Graphic showing MQL to SQL

Generate leads, leads, more leads! It’s all anyone seems to talk about in B2B marketing any more. (Well, that and AI, of course.) And there’s good reason to focus on leads, since the B2B sales process is typically long and involves a lot of decision influencers and decision makers. When you get a lead on the hook, you want to reel it in! 

All marketing agencies and businesses that are focused on generating leads have a general process or scoring system that follows best practices or typical guidelines of when to move someone forward from an MQL (marketing-qualified lead) to an SQL (sales-qualified lead). Warm to hot. Casual to serious. Curious to committed. Just search or ask your friendly AI tool, and you’ll get plenty of options. 

But all the scoring systems in the world and all the actions that purport to indicate that an MQL has crossed into SQL territory are just a guess. A reflection of a likely pattern based on data and experience but not a guarantee of behavior, ultimately still an (educated) guess. Why? Because people aren’t MQLs and SQLs. There is power in structured marketing-to-sales pipelines, but the process should serve the people, not the other way around. 

Irrational, emotional, nonlinear behavior is tricky to predict

Yes, people are not always rational thinkers — following a linear path to get to a decision and doing it in a calm, collected manner, ready to move on to your next stage. And especially not a group of folks making a decision in your typical B2B setting. 

They may take two steps forward, one step back, two more steps back, three forward, and end up nearly where they started over the course of many months. 

But as a marketer, if you’re only relying on clicks to tell you whether this prospect is getting closer to buying, your process may have told you that after the second step forward, they have magically become an SQL. You start a new stream of communications without realizing they have gone back to square one, and eventually your business may lose interest in trying to attract them. This isn’t a failure of the process, but rather a reminder that your leads are on a journey with a lot of twists and turns and tos and fros, not moving along an assembly line. 

They’re just being human: indecisive and needing to involve others who have conflicting opinions. How can marketers help them while treating them like a human and not a robotic decision-making machine? By truly understanding the mindset of the prospect.

Understand the MQL mindset

Ideally, the marketing team and the sales team within your company have aligned on what makes someone an MQL or an SQL and there’s a plan in place for what you are all collectively trying to achieve. If not, this process is not likely to work very well. 

The prospect you label an MQL is looking for something, and maybe it’s you. They are interested enough to have requested information or signed up for an email or whatever action was required to get them into a likely communications stream. They may have done this with your competitors, too. They’re also looking for information in places you’re aware of but don’t control and asking colleagues and AI for input. They are exploring and want to be informed and not sold to while they do their initial research. 

Remember that your MQLs and SQLs are irrational, nonlinear, emotional human beings.

Marketers need to have some patience and give them space and time. It’s great that you’ve got someone interested in you, but they may just be kicking the tires at this point. If your information and content is compelling and helpful, they’ll be back for more, but don’t necessarily push them to BUY NOW at this stage; that time will come. Be measured and realistic with the amount and frequency of follow-ups; no one wants an endless barrage of emails, which are a turn-off instead of having the intended effect. 

Encourage the SQL mindset

When a prospect decides to reach out and literally say, “I’m interested in buying,” or “I’d like to get a quote,” or “I want to speak with a human about this,” then they are likely moving into SQL territory. But it wasn’t a click or an email open that moved them to that status, it was a direct action they took — the clearest signal, and perhaps the only signal that matters.

And at this point they are probably still seeking more information, likely the stuff they couldn’t find on their own in the marketing materials, like pricing. But your business is probably not the only one this SQL is talking to. I’d argue they still need to be “marketed” to, even if they are in the “sales” stage of the process. Reinforce why your company is the best choice for them and make yourself available for any questions they might have as they are considering options. Build trust with them.

To buy or not to buy? That is the question that can only be answered by the prospect. They are in control of the entire process, not your expertly designed MQL to SQL to Purchase ProcessTM. They’ll let you know when they’re ready. 

Deal with the human mindset

Yes, you need to have a lead strategy and do all the things that are expected as part of the typical lead nurturing process. Leads are important and showing progress of moving MQLs to SQLs to purchase is critical for businesses to succeed. But don’t expect it to always work out perfectly according to your well-drawn-up plans. 

Always consider the human factor. Remember that your MQLs and SQLs are irrational, nonlinear, emotional human beings. Sometimes it may help to step away from your automated system or process and try to have a 1:1 conversation with a few prospects to  understand where they are in the process and how they are feeling about things. Perhaps a new customer has recently gone through the purchase process and could provide some perspective on their journey and how they felt interacting with your company. Or perhaps the sales and marketing counterparts just need to make sure everyone is aligned on what the goal is (a sale!) and working together to make sure the goal is reached — not just handing an M to an S like a hot potato instead of a partnership. 

There’s always an opportunity to treat these prospects like humans with needs who are trying to make a big decision. They will have doubts, hesitations, and questions … and still not be 100% sure they (and their team) are making the right decision. They’re not an acronym; they’re a person. Building trust and reassurance with them can help them pick you instead of someone else. 

You’ll learn a lot from their input that can help you improve and understand the quantitative data from your leads process. And maybe that personal touch will be enough to tip the balance in your company’s favor, when you treat them as a person and not an MQL.

Want to treat your MQLs like humans — and convert more of them? Connect with us to explore smarter, more human-centered ways to align your marketing and sales efforts.