"Ask any salesperson if all inbound inquires are leads," writes Mac McIntosh at Sales Leads Insights, "and when he or she stops laughing, you will probably get an earful about how inquiries, unless they have been prequalified, are a waste of salespeople's time."

So why is there confusion over the definition of "lead"? McIntosh says it all began with companies that compile mailing lists and databases; they discovered it's easier to sell a list of contacts when they refer to them—euphemistically—as leads.

By setting such a low bar, they've therefore made an inbound request for information (meaning someone has expressed interest in a product or service) seem—in the minds of many marketers—like a solid lead. But that simply isn't the case from a salesperson's perspective.

"The majority of inbound inquiries need to be nurtured and qualified with outbound marketing in order to be 'qualified' as leads," he argues. In other words, inbound prospects aren't ready for Sales until they've been vetted with outbound tools such as email or telemarketing.

The Po!nt: As McIntosh sees it, the successful lead-generation program will incorporate a varied mix of inbound and outbound components.

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