How an MQL differs from an ordinary inquiry
An inquiry in Tashkent can be almost anything: a Telegram message saying "how much?", a form from an Instagram ad, a call after a Google campaign. The person may be pricing something for a friend, looking for a job or just curious. If managers receive every contact, they stop trusting marketing, and real buyers get lost in the noise.
If nobody is handed over until the customer says "I'll take it", a ready buyer goes to the competitor who replied first. The MQL is the line between the two: above it, sales owns the lead; below it, marketing keeps nurturing the contact with useful messages.
The lead journey from contact to deal
It helps to think in five steps, each with a clear owner.
- Contact: someone left a phone number or wrote to your bot.
- MQL: fits the profile and showed interest; marketing makes the call.
- Accepted by sales: a manager agrees to take the lead.
- SQL: after a conversation, need, budget, decision-maker and timing are confirmed.
- Deal: contract and payment via Click, Payme or bank transfer.
MQL criteria: fit and interest
Split criteria into two groups. The first is fit: how closely the person resembles your customer. In B2B that means industry, company size, city and job title. In B2C it is delivery area, type of purchase and sometimes age. For a furniture workshop in Tashkent, an inquiry from a region it cannot deliver to is not a match, however active the person is.
The second group is demonstrated interest: what the person did, not what they said about themselves.
- asked for a price, a quote or a consultation;
- visited service and pricing pages several times;
- went through a Telegram bot flow to the end;
- replied to a message or clicked a link;
- joined a webinar or downloaded several materials.
Lead scoring: points instead of gut feeling
Scoring assigns points to each signal. A request for a quote weighs more than a channel subscription; the right industry weighs more than casual interest. A wrong region or a "just checking" message can subtract points. When the total reaches a threshold, the contact becomes an MQL and lands in the manager's CRM queue.
Do not invent the weights at a desk. Take customers who already bought and look at what they did beforehand: which channel brought them, which pages they opened, what they asked. Those signals deserve more points. Start with a short table and revise it as data accumulates.
What sales checks before a lead becomes an SQL
A sales qualified lead (SQL) is a contact a manager has judged a real deal opportunity after a live conversation. Many teams use BANT: is there a budget, is the person talking to the decision-maker, is the service really needed and when does the client want it.
Unclear answers are not a reason to bin the contact. The manager returns it to marketing with a note: "no budget now", "only comparing prices", "deciding at month end". Those notes are the most useful input for tuning ads and content.
A written agreement between marketing and sales
Arguments about "bad leads" fade once the rules are on paper. One page signed by both heads is enough.
- definitions of MQL and SQL with concrete signals;
- how fast a manager must contact an MQL;
- reasons a lead can be sent back to marketing;
- what marketing does with a returned lead;
- how often both sides meet to compare results.
Metrics and common mistakes
Track the move from MQL to SQL, from SQL to deal, first response time and the share of returned leads with reasons. Compare channels: Instagram ads, Google Ads, OLX or Uzum may differ in volume, but quality decides, meaning the share of leads that reach payment.
Typical mistakes are defining MQLs without sales, judging marketing by the number of inquiries, forgetting leads that are not ready and never revisiting the criteria. If you want to build this system around your business, markdev can help with marketing strategy: we review your funnel, agree on criteria and set up end-to-end reporting. Describe your task and we will talk through where to start.
FAQ
What is the difference between an MQL and an SQL?
Marketing defines an MQL from a person's profile and behavior, so it is worth a conversation. Sales confirms an SQL after contact: real need, budget, decision-maker and timeline.
Does a small business need lead scoring?
A complex system is not required. A few clear rules, such as a city or address given, a quote requested and a reply in a messenger, plus notes in a CRM or spreadsheet, are enough.
What should we do with a lead that is not ready to buy?
Return it to marketing with the reason and keep in touch: useful Telegram messages, an email series, a reminder later. Not ready now does not mean lost.
How do we know our MQL criteria are wrong?
If managers reject most of the leads they receive, or complain that warm contacts barely arrive, review the signals and thresholds against data from real sales.
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