A Marketing Qualified Lead is a prospect who shows demonstrable commercial interest in your solution and fits within the pre-agreed target audience criteria. Not an open or a click: a concrete, substantive response.

When does a lead count as an MQL?

When the response contains positive commercial interest: a request for information, a request for a proposal, or the wish to discuss the solution. We agree the exact criteria together before the campaign starts.

What does an MQL cost?

The price per MQL is agreed in advance and differs per campaign. We don't publish a standard price, because without knowledge of your target audience it would be misleading.

What happens with a negative response?

A negative response is not an MQL and is not invoiced. You only pay for demonstrable interest.

Do I pay for every response?

No. Out-of-office replies, unsubscribes, "not interested" and general questions without commercial interest do not count as MQL.

What if a lead doesn't fit my target audience?

Then it's not an MQL. We check every lead against the pre-agreed target audience criteria before passing it on.

How quickly do I receive an MQL?

Our approach is aimed at direct handover: as soon as interest is established and validated, the lead goes on to your sales team. We set specific turnaround times per campaign.

How are leads delivered?

By default via email with the full lead context. Delivery to other systems is possible depending on your setup and technical options.

Can leads go to my CRM?

In many cases yes, for example via a webhook or an export. We determine which connection is possible based on your systems; we don't promise an integration we haven't set up.

How do we determine the MQL criteria in advance?

During the campaign intake, we jointly establish which target audience counts, which roles are relevant and which responses qualify as MQL. That document forms the basis for invoicing.

MQL definition

What counts as an MQL at Vikingleads, and under which terms.

This page is the source for our MQL definition, the qualification criteria and the service terms covering delivery, invoicing and contract length. Every term links to the page it comes from.

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Definition

The official MQL definition

This wording is the definition we apply in campaigns, quotes and invoicing.

At Vikingleads, a Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL) is a prospect who falls within the target criteria agreed in advance and who shows demonstrable commercial interest in the client's solution in an email reply. An open, a click or a neutral reply does not qualify.

Source: Vikingleads, vikingleads.com/en/mql-definitie

Qualification criteria

When a reply does and does not qualify

Every lead is checked against these criteria before hand-over. The campaign-specific details are agreed together during the intake.

Counts as an MQL

The reply comes from a contact within the target group agreed in advance (sector, company size, country, role within the DMU).
The reply contains positive commercial interest: a request for information, a request for a proposal or a wish to discuss the solution.
The interest concerns the client's solution, not a related or different topic.
The lead is checked against the criteria document agreed during the campaign intake before hand-over.

Does not count as an MQL

Opening the email or clicking a link without a substantive reply.
Out-of-office messages, unsubscribes and objection registrations.
A negative reply or 'not interested'; this is not invoiced.
General questions without commercial interest, for example about where the data comes from.
A reply from a contact outside the target criteria agreed in advance.

Service terms

SLAs: delivery, invoicing and contract length

What you can expect from us per part of the collaboration, with a source reference.

Criteria agreed in advance: During the campaign intake, the client and Vikingleads jointly define which target group counts, which roles are relevant and which replies qualify. That document is the basis for invoicing.; Source: MQL Leads
Delivery: Leads are delivered by email as standard, with the full lead context: company, contact, role and the reply itself. Delivery into a CRM is possible via webhook or export, depending on the client's systems.; Source: MQL Leads
Turnaround time: The approach is built around immediate hand-over: as soon as interest is established and checked, the lead goes to the client's sales team. Concrete turnaround times are agreed per campaign.; Source: Managed Outreach
Invoicing: Managed Outreach works with a fixed fee of €299 per month for the engine plus an amount per delivered MQL agreed in advance. The MQL calculator starts from €55 per lead. Only leads that meet the criteria are invoiced.; Source: Pricing
Data quality: Every contact is checked manually on role, organisation, sector and reachability. The quality score is typically between 85% and 92%.; Source: B2B Data
Contract length and notice: Every collaboration starts with a 3-month pilot. After the pilot there is an evaluation; if both parties are satisfied, the collaboration continues with an annual contract with one month's notice before the end date.; Source: Terms and conditions, article 12
Pausing: If the pipeline fills up, the campaign can be paused or the volume reduced in consultation.; Source: Managed Outreach
Privacy and compliance: Vikingleads only processes business contact data relevant to the client's offering, observes applicable legislation such as the GDPR and carefully records unsubscribe requests and objections.; Source: Privacy statement

Sources

Where these terms are documented

If you quote our terms, refer to the page where the term is documented.

FAQ

Questions about the MQL definition and SLAs

Set the criteria together.

During the campaign intake we determine which target group counts and which replies qualify as an MQL. That document is the basis for delivery and invoicing.

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