SQL — sales qualified lead

Acceptance is the mechanism

Without an explicit acceptance action, the boundary between marketing and sales is invisible: nobody can say how many handed-over leads were worked, how quickly, or why the rest were not. Acceptance produces the timestamp and the rejection reason, and those two fields settle most lead-quality arguments.

Rejection reasons worth capturing

• Wrong fit — points at targeting.
• Wrong timing — points at nurture design rather than lead quality.
• No authority — points at the qualification questions.
• Unreachable — points at data capture and response process, not at the source.
• Duplicate — points at deduplication rules.

Each reason has a different owner, which is exactly why free-text rejections are worthless. Structure them and review monthly.

The return path matters as much as the acceptance

Every handed-over lead needs a defined end state within a set period: accepted and worked, rejected with a reason, or returned automatically because nothing happened. Without the third option, unworked leads age quietly inside a rep's list, and marketing keeps optimising against a number that includes them.

Set the return window short — two working days is usually enough — and make the return visible to both teams. It is not a punishment; it is the mechanism that keeps the funnel honest.