What Is A "Lead" And Why Do I Need Them?

What exactly is a "lead" and how are they useful in the business world? This is a question many people ask and mostly want to know where they come from. A Lead is simply any person interested in a desired product or service. For example, someone selling new Chevrolet's would be looking for leads who are in the market to purchase a new Chevrolet vehicle. In this brief article I will explain where a lead comes from and how they can be useful to any type of business.

So where exactly do leads come from? They begin in raw data form. Thousands of names, numbers, email addresses, and physical addresses all piled into a big database. The next step is weeding through the data to determine who is interested in what products. Many companies do this with phone broadcasting and many others do this with email campaigns. Some even choose to send out postcards and wait for returns. When a person says "I am interested in {product}" they can then be labeled as a lead.

Some companies have developed targeted websites for people to find and input their contact information. These targeted websites will be keyword specific. For our previous example of the new Chevrolet's, a website might be designed around the keywords "new Chevrolet truck". When a consumer types this phrase into their search engine they will find this targeted site asking for name, number, email address, and address. This way the lead provider can sell it to the Chevrolet dealership.

Now, how exactly can a business turn these leads into business? This is the million dollar question. If you are buying thousands of dollars of leads but have no action plan to use them. You are wasting money. Businesses need a plan on how to react upon receipt of a lead. No matter what type of business or service you own/provide timeliness is key. Consumers in today's market want instant gratification. We want what we want and we want it now.

When developing the action plan a business must take their market into consideration. If you own a heating and air company you would react differently than someone who is trying to sell insurance. Make sure the right person is handling the phone calls or emails. Someone knowledgeable about the product/service and someone who can answer the questions at hand or set the correct appointment times. Without this primary ingredient to your action plan you might still be wasting those leads you pay so much for.

As you can see, every business can be helped from leads. Whether you own your own business, want to start your own business, or simply want a leg up in the business you are in. Leads can help. I can show you how to generate and endless supply of leads while never having to pay for them. Give me a call or email me and lets get your started on the path to having thousands of leads!