Any company that relies on selling a product or service needsstrong sales lead generation. A sales lead is a prospectivecustomer. Businesses try to get as much information about theirsales leads as possible. They need to find out what makes thisperson a potential buyer of their product. Many sales-basedbusinesses develop lists of potential customers. They usedifferent tactics to come up with these lists. Some of the mostcommon methods of customer lead generation are referrals,telemarketing, and advertising.

Referrals come from many sources. They can come from otherbusinesses, referral services, or from current customers.Companies in a particular field may refer clients to oneanother. For example, an auto mechanic that specializes intransmissions may refer customers to another mechanic who mainlydeals with electrical problems. It is very uncommon forcompeting businesses to do this, but companies that offerdifferent products in the same field do it quite often. Somebusinesses exist solely to provide other companies with lists ofprospective clients. These businesses are called list services,and they can be a great help in customer lead generation. Theseservices compile lists for other businesses to be used fordirect mailing, telemarketing, or business-to-business sales. Ona more personal level, satisfied customers may tell theirfriends and family to buy from a particular business. Good wordof mouth can be the best sales lead generator.

Telemarketing is another widespread sales lead generationtechnique. This often involves someone cold calling people totell them about their products. Telemarketing has a high rate offailure, as many people do not like receiving unsolicited phonecalls. If some people do respond positively, then thetelemarketing is a success. Telemarketers benefit greatly ifthey have a list of referrals to call. This way they are notmaking purely cold calls, greatly increasing their chances ofsuccess.

Advertising is another way to generate leads. Any type ofadvertising, be it radio, print, or billboard is great forletting potential customers know what products a businessoffers. Advertising itself has become a huge business. Some ofthe most successful companies in the world are advertisingfirms.

Customer lead generation is one of the most important parts ofsales. Salespeople are much more successful if they have an ideaof who may be interested in buying their product