SAL

Definition

SAL, short for Sales Accepted Lead, is a lead qualification stage within B2B sales and marketing funnels. It marks when a marketing-qualified lead has passed sales criteria and is approved by the sales team for follow-up. SAL ensures leads have met both marketing and sales requirements, aligning teams around pipeline quality and progression.

Why Use

• Aligns sales and marketing teams around lead quality.
• Improves pipeline predictability and transparency.
• Reduces wasted sales effort on unqualified leads.
• Strengthens lead nurturing through clear handoffs.

Core Concepts

• Lead qualification stages: MQL, SAL, SQL.
• Sales and marketing alignment on criteria.
• Defined acceptance process and feedback loops.
• Documented service level agreements (SLAs).

Examples

Scenario 1: A marketing manager hands over an MQL to sales. The sales rep confirms the lead meets agreed BANT criteria and marks it as an SAL for follow-up.

Scenario 2: An automated system reviews form data and behaviour. Leads scoring above 75 are flagged as SAL after sales verification.

Common Pitfalls

• Unclear acceptance criteria causing team disputes.
• Overly rigid SLAs causing lead bottlenecks.
• Manual processes delaying lead handover.

See Also

Related concepts include MQL, SQL, lead scoring, and BANT criteria.