Metrics
Sales Accepted Lead (SAL)
A prospect that has been reviewed and accepted by the sales team as worthy of active pursuit.
What is a Sales Accepted Lead?
A Sales Accepted Lead is a prospect that has passed initial qualification and been formally accepted by the sales team for active engagement. It sits between a Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL) and a Sales Qualified Meeting (SQM) in the pipeline.
The Lead Lifecycle
- Lead → Anyone who enters your system
- MQL → Shows enough interest/fit to warrant attention
- SAL → Sales team has reviewed and agreed to pursue
- SQM → Meeting scheduled with verified qualification
- SQL → Opportunity created with defined next steps
Why SAL Matters
The SAL stage exists to prevent two common problems:
- Marketing-sales misalignment: Marketing passes leads that sales considers unqualified
- Lead neglect: Qualified leads sit unworked because nobody formally accepted responsibility
// SAL CONVERSION BENCHMARKS (B2B SOFTWARE)
mql_to_sal: 40-60% (if your ICP is well-defined)
sal_to_sqm: 25-40% (if outreach is personalized)
sqm_to_opportunity: 50-70% (if qualification is rigorous)
SAL in My System
In my system, a SAL is a prospect who has passed manual qualification (ICP match + intent signal + decision-maker verified) and is approved for outreach. I track SAL-to-meeting conversion as a core performance metric, ensuring that every prospect I reach out to has been formally vetted.