Concept / Term · Established

MQL / SQL

Marketing / Sales Qualified Lead

What does MQL / SQL mean?

Stages of lead readiness: an MQL has shown interest, an SQL has been judged ready for a sales conversation. Note that SQL here has nothing to do with the database language.

Category: Growth, Marketing & Metrics
Maturity: Established
Last reviewed: 2026-08-30

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MRR / ARRPredictable subscription revenue, normalised to a month or a year. The headline number for any subscription business.
ChurnThe rate at which customers cancel over a period. Revenue churn weights this by how much each was paying, which matters more than the count.
CACThe total sales and marketing spend divided by the number of new customers it produced.
LTV / CLVThe total revenue or profit expected from a customer across the whole relationship.
LTV:CAC RatioHow much a customer is worth against what they cost to win. Around 3:1 is the commonly cited healthy benchmark for subscription businesses.
Payback PeriodHow many months of a customer's revenue it takes to earn back what you spent winning them. Directly affects how much cash growth consumes.
NRRRevenue from existing customers this year against last, including upgrades, downgrades and cancellations. Above 100% means the existing base grows without any new customers.
ACV / TCVACV is what a contract is worth per year; TCV is its value over the full term.

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