In sales writing, SQL means “sales-qualified lead.” In a sales-funnel context, SQL means a prospect considered ready for direct sales engagement. Because SQL also commonly means Structured Query Language, spell it out when the business context is not obvious.
ReviewedEvidence1 sourceSectionWriting & Style
Quick answer
In sales writing, SQL means “sales-qualified lead.”
Key details
Core IssueIn sales writing, SQL means “sales-qualified lead.” In a sales-funnel context, SQL means a prospect considered ready for direct sales engagement. Because SQL also commonly means Structured Query Language, spell it out when the business context is not obvious.
Phrase Rolebusiness-or-marketing-shorthand
Registerbusiness, sales, marketing, analytics, planning, reporting, and professional writing
Important caveats
Usage Boundary
In a sales-funnel context, SQL means a prospect considered ready for direct sales engagement. Because SQL also commonly means Structured Query Language, spell it out when the business context is not obvious.
Further guidance
Meaning
In sales writing, SQL means “sales-qualified lead.”
Sources and evidence
Sources are shown with the role they play in this guide. Historical or style-sensitive claims are kept within the evidence boundary described above.
ABM means account-based marketing: a growth strategy in which marketing and sales coordinate personalized buying experiences for selected high-value companies or accounts. Keep ABM distinct from a single advertising tactic: it is a broader account-focused strategy that can coordinate marketing and sales across multiple channels.
ACV means annual contract value and expresses a contract’s value on an annualized basis. Organizations can handle one-time fees, discounts, and contract changes differently, so define the local calculation convention when precision matters.
AOV means average order value, a commerce metric for the average value of orders over a defined set or period. State the platform and formula when precision matters. Shopify, for example, calculates AOV as gross sales minus discounts divided by orders and excludes specified post-order adjustments; other systems may define the inputs differently.
ARPU means average revenue per user and expresses the average revenue generated per user or customer during a specified period. Always pair ARPU with a defined period and user population; businesses may use “user,” “account,” or “customer” differently.
ARR means annual recurring revenue in recurring-revenue business reporting, representing recurring revenue on an annualized basis. Define the calculation policy used by your organization, because inclusion/exclusion rules can differ; do not present ARR as a universal accounting standard.
BANT is a sales qualification framework built around Budget, Authority, Need, and Timeline. Treat BANT as a qualification framework rather than a universal scoring system; teams can adapt how the criteria are gathered and weighted.
CAC means customer acquisition cost: the cost of acquiring new customers over a defined period. A common calculation divides acquisition-related sales and marketing costs for a period by the number of new customers acquired in that period; state which costs are included.
COB abbreviates “close of business” and refers to the end of a working or business day. It is common deadline shorthand, but the exact end time depends on the working context rather than being encoded in the abbreviation itself.
