Lead Generation
Lead generation is the process of attracting and capturing interest from potential customers, collecting their contact information so your sales team can nurture them toward a purchase.
Lead generation (often shortened to "lead gen") is the process of identifying and cultivating potential customers for your business. A "lead" is someone who has expressed interest in your product or service by providing their contact information, typically through a form on your website. Lead generation strategies span both inbound and outbound approaches.
When these visitors arrive at your site, you capture their information with lead magnets (free resources like ebooks, webinars, or tools) in exchange for their email address or phone number. Outbound lead generation involves proactively reaching potential customers through cold email, LinkedIn outreach, trade shows, and direct advertising.
In practice
- A marketing agency offers a free "Website Audit" tool that analyzes visitors' websites and collects their email in exchange, generating 200 leads per month at a cost of $15 per lead
- A SaaS company's blog post about industry trends ranks #1 on Google and drives 50 demo requests per month through a CTA at the end of each article
- A consulting firm hosts monthly webinars that attract 300 registrants each, of which 15% request follow-up consultations
- A commercial real estate company uses LinkedIn Sales Navigator for outbound prospecting, connecting with property managers and generating 30 qualified leads per month
Not sure how this applies to you?
A senior engineer walks your site, your search presence and the way enquiries reach you, then writes down the three things worth fixing first. You keep the document either way.