MQLs aren’t the goal. Revenue is.
At PlaybookM, we don’t believe in false dichotomies. MQLs aren’t dead—but they’ve become dangerously overrated when they’re mistaken for business impact.
Here’s what’s actually happening—and what matters more.
Context: How We Got Here
Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs) were created to solve a coordination problem between marketing and sales. A shared definition of “qualified” was meant to improve handoffs and pipeline performance.
But things changed.
1. Buyers Changed
Modern B2B buyers no longer want to talk to sales early in the journey. In fact, Gartner reports that B2B buyers now spend only 17% of their time meeting with potential suppliers—and just 5–6% with any one sales rep.
(Gartner, 2023)
The rest of the time, they’re self-educating across websites, peer reviews, Slack groups, and social content. That means they don’t “convert” in the traditional sense. The linear funnel—lead → MQL → SQL → close—is broken.
2. Marketing Tech Made It Easy to Game the System
With marketing automation, gated content, and lead scoring, it’s become simple to inflate MQL numbers by counting any form fill or whitepaper download as a qualified lead—even if that person had no buying intent.
This is where Dave Gerhardt’s line rings true:
“If your MQLs don’t buy, then it’s not a marketing win. It’s a reporting illusion.”
He's pointing out that activity isn't the same as impact. If marketing hits its MQL goals but none of those people turn into pipeline or revenue, it’s not a win—it’s just noise that looks good in a monthly report.
MQLs Are Still Useful — Just Not Strategic
We’re not saying you should ignore MQLs. They can still:
- Signal brand engagement
- Show early-stage interest
- Help diagnose if your content is working
But they’re directional, not definitive. They belong in the same category as:
- Website traffic
- Email open rates
- Social media likes
Useful? Yes.
But decisive? No.
They don’t prove intent, and they certainly don’t correlate tightly with revenue.
What You Should Track Instead: SQOs
A Sales Qualified Opportunity (SQO) is where marketing actually proves its worth.
An SQO is someone who has:
- A clear business need
- Budget, authority, and intent
- Entered a real sales conversation
Unlike an MQL, an SQO is tied to pipeline, tracked in CRM, and linked directly to revenue potential.
And it’s not just us saying this.
According to Forrester, only 0.75% of MQLs become closed-won deals
(Forrester Blog, 2021).
Further, B2B organizations that align around opportunity-based metrics, not leads, see:
- 2.3x faster deal velocity
- 36% higher win rates
(Gartner, ABM Framework)
PlaybookM’s Perspective
At PlaybookM, we believe that marketing should be measured by what sales can use—not what dashboards can count.
We still track MQLs, but we treat them like early signals. Our real performance metrics are:
- SQOs generated
- Pipeline influenced
- Close rates by campaign
- Revenue per opportunity
Because marketing doesn’t just fill the funnel—it fuels revenue.
TL;DR
- MQLs are still useful but no longer reliable KPIs
- SQOs reflect real buyer intent and sales readiness
- Most high-performing GTM teams are shifting from lead generation to pipeline contribution
- Reporting "success" based on MQLs without sales traction is a misleading vanity play
As Chris Walker (Passetto) said:
“You can’t deposit MQLs in the bank.”
And as Dave Gerhardt added:
“If your MQLs don’t buy, then it’s not a marketing win. It’s a reporting illusion.”
Sources
- Forrester: Why B2B Marketers Must Embrace Opportunity-Based Metrics
- 6sense: State of the B2B Buyer Journey 2023
- Gartner: B2B Buying Journey
- Gartner: Account-Based Marketing Framework
- Chris Walker on LinkedIn
- Dave Gerhardt on LinkedIn
Photo by Laura Chouette on Unsplash