Qualified Pipeline Calculator
Calculate qualified pipeline value from your MQL volume, conversion rates, and average deal size. B2B SaaS funnel math that bridges marketing and sales — used by demand-gen leaders to set MQL targets backed by revenue goals.
The MQL → SQL → Opportunity → Closed Funnel
Each B2B SaaS funnel stage has industry-standard conversion benchmarks. MQL to SAL (Sales Accepted Lead): 40-60%. SAL to SQL (Sales Qualified Lead): 50-70%. SQL to Opportunity: 60-80%. Opportunity to Closed-Won: 20-30% average, 35%+ for top-quartile teams. Multiply these together: roughly 5-12% of MQLs become customers.
Working Backward from Revenue Goal
Set revenue target → divide by ACV to get deals needed → divide by win rate for opportunities → reverse-walk each stage backward using your conversion rates. Example: $1M ARR target ÷ $20K ACV = 50 deals. At 25% win rate = 200 opps. At 70% SQL→opp = 286 SQLs. At 60% SAL→SQL = 477 SALs. At 50% MQL→SAL = 954 MQLs. Marketing target locked.
MQL Quality vs Volume Trade-off
Most teams chase MQL volume and ignore quality, leading to declining win rates and sales hating marketing. Tighter MQL definitions (firmographic + behavioral + intent score) reduce MQL count by 30% but raise SAL conversion by 50%+. The total pipeline impact is neutral, but cost-per-customer drops and sales-marketing alignment improves.
Tracking MQL ROI by Source
Always track conversion rates by channel separately. Paid search MQLs convert different than content download MQLs. Event MQLs different from webinar MQLs. Aggregate funnel rates hide channel-level disasters. A 5% MQL→deal rate sounds healthy until you discover Paid Social is 0.5% and Organic Search is 15%.
Sources: Gartner CSO Tech Survey 2024, SiriusDecisions Demand Waterfall. Last updated: May 2026.