An SQL, or sales qualified lead, is a lead that has been vetted by sales and actually meets the bar: real need, budget, authority, and a timeline. It is the step past an MQL — an MQL raised its hand, but an SQL has been spoken to and checked against the ICP. The SDR who qualifies it passes it to an account executive as a real opportunity, typically to become a qualified meeting.
In plain English
An SQL is a lead that passed the test. Someone from sales actually talked to them, asked the questions, and decided there is a real deal here — not just interest. Marketing says MQL, sales says SQL, and the difference is that one is a guess and the other has been checked.
Why it matters to you
The whole value of the SDR role is turning interest into a checked, real opportunity — turning MQLs into SQLs. A clean SQL is a meeting your account executive actually wants, because the qualification already happened. Get good at this and you are not just booking calls; you are building the trusted pipeline that earns you the promotion.