Sales Lead
Candlefocus EditorSales leads are potential customers who may eventually purchase a product or service. They are not current clients, but they may be interested in a company’s offerings. A sales lead is a data set that identifies a person or business as a potential buyer. It can also refer to any contact information collected as part of that sales process.
Businesses use several methods and strategies to capture sales leads, such as direct response marketing, advertising, networking, and outbound sales calls. Companies can also use email marketing, social media campaigns, and digital marketing to generate and capture prospects’ interest.
How to Capture a Sales Lead
There are several steps or activities that can help to secure a sales lead. The efforts might begin with a marketing channel or with an incentive for prospects to provide contact information, such as responding to an ad.
Other activities used by businesses are providing helpful content and resources, such as email newsletters, "how-to" videos, and product reviews. All of these activities help to generate interest in the company or brand and can also be used to gather contact information.
An organization could also create an enterprise-level landing page to capture contact information. The page should explain the offer in return for the contact information. Alternatively, companies can produce a sign-up form on their website or blog to collect the prospect’s details.
What Qualifies as a Good Lead?
Not all leads are equal since some will convert to a sale and others will not. When evaluating a lead, three factors come into play:
- Information Quality: The accuracy of the contact information should reflect the person or organization behind the lead.
- Incentives: Companies should provide incentives to prospects to motivate them to take action. It's important to not try to manipulate prospects, which could make them suspicious of a company.
- Awareness: It’s important to know if the prospects were aware of the opportunity when responding to the solicitation. It should be established when the sales process was initiated, through a phone call or email from the company, for example.
Conclusion
Sales leads are an important part of the sales process for a business. Companies use various strategies to build their sales leads in order to nurtue prospects and generate sales, such as direct response marketing, email marketing, and social media campaigns. It's important to check the quality of the leads, such as accuracy of contact information, any offers or incentives used, and the level of awareness of the sales offer by the prospect. With quality leads a business can increase its sales and become successful.