What is a lead?
There are different definitions of the term lead from various sales experts. In our work, we define a lead as a contact who is in some way interested in our products or services. Interest can be expressed in various ways: Be it through a completed contact form, an email from the customer, a phone call or a personal phone call with a binding appointment and documentation of contact details. A lead is therefore a "contact record" of a potential customer who is actually likely to close a deal.
How are leads categorized?
In classic sales theory, leads are divided into the categories cold, warm and hot, depending on the quality of the underlying probability of closing the deal:
- Cold lead: A telephone or email inquiry from a potential customer, where it is not apparent whether there is a desire to buy or a direct interest.
- Warm lead: The customer's inquiry is specifically related to the products / services and he interest is clearly present. This is made clear, for example, by targeted questions, appointments or descriptions of requirements.
- Hot lead: The customer becomes specific and definitely wants to do business. According to the 5 phases of cold calling, this is phase 5.
The referral lead is another category from the field of networking: These are customers to whom the company has been recommended by their network, so that this fact can be used as an opening for a conversation.
Further references:
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leadgenerierung
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