrics?
You’re going blind if you don’t keep an eye on pipeline velocity, lead quality scores and MQL-to-SQL conversion rates.
To evaluate the effectiveness of MQLs, businesses need to track key SaaS metrics such as Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) and Customer Lifetime Value (CLV). Analyze the data to find any bottlenecks.
Are certain campaigns bringing in low-quality leads? Is there a specific point where MQLs drop off? Make adjustments to your approach and focus more on what is effective by using insights.
Final Takeaway
The real problem with Marketing Qualified Lead is bad qualification and handoff processes. So, redefine MQLs in accordance with actual purchase signals. By doing so,
- Sales efficiency gets boosted (no more pointless follow-ups)
- Lead-to-customer conversion rates gets improved
- Predictable revenue growth gets generated.
Now, your next course of action is to audit your MQL procedure. Are you sending engaged, high-intent leads or just handing sales a list of random email subscribers?
Do you need assistance improving your MQL approach? Reach out to our SaaS Marketing Agency. 7 Eagles are here to help you.