Lead generation is theprocess of attracting and converting strangers and prospects into those leads we just talked about. It’s a way of warming up potential customers to your business and getting them on the path to eventually buying.

By showing an organic interest in your business, it’s those strangers and prospects that are initiating the relationship with you versus you, the business, initiating the relationship with them. This makes it easier and more natural for them to want to buy from you somewhere down the line.

Essentially, a lead is generated through information collection. That information collection could come as the result of a job seeker showing interest in a position by completing an application for the job, a shopper sharing contact information in exchange for a coupon, or a person filling out a form to download an educational piece of content, like an ebook, kit, podcast, tool, trial, or something else.

Now that we understand how lead generation fits into the whole inbound marketing methodology, let’s review the actual components of the lead generation process.