Generating Sales Leads

Generating Sales Leads

Generating sales leads is a process of contacting and collecting information about prospective clients. In larger companies, generating sales leads is the job of the marketing department, since they're in charge of creating all advertising and outreach materials. However, in smaller companies, the salesmen usually do their own sales lead generation.

There are several established techniques for generating sales leads:
* Networking
* Advertising (TV/print/Web)
* Telemarketing and teleprospecting
* Direct mail, fax or e-mail marketing campaigns
* Web sites and search engine optimization
* Buying a sales lead list

Generating sales leads usually begins with networking. This is as simple as contacting your family, friends, acquaintances and existing clients and inquiring if they know anyone who may have interest in your product or service [source: startupnation]. These referrals are also called sales tips.

Aside from networking, trade shows are wonderful opportunities for business-to-business (B2B) networking. Just by setting up a place at a trade show, you can accumulate contact information from a number of potential buyers and business partners [source: startupnation].


VIA How Stuff Works: Generating Sales Leads

Keyword: sales leads