The funnel has four words people use interchangeably, and the confusion costs you: a lead is a maybe, a prospect is a fit you've actually engaged, an MQL is a lead marketing has scored, and an SQL is a sales-qualified lead worth a meeting. The SDR turns inbound MQLs into SQLs and qualified meetings; the BDR turns the prospects it creates into SQLs too. Same end point, different front half. This page gives you the table.
The funnel-stage table
Here is the asset:
| Stage | What it is | Who qualifies it | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lead | A person/company with a faint sign of interest | Nobody yet | Downloaded a whitepaper |
| Prospect | A lead that fits your ICP and you've engaged | You (research + outreach) | Fits the ICP, replied to one message |
| MQL | A lead marketing scored as a likely fit | Marketing (score/form/downloads) | Passed a fit score, not contacted |
| SQL | A lead sales has qualified — real problem, budget, authority, timeline | Sales (you) | Head of ops, migrating this quarter, budget approved |
| Qualified meeting | The SQL, booked on the AE's calendar | You, after a discovery call | Confirmed + showing up |
What turns a lead into an SQL
Two things separate an early lead from an SQL: fit and qualification. Fit is the ICP — is this the type of company where you win. Qualification is asking the questions that confirm problem, budget, authority, and timeline. Marketing can score fit; only sales can qualify. That is the SDR's core value: it takes an inbound maybe and makes it a qualified yes, so an account executive's calendar only fills with meetings worth having.
Why the labels matter
The labels exist so the pipeline is honest. Call everything a lead and you can't tell a maybe from a qualified yes; the AE books a meeting and it's a dead end. Keep the stages sharp and you protect your reputation and your quota attainment: qualified meetings that show up are the number that matters, and you can only hit it by being ruthless about what you call an SQL.
Start here
You can tell a maybe from a qualified yes. The last piece of the module is the machine that turns them into booked meetings — how many touches a sequence needs, and how to build a 14-day cadence that converts.