What is a lead?

What is a lead? It's a deceptively simple question, isn't it? And one that isn't as easy to answer as it first seems. Yet the answer is simple...

A lead is a person who is ready to say yes. It might be...

Yes to a phone call
Yes to an appointment
Yes to receiving more information

Lead generation is not about finding people ready to say 'Yes' to a sale, which is selling. Instead it's suited to businesses that rely on a human sales force to close deals, where leads are the lifeblood of the sales team.

'Hold on,' I hear you say. 'What about targeting and qualification? Aren't those important too?'

They certainly are, and you can take it as read that targeting and qualification are always included in any lead generation process I'm involved in.

My definition of a lead implies a certain culling, and that's correct. In a perfect world, the process would eliminate everybody you didn't want to talk to, leaving you only with people ready to say 'Yes'. In the real world, we can only dissuade most of them. Even so, you'll still regain hours of otherwise wasted time.

In addition to weeding out the unsuitable, lead generation must also persuade the suitable. Your leads have to understand why it's worth talking to you. Until a person understands the value of talking to you, they're not ready to say 'Yes'.