Lead Generation
Also called Lead Gen
The work of attracting and capturing potential customers' interest and contact details, so you can nurture them toward a sale. Inbound pulls them in; outbound reaches out.
Why it matters
Lead generation feeds the sales pipeline, so its volume and quality set the ceiling on revenue. The key is generating leads that actually fit your customer, since a flood of poor leads just wastes sales time.
For example
A B2B startup offers a free payroll-cost calculator that captures the email of every finance manager who tries it.
Go deeper
Related terms
Also in Starting Up
See how founders actually handle this on Growing and marketing, part of the Starting Up hub.
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