For decades, skilled marketing lead (MQL) was the centerpiece of B2B strategies of marketing (GTM). He has shaped the functioning of marketing teams, how the sales teams prioritize awareness and how managers measure the contribution of revenue marketing.
However, the MQL no longer corresponds to this objective. It is not only an obsolete metric; It represents a way of thinking that disconnects the GTM teams from the real impact of business, disalges the incentives and does not reflect the behavior of modern buyers.
However, reverse the value of the whole generation of a generation is not a small task. Managers, sales teams and marketing leaders all have processes, game manuals and expectations around MQL. Abandoning them without a structured replacement risks losing credibility.
The path to follow does not concern the past – it is evolution. By reframing this change as a necessary response to AI, a financial examination and the fiduciary responsibility, the GTM teams can go beyond vanity measures and establish themselves as leaders of the next era of B2B growth.
The MQL no longer works
The MQL was introduced to measure the impact of marketing in a fragmented world where the data was fragmented and the sales teams needed a filtering mechanism for potential buyers. But over time, it has become an inaccurate, misleading and useless standard. It is a metric of vanity, often based on signals of engagement which do not indicate the intention of purchase.
Traditional MQL counting methods – Follow -up formal formation, content downloads and webinaries – are increasingly detached from the revenue generation. The CMOs celebrate the targets of the MQL, but the sales teams still complain of receiving unqualified tracks which are not going now, provoking frustration and the disalcranement between the departments.
Dig more deeply: It’s time for B2B marketing to understand its GTM role
A system built on vanity measures
The MQL-Industrial complex has only aggravated this problem. The entire Martch and Gen ecosystem of demand is built around the maximization of MQLs rather than income. This led marketing teams to focus on increasing the volume of leads rather than the priority of quality.
The problem is also aggravated by agencies and sellers who take advantage of the system without being responsible for knowing whether their efforts translate into pipeline or income. Marketing organizations are encouraged to play the system, modify the qualification thresholds and optimize the number of leads while the real objective – lead to an impact on real affairs – takes a rear seat.
The growing frustration between the GTM teams
Beyond the internal disalember, the broader business world has already become frustrated by the way GTM’s performance is measured.
- Sales teams do not like to hunt MQLs for low intention.
- Financial teams have lost confidence in marketing -focused income forecasts.
- CEOs find it difficult to connect marketing expenses to the real growth of the company.
This disconnection is not only a minor ineffectiveness, but a fundamental failure in the way companies measure and stimulate income growth. Even those who have no clear solution yet recognize that the current system is broken.
The MQL model ignores critical commercial realities
Beyond its internal faults, the MQL frame does not represent three major factors:
Gap
Marketing efforts rarely give immediate sales results. On most B2B markets, there is a significant delay – often spanning 9 to 15 months – between initial marketing expenses and the impact of corresponding income. MQL -based reports do not take into account this reality, encouraging marketing teams to prioritize short -term and low value commitment tactics instead of long -term strategies that truly stimulate pipeline.
External market forces
Economic slowdowns, competitive changes and industry trends all influence the speed of transactions and the intention of buyers. However, MQL models treat marketing as an isolated demand engine, not showing these external variables. This narrow approach leads to misleading performance assessments and erroneous GTM adjustments.
The impact of the brand and the reputation on sales
Brand Trust is one of the most powerful income engines. Buyers are much more likely to engage with the companies they recognize, trust and consider leaders of the industry. However, as it does not integrate perfectly into an MQL setting, it is often sub-financed or completely ignored in favor of the immediate generation of leads. The consequence? Companies sacrifice long -term sustainable growth for a short -term lead volume.
Dig more deeply: What do level C leaders think of their GTM strategies?
The legal and financial risks of clinging to the MQL
The issues have increased since the decision of Delaware 2023, which has expanded the duty to monitor liability towards business officers, in particular CMOS, CROS and CDAOS. This means that managers can now be personally responsible for not supervising critical trade risks, including the accuracy of marketing and sales efficiency measures.
If a GTM officer continues to count on induced reports based on MQL, he could face real legal and financial consequences. The reality is Stark: forecasts based on MQL are no longer only ineffective – it has become a fiduciary risk.
AI and advanced analyzes expose MQL faults
AI systems can now reveal what marketing activities really stimulate income, reducing the noise of vanity measures.
AI acting as an increasingly powerful referee of trade truth, the days of using inflated measures and well-being to justify the marketing budgets end. The organizations that continue to hang on to the MQLs will soon be on the wrong side of a technological calculation.
Dig more deeply: AI transforms GTM teams into fiduciary powers
The GTM “No BS” model
The future of GTM is the causality of income, not the generation of leads. Marketing, sales and finances must align with real income, rather than using artificial engagement signals as an indirect indicator.
The first step in this transformation is to go beyond the MQL and to focus on income-centered measurements. Follow the measures that are directly correlated with business growth, such as:
- Qualified sales opportunities.
- Pipeline speed.
- Victory rate.
- Size of the agreement.
Rather than relying on simplistic attribution models of the last blow, companies must adopt causal analyzes that determine the real impact of each marketing and sales initiative.
Why Causal is the key to GTM’s success
Traditional marketing attribution is broken. It offers a simplistic and linear view of the behavior of buyers who ignore the complex interaction of factors stimulating sales.
Ai CausalHowever, brings a sophisticated approach and based on evidence of the GTM strategy. It identifies the real cause and effect relationships between marketing investments and income results, eliminating conjectures and revealing what strategies stimulate boost growth.
Using Causal AI, you can:
- The separation of the correlation of causation ensures that marketing expenses are allocated to the most impactful activities.
- Precisely model the long-term marketing effects, including time lag, march capital and market fluctuations.
- Optimizing sales and marketing coordination, increasing pipeline speed and improving conversion rates.
At a time when transparency and fiduciary responsibility focused on AI redefine GTM, the adoption of Causal AI is not only an intelligent decision – it is an imperative of governance.
The implementation of this information will create a resilient and high performance GTM engine capable of maintaining a competitive advantage for years.
The time of change is now
The era of marketing based on MQL is coming to an end. Transparency, financial responsibility and fiduciary risk focused on AI make the transition inevitable. Companies that embrace this change will now gain a competitive advantage. Those who resist will be exposed – either by AI, by their financial director, or by a trial.
The most intelligent GTM leaders will take control of this transition, ensuring that their teams, strategies and investments are aligned with a real commercial impact. GTM’s future is to prove, optimize and worsen the real impact of income.
Mark Sofre will discuss changes to GTM’s strategy as part of the second day opening group at the Martech online conference on March 26, 2025. He will be joined by Sangram Vajre of GTM Partners, Whitney Bouck of Insight Partners And Tim Hillison de Point 1 for “the GTM revolution will not be a television”. See the agenda of the conference and get your free pass.
Dig more deeply: A 3 -step guide to unlock a return on investment marketing with Causal AI
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