Lead generation — acquiring potential customers

What is lead generation?

Lead generation (lead gen) is the process of attracting potential customers (leads) and collecting their contact details in exchange for value — most often content (whitepaper, ebook, webinar, demo). It's the first phase of the marketing funnel, preceding nurturing and sales.

Lead classification

• Cold lead — visited the site but didn't leave details
• MQL (Marketing Qualified Lead) — left details, matches ICP, but not buying yet
• SQL (Sales Qualified Lead) — ready for a sales conversation
• Opportunity — in the sales funnel with probability of closing
• Customer — bought

Main lead gen channels

Inbound (customer comes to you)

• SEO — long-tail queries from buyer in research phase
• Content marketing — blog, whitepapers, ebooks, topical authority
• Lead magnet — valuable content in exchange for email
• Webinars — live + recording lead capture
• Free tools / calculators — useful interactive tools

Outbound (you reach the customer)

• Cold email / LinkedIn outreach — sequence with personalization
• Paid ads — Google Ads, LinkedIn Ads, Meta Ads
• ABM — hyper-targeted on accounts from TAL
• Direct mail — still effective in premium B2B

Key KPIs

• CPL (Cost Per Lead) — cost of acquiring one lead
• Form CR — % visitors → leads
• MQL → SQL % — % qualified onward
• Lead-to-customer rate — % total conversion
• Time to conversion — average time from first touch to purchase

Related terms

• B2B marketing — broader context
• ABM — Account-Based Marketing
• CRM — lead management system
• Conversion rate — funnel KPI
• Marketing funnel — full path
• Lead magnet — content bait