What is lead generation?

Lead generation is the collection of contact information for potential customers (or leads) to your business and nurturing those potential customers until they become paying customers. Leads are essential to the success of any business. They represent potential income and we need them to have a healthy business. Getting in front of those potential customers says "I'm here and ready to serve."

How do they become leads?

The easiest way to get a lead is when they are looking for your service. If the water heater goes out, the potential customer is going to look for a plumber. Car breaks down, they need a tow truck. When they look - you want to be at the top of the list.

But in a business like real estate, it is usually not as immediate as a breakdown. So we need to get in front of the leads somehow. That can be done through a value provided. If a realtor is looking for business, the realtor needs to demonstrate value and trust to the potential leads by providing good information about loan programs or showcasing the hot communities in town. If your business is a fabric store, you provide a newsletter with patterns and sowing groups dates. To get this information from the realtor or the fabric store, a lead needs to provide contact information. They sign up for the distribution list and you then have a lead to nurture.