## The 'MQL' Marketing Lie
Marketing Agencies love to show founders dashboards proving they generated "1,000 MQLs (Marketing Qualified Leads) at only $50 each!" This is a metric designed to protect marketing jobs. The Sales Team will actively reject 850 of those leads because they are college students entering fake Gmail addresses to download a whitepaper.
### FAQ
**Q: How do I fix a broken SaaS funnel?**
A: Stop looking at top-of-funnel volume. If your MQL-to-SQL conversion rate is 15%, your marketing team is bidding on the wrong Google Keywords and attracting broke tire-kickers. If your SQL-to-Demo rate drops, your calendar friction is too high. If your Demo-to-Close rate is under 20%, your Account Executives are failing to communicate value or your pricing is disjointed from the market.