The world of sales is rapid-fire — rata-tat-tat, just like a machine gun. You can’t afford to waste time targeting trying to sell to the wrong people and trying to build the wrong customers. What you need is to establish sales leads. 

Sales leads — you’ve heard the term before, but the meaning might elude you. What are sales leads? If you’ve found yourself asking this question, you’ve come to the right place. 

This article will walk you through a brief introduction to the different types of sales leads

What Are Sales Leads? 

Business sales leads are people or companies that fit right in the wheelhouse of your ideal customer. They’re not quite customers yet — they’re not even prospects. However, they are options, and you’re going to get to work on them. 

These are people who might have expressed an interest in your business. They might not even know your business exists. However, if they walk by, if you give them a call, or if they hear about you — they’ll be interested. 

Now, let’s take a look at the main types of leads.

Cold Leads

Cold leads are the ones listed above who don’t quite know what you’re all about yet. They fit your profile but don’t quite trust you yet, so they might act a little cold. It’s going to take a lot of persistence to get them to warm to you and become customers. 

(Fun fact: have you ever heard of cold-calling? They’re titled for similar reasons!)

Hot Leads

Hot leads are your bread and butter. These are people who’ve called your company or walked in wanting to know more. They’re interested, they just need to be reminded who you are. 

Leads don’t stay hot forever though. While they’re easier to convert into customers than cold leads, they’re also more time-sensitive. 

Warm Leads

Warm leads are in-betweeners. They’ve heard of your company, perhaps they even have friends who like your company, but they’re not actively interested quite yet. They require you to light that spark and turn them into customers.

These can be some of the most fun leads to work on. You can watch the process of someone turning from interested to ecstatic. 

Information Qualified Leads

Information qualified leads are people who aren’t necessarily interested in you but want to find more information. Once they call your business for information, you’re able to put your hooks in. 

Check out this website we found to learn about the best business sales leads. 

Sales Ready Lead

A sales-ready lead could just be the best type of lead there is. They’re the people who have actively sought out your company and researched what to do. They come to you, ready to make a deal. 

Marketing Qualified Leads

These are the leads that show up when your marketing pays off. Someone saw a social media ad, commercial, or banner, and called for more information. With the right strategy, you can turn these into prospects.

Sales Qualified Leads

Sales qualified leads are like toned-back versions of sales-ready leads. They’ve called looking to learn more information, but they’re not quite over-the-edge for you. 

Generate Sales Leads For Profit 

Now you know the answers to the questions, “what are sales leads?” You need to acquire several different types of leads in order to succeed in business. You also need to learn how to deal with each type of lead. Once you deal with sales lead management, you’re ready to shine. 

For more articles like this, check out our business section.