What are Business Leads (B2B Leads)?

A business (B2B) lead is the identification of a business that has the interest and authority to purchase a product or service. The identification of the business lead is referred to as Lead Generation, a process conducted by either the marketing or sales organization.

Business leads come from either lead generation companies processes such as trade shows, direct marketing, advertising, Internet marketing, or from sales person prospecting activities such as cold calling or making a connection through a social network.

Once a qualified lead exists, additional operations may be performed such as background research on the business, general market of the lead, contact information beyond that provided initially or other information useful for contacting and evaluating a lead for elevation to prospect, the next sales step.

A company's lead generation efforts and its approach to dealing with leads can significantly impact its success in the marketplace. To that end, most organizations try to establish effective practices involving Lead Generation and lead murturing.