(This is a high level overview on the topic of lead generation). 

In marketing, lead generation is defined as the initiation of consumer interest or inquiry into products or services of a business.  There are several elements that are important in lead generation.  However one of the main elements to successful lead generation is prospecting within a defined target market to uncover leads.  It’s ideal to have a sales pipeline in place to effectively manage leads and close deals.  To get a better idea of what all this means see the definitions below:

* Prospecting is defined as the process of reaching out to potential customers in hopes of finding new business. (Prospecting is often the first part of the sales process that comes before follow-up communication, lead qualification and sales activity).

* Target Market is defined as a particular group of consumers at which a product or service is aimed.  It’s important that this is clearly defined in order to maximize lead generation efforts. (It’s kind of hard to generate leads within your target market if you don’t know who your target market is).

* Prospect  is a potential client who has expressed the need for the products or services of a seller.

* A lead is a prospective consumer of a product or service that is created when an individual or business shows interest and provides his or her contact information.

* The sales pipeline is a systematic and visual approach to selling a product or service. The sales pipeline is helpful in showing you exactly where the money is in your sales process.

Lead generation is key to the success of a business.  It is particularly important to a business with a product or service offering that typically has a longer sales cycle.  It is critical that a healthy sales pipeline is maintained to ensure the ongoing success of a business.  Overall this is just a basic introduction into what lead generation is there will be more detailed descriptions in future articles posted on this blog.