Demand generation By Laura Llames · 3 min read

How To Report MQLs So Sales Trusts Them

“We delivered 400 MQLs!” “Cool. Which ones?” Five ways to report marketing leads so Sales believes your numbers.

Let’s start with a scene you may have lived through.

Marketing: “We delivered 400 MQLs this quarter!”

Sales: “Cool. Which ones?”

That silence you just heard is trust leaving the building. If you have been on either side of that conversation, welcome, this one is for you. (If you haven’t, please share your secret.)

A lead count on its own proves very little. What builds trust is how the number is defined, shown and discussed. Yes, this is a numbered list. I contain multitudes, but I also love a good numbered list.

1. Write the definition down (and let Sales co-write it)

Before reporting anything, put on paper what counts as an MQL: who the person is, what they did and what that says about their interest. Then agree it with Sales, not for them. A definition handed down by marketing is like a surprise party for someone who hates surprises: well intentioned, poorly received.

2. Report the journey, not the headcount

Counting MQLs and calling it success is like counting wedding guests and calling it a marriage. The interesting part comes after. Show how many Sales accepted, how many became opportunities and how much pipeline they represent. A simple funnel from MQL to pipeline answers the question Sales is really asking: do these leads go anywhere?

3. Give every lead a backstory

“Hi, I saw you downloaded a thing” is not an opening line. Pass on where the person came from, what they read, attended or asked for, and any sign of their role in the decision. Context turns a cold contact into a warm one, and it saves your Sales colleague from guessing.

4. Show the leads Sales rejects

Nobody enjoys a rejected-leads report. Show it anyway. Ask Sales for the reason in a few fixed categories (wrong role, wrong company size, no interest, bad timing) and report them next to the accepted ones. Yes, it is uncomfortable. It is also the cheapest market research you will ever get.

5. Review it together, on a schedule

Fifteen to thirty minutes a month with the people who work the leads. Bring coffee, bring two or three real examples and leave with one change to try. (And no, a 40-slide deck is not a conversation.)

A simple way to start

Take last quarter’s MQLs and trace each one to its outcome in a single table: accepted, rejected or still open, with the reason and the source. Share it with one person from Sales and ask, “What surprises you?” Then stay quiet and listen. That is the hardest part, I know.

Because here is the thing: the number was never the point. Trust is.