What is a lead ? Learn how to generate leads for your business.
If you run a business, you know that selling is not an easy task. Competitors are everywhere, and you know what they say, a loyal customer is pure gold.
Have you ever heard of the word “lead” in the sales and marketing world? Every day competitors grow and expand, and it gets more difficult to secure sales so it’s really important to make the most of every opportunity. In this article, we are going to find out what a “lead’’ is and what it means in the marketing world, we are also going to go through those different types of leads and you are going to finally learn how to generate leads for your business. What is a lead ? Keep reading to find out.
What is a lead ? find out about it
Nowadays, we must seize every opportunity to secure a sale, as there are millions of competitors out there in the market. Do you remember when companies didn’t have to look for clients, as these clients were the ones looking for the companies, these good times are long gone. (If you have lived at that time and you are now feeling nostalgia for it, then you might be a little bit old)
And since this is the current situation, it is necessary to take advantage of every small contact with a client who is interested in your business. That is the meaning of a lead, when a potential client gets in touch with your company and shows interest in a product or service.
Another definition of lead refers to the person who uses a web form, and provides contact information and shows interest in a service or product. This definition is more specific and for the online world.
The different types of leads are usually organised according to their temperature or through a sales funnel. Do you know what we are talking about? No, we have not gone crazy. Now you’ll see what we mean…
Find out about the different types of leads
What is a lead ? There are different types of leads. Normally, the types of leads are usually classified in relation to the place they occupy in the “Sales Funnel”, which is a graphic display of how close or far a customer is when carrying out a purchase (the closer the customer is to the bottom of the funnel, the closer the customer will be to make the purchase).
– Subscriptions
These are the most basic leads, to such an extent that some people do not even consider them leads. By this we mean, for example, those people who subscribe to a mailing list or a blog. These potential customers might not be interested in a particular product, but in the long term they could be interested which would end up in sales. Do not even think about letting them go!
– Cold leads.
We know what you are thinking and no, these people are not interested in buying ice cream! A Cold lead refers to the early contact of a person who has been interested for the first time in a product or service and has provided the basic contact information. They are usually called “Top of the Funnel” leads (TOFU), and trust me; it has nothing to do with that coagulated soy milk product that some people love).
– Leads qualified for marketing.
In this type of lead, the user has shown interest in the products or services through several contacts. They are considered to be in the middle of the Funnel (MOFU). Here, we are closer to secure the sale, but let us not be over-confident…
– Hot leads, or leads qualified for sale.
No, it does not have anything to do with hot dogs or waffles … (I think you’re hungry, my dear friend). When talking about hot leads, these people already know what they need, and they are taking the final steps to decide their purchase. They are Bottom of the Funnel (BOTU), which means that they are at the bottom of the sales funnel. These are the people who have asked for a sample, a demo, or even a meeting. Here you cannot fail, the sale is almost secured…
How can you generate leads?
Okay, now that you know the different types of leads, you need to find out how to generate them, right? Because, after all, you have to feed that sales funnel…
Remember that, in any case, when generating a first contact with potential customers, kindness and common sense are very important factors to have in mind. It is not about bothering or overwhelming people, or about using practices, such as spam (which is illegal in some countries).
– Inbound marketing.
It has been very trendy in the past few years, because the Internet is an essential element in our lives. It’s about generating valuable contents and interest by publishing them on websites or blogs. Potential clients will find this content, usually through a web browser, and sometimes they will have a look at the website and will establish a first lead if they are interested in a product or service.
– Events.
In the big cities, they will spring up like mushrooms after rain. An event is a good opportunity to generate leads with customers, but also to meet people from your business world, or suppliers, etc.
– Advertising.
Perhaps, this is the most traditional and widespread method to generate leads. An advert in prime time on a television network with a large audience can generate a lot of leads. Of course, prepare yourself for the price of it, create a budget … Fortunately, there are also cheaper advertising methods in which it is not necessary to invest a lot of money. Nowadays, Facebook or YouTube ads are very used.
– Street Marketing
From handing out flyers to street ads – always complying with the law, of course – there are very original and striking methods of generating leads for a company.
What is a lead ? I hope this article has answered that question.
And finally, we need to tell you something. We also like to get leads. Get in touch with us and we will let you know what Integria IMS is and how it can help your company. Come on, go ahead…