Lead Quality vs Lead Quantity

For years, B2B technology marketing teams have been measured by one simple metric: how many leads they generate. More leads meant more success, or so the thinking went.

But as sales cycles grow longer, buying committees get larger, and acquisition costs rise, technology companies are starting to ask a more important question:

Is it better to generate more leads, or better leads?

The short answer is quality wins every time.
The long answer requires understanding MQLs, SQLs, sales alignment, lead scoring, and how all of this impacts revenue.

Why Lead Quantity Became the Default Metric

Lead quantity became popular because it was easy to measure.

• Number of form fills

• Webinar registrations

• Ebook downloads

• Free trial sign ups

Marketing teams could show growth quickly, and dashboards looked healthy. But in many B2B technology companies, sales teams were left chasing leads that were:

• Too small to buy

• Too early in the buying journey

• Not the right industry or role

• Research only with no commercial intent

This disconnect is where pipeline friction begins.

The Real Difference Between MQLs and SQLs

Understanding Marketing Qualified Leads and Sales Qualified Leads is critical to fixing the quality versus quantity problem.

What Is an MQL?

An MQL is a lead that has shown interest based on marketing defined criteria, such as:

• Downloading content

• Visiting key pages

• Attending a webinar

• Reaching a lead score threshold

MQLs indicate engagement, not buying intent.

What Is an SQL?

An SQL is a lead that has been validated by sales as having:

• Budget

• Authority

• Need

• Timeline, or a strong proxy

SQLs indicate commercial intent.

The mistake many tech companies make is assuming all MQLs should become SQLs.

Why Lead Quality Matters More in B2B Technology Sales

In B2B technology, deals are complex and expensive. Sales teams cannot afford to spend time on poor fit leads.

High quality leads:

• Convert to opportunities at a higher rate

• Shorten sales cycles

• Improve close rates

• Increase average deal size

Low quality leads:

• Inflate CRM numbers

• Frustrate sales teams

• Increase customer acquisition cost

• Damage marketing credibility

In short, lead quality directly impacts revenue efficiency, not just pipeline volume.

The Role of Sales and Marketing Alignment

One of the biggest drivers of lead quality is alignment between sales and marketing.

High performing B2B tech companies agree on:

• What qualifies as an MQL

• What qualifies as an SQL

• When a lead is handed to sales

• When leads should be recycled back to marketing

Without this alignment, marketing optimizes for volume while sales optimizes for relevance, and both lose.

A simple but effective solution is a shared lead definition and service level agreement, supported by CRM workflows.

How Lead Scoring Improves Quality Without Killing Volume

Lead scoring is the bridge between quantity and quality.

Effective lead scoring models combine:

• Demographics such as job title and seniority

• Firmographics such as company size, industry, and location

• Behavioral data such as page views and demo requests

• Intent signals such as repeat visits and pricing page engagement

For example, a CTO at a 500 plus employee SaaS company visiting pricing pages should score far higher than a student downloading an ebook. Behavioral intent should often outweigh content engagement.

Modern CRM platforms like HubSpot allow technology companies to automate this process, ensuring sales only engage when buying intent is real.

Revenue Impact: What the Data Shows

When B2B technology companies shift their focus from quantity to quality, they typically see:

• Fewer MQLs but more SQLs

• Higher MQL to SQL conversion rates

• Better pipeline forecasting

• Increased revenue per lead

The goal is not to generate fewer leads. It is to generate fewer wasted leads.

The Best Approach: Quality Weighted Volume

The most successful B2B technology companies do not choose between quality and quantity. They build systems that deliver quality at scale.

That means:

• Clear ideal customer profile definitions

• Strong lead scoring models

• Sales and marketing alignment

• Closed loop reporting from lead to revenue

When quality becomes measurable and repeatable, volume becomes an advantage, not a liability.

Final Thoughts

If your sales team says, “The leads are not good,” and your marketing team says, “We hit our targets,” you do not have a lead generation problem. You have a qualification problem.

In B2B technology sales, lead quality always matters more than lead quantity, because only quality leads turn into revenue.