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What is the difference between an MQL and an SQL?
Before we dive in, let’s cover the basics. A Marketing Qualified Lead is someone who shows interest in your company but isn’t ready to buy yet. Think of someone who downloads an e-book, signs up for a webinar, or visits your website multiple times. There’s interest, but no concrete buying intent.
A Sales Qualified Lead is one step further along. This lead has shown clear buying intentions. Perhaps they’ve viewed your pricing page, requested a demo, or filled in the contact form. The SQL is ready for a conversation with sales.
The key difference lies in the stage of the customer journey. An MQL is in the awareness or consideration phase. An SQL is in the decision phase and ready for personal contact.
The customer journey: six phases to a loyal customer
The journey from unknown visitor to returning customer follows six steps. Louise and Alain of Ziedoes like to call themselves a “guide through the customer journey”. They support businesses through this entire process.
Phase 1: Awareness. The potential customer gets to know you. Through an advert, social media, or a Google search. This is the moment to stand out and spark interest.
Phase 2: Consideration. Interest grows. Your visitor is orienting themselves, comparing options, and seeking information. This is where someone becomes an MQL.
Phase 3: MQL. The lead has left their details. An email address, a download, a sign-up. Now the nurturing process begins.
Phase 4: SQL. The lead is warm. There’s clear buying intent and the lead is ready for contact with sales.
Phase 5: Purchase. The deal is closed. The lead becomes a customer.
Phase 6: Loyalty. The ultimate goal: from customer to ambassador. Returning customers who recommend others.
The aim isn’t just to reach phase six. It’s about repeating the cycle. Loyal customers generate new leads, and the cycle begins again.
Everything starts with being seen
The name “Ziedoes” is a variation of “zie je ons” (do you see us) in West Flemish dialect. And that’s exactly where everything starts: being seen. Tell people who you are, what you do, and what solution you offer. Why should customers work with you?
The most important goal in these early phases is generating data. Online marketing has a major advantage here: you can measure exactly who you’re reaching and how they respond. That data forms the foundation for all subsequent steps.
In practice, this means: as soon as you have an email address, the real story begins. With Leadinfo, it starts even earlier. You know which company is visiting your website before they even make contact.
Automation: the key to efficient lead nurturing
Not every lead is immediately ready to buy. Research shows that an average of ten touchpoints are needed before someone makes a purchase. Manually following up every lead is impossible. That’s why automation is essential.
With marketing automation tools like Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign, or Spoki, you can set up complete email flows. Louise explains how this works: a potential customer requests an inspiration book. A series of emails follows automatically. First the book itself. Two weeks later, a relevant blog article. Then an invitation to an inspiration day.
This isn’t spam. It’s strategically constructed communication. The flow adapts to the recipient’s behaviour. If someone doesn’t open the emails, the flow stops automatically. This way, you only reach those who are interested and don’t irritate anyone.
LinkedIn automation with Autopilot
Besides email automation, Ziedoes works with tools like Phantombuster and Leadinfo’s Autopilot feature. This allows you to automatically connect on LinkedIn from your client’s profile.
Connection requests aren’t sent randomly. You determine who you want to connect with. The CEO? The sales manager? The buyer? Once you know who you want to reach, the automation handles the rest.
Leadinfo’s Autopilot takes this a step further. The tool has fewer limitations on the number of emails and connection requests per day. Useful if you want to scale up seriously.
The power of valuable content
A commonly used tactic to generate leads is giving away an e-book, whitepaper, or checklist. But there’s a pitfall here. Alain emphasises: make sure your e-book is absolutely valuable to the recipient.
The benefit for you as a business is obtaining data, usually an email address. But if the recipient gets an e-book that’s worthless in return, you immediately destroy trust. Nothing is more frustrating than leaving your email address and then receiving irrelevant content.
With a good e-book, you position yourself as an expert. You inspire potential customers and convince them to continue the conversation with you. That first impression counts.
Ensure a strong follow-up system
Between MQL and SQL lies a crucial moment: there hasn’t been any personal contact yet. Many businesses fall short here. They may have a CRM system like Teamleader, Salesforce, or Monday, but don’t use it effectively enough for lead follow-up.
A system is only as good as how you use it. Many clients don’t even have a CRM system at all. An alternative is to use Leadinfo itself as a foundation. By adding the right labels and noting comments, you create a workable overview of your leads.
Another low-tech solution: link your Meta adverts to an Excel sheet. All leads from your campaigns automatically land in an overview. Simple but effective. The client notes when they’ve called, whether it was a good or bad lead, and based on that, the campaign can be optimised.
That communication between marketing and sales is crucial. Without quick feedback on lead quality, you can’t make adjustments.
Timing is everything
In sales, everything revolves around timing. You need to sell at the moment there’s demand. Leadinfo is a powerful tool for this. You know who’s on your website, when they’re there, and which pages they’re viewing.
Imagine: you sell printers and have long-term contracts of three to five years. Then timing is crucial. You only have one chance to make contact at exactly the right moment. Thanks to Leadinfo, you know when a company is orienting themselves. That’s when you pick up the phone.
This might sound old school. The representative who calls saying “I happen to be in the area”. But it works. Because you know they’re interested. That prior knowledge is power.
Setting up triggers and labels
Make it easy for yourself with triggers and labels in Leadinfo. For example, set up a trigger for companies that have filled in the contact form. Or for visitors who view more than two pages.
You can set labels per region, so each representative automatically sees their own leads. Or labels indicating how “hot” a lead is. This way, you don’t have to manually scroll through all visitors.
Leadinfo is only truly valuable if you do something with it. Send an email, call, or make contact in another way. Just knowing which company visits your website isn’t enough.
Lead scoring: know when to call
Want to go a step further? Then use lead scoring. In ActiveCampaign, you can assign points to specific actions. Downloading an e-book: two points. Viewing the pricing page: five points. Signing up for an info day: ten points.
The advantage of lead scoring is clarity. Once a lead reaches a certain score, you know: now is the time to call. This is much more efficient than randomly approaching companies.
This works especially well for salespeople who don’t like “cold” calling. With lead scoring, you only call warm leads. The success rate is higher and the conversations are more pleasant.
Lead scoring isn’t a one-time setup, by the way. It’s a process you continuously refine. What increases conversion? Which actions actually predict a sale? Keep measuring and optimising.
Prevent your hot lead from going cold
A common mistake: turning an SQL back into an MQL. That sounds strange, but it happens more often than you’d think. A lead is warm, fills in the contact form, but doesn’t get called back quickly enough. Or something is agreed, but follow-up doesn’t happen.
Due to lack of time or discipline, the lead cools down. All marketing efforts have been for nothing. That hot lead is cold again.
Speed is essential. Research indicates that the chance of conversion is 21 times higher if you respond within five minutes. Wait a week? Then interest has evaporated.
Sales and marketing: two sides of the same coin
Marketing ROI is only as high as marketing and sales efforts combined. Marketing and sales are inextricably linked. Yet Louise and Alain regularly see frustration between both departments.
Marketing delivers leads that sales considers “not good enough”. Sales calls too late or inconsistently. The marketing message doesn’t align with what the salesperson says. The result: missed opportunities and lost leads.
The solution is simple but not easy: talk to each other. Make sure marketing knows how sales approaches things. Ensure the story connects seamlessly. If the salesperson tells something different from what the marketing campaign promised, the salesperson has to put in so much extra effort. That’s a waste.
Ziedoes takes this a step further. They provide sales training for their clients. And if necessary, they even take over the first round of calls. Because it’s too painful to watch good leads being lost due to inadequate follow-up.
Don’t forget your existing customers
The focus is often on new leads. But acquiring a new customer costs much more energy than growing an existing one. Don’t forget your current customers.
Schedule evaluation meetings. Stay in contact, even when there’s no direct sales opportunity. Especially in B2B environments, this relationship is crucial.
Have a new product? Tell your existing customers first. They already know you, have built up trust, and are often the first to show interest.
A handy tip: create a label in Leadinfo for existing customers. This way, you immediately see when a customer visits your website. Is that customer viewing a service page for something they don’t yet use? Pick up the phone. Ask how things are going and subtly bridge to the new offering.
Turn customers into ambassadors
The ultimate step: from customer to ambassador. Customers who are so satisfied that they refer others. Who tell your story without you asking.
An example from practice: a real estate agent in Spain organises an annual event for existing customers. It becomes a kind of family day where customers meet each other, share tips, and form a community. The goal isn’t direct sales, but staying top of mind. When these customers ever want to buy or sell again, they know exactly who to turn to.
Dare to give customers a platform. Ask for a video testimonial. Invite them to leave reviews. Let them talk to potential new customers at an open day.
Many businesses are hesitant about this. “My customers probably won’t want to do that.” But just ask. And make it attractive. A discount, a gift voucher, a dinner voucher. It’s a small investment for enormous value. Because nothing is stronger than a satisfied customer telling your story.
Research shows that 72% of customers only take action after seeing a review or testimonial. Videos from real customers build trust. It’s always better for someone else to tell how good you are than doing it yourself.
Evaluate and evolve
Finally: measure what you do. Know your numbers. What’s your return on investment? How many leads become customers? What does a lead cost, and what does a customer generate?
This evaluation isn’t just for yourself. Discuss it with your marketing partner too. Dare to be honest, even when results are disappointing. Only then can you adjust and improve.
Aim for a cost per sale rather than just a cost per lead. That gives the real picture. And be transparent about sales figures, so your marketing agency knows what works and what doesn’t.
Communication between marketing and sales, between client and agency, is the common thread throughout this entire story. Talk to each other. Share insights. Make adjustments. That’s how you get the maximum from every lead.
Ready to get started?
From MQL to SQL to customer isn’t magic. It’s a process of visibility, automation, timing, and follow-up. With the right tools and clear collaboration between marketing and sales, you’ll maximise every lead.
Want to know which companies are visiting your website and respond to their interest immediately? Try Leadinfo free for 14 days and discover how many potential customers you’re currently missing.
This article is based on the webinar ‘From MQL to SQL to Customer’, presented by Louise and Alain of Ziedoes, Leadinfo Gold Partner. With years of experience in online marketing and a focus on ROI, they help B2B companies turn leads into loyal customers.
