A person or organization that has shown potential interest in a company’s product or service.
A prospective customer whose information or behavior creates an opportunity for follow-up.
Short and sweet:
A person or organization that has shown potential interest in a company’s product or service.
A prospective customer whose information or behavior creates an opportunity for follow-up.
See also: Lead Generation, Qualified Lead, Lead Nurturing
A lead is any individual who has expressed interest in a business by sharing their contact information, whether through downloading a resource, requesting a demo, or subscribing to a newsletter, sitting somewhere between a complete stranger and an actual paying customer. Not every lead carries equal value, which is why businesses typically layer on further classifications, like marketing qualified or sales qualified, to sort leads by how likely and how ready they are to buy. Treating every lead identically, regardless of these distinctions, tends to waste sales effort on people who aren’t yet close to a decision.
Someone who fills out a contact form on a landscaping company’s website after browsing its gallery becomes a lead the moment their name and phone number land in the owner’s inbox.
A visitor who downloads a free budgeting template from a financial app’s site counts as one too, even if they never open the app itself.
Trade show attendees who scan their badge at a company’s booth turn into one instantly, giving the sales team a name to follow up with after the event ends.
