In brief: A lead is a potential customer for whom the company has captured contact details and a signal of relevant interest. The precise boundary must be shared by marketing and sales.
How I use a Lead in practice
First, I define with sales which signal is enough for handover and which details are genuinely needed. Downloading general material, requesting a quotation, and repeatedly visiting a price list are not the same situation. I therefore do not assess a lead only by the number of points. I need to know the need, timing, offer fit, and agreed next step. After handover, I track what sales learned; without this feedback, marketing optimises forms, not quality.
What to watch for
When every contact is called a lead, the chart rises and trust between teams falls. The opposite problem arises when sales recognises only a person ready to buy immediately. The definition must distinguish stages and determine who nurtures the contact.
Questions for decisions
- What specific signal of interest do we have?
- Does the person or company fit the offer?
- Who will take the next step, and by when?
- Does sales return the reason for success or rejection to marketing?