Marketing says it sent fifty qualified leads. Sales says only two were real. In most young companies this fight is not about effort; everyone simply uses the same three words to mean different things.
A marketing qualified lead should fit your customer profile and show real interest, not just download a PDF. A sales qualified lead has spoken to a rep and confirmed a problem, a budget owner and a reason to act soon. An opportunity starts only when there is an agreed next step with a date.
Writing these rules down takes an hour and saves months of blame. OneGTMLab explains the entry rules for each stage in this guide: MQL vs SQL vs opportunity explained.
