The Total Sales Leads Guide for 2025: Types, Tips, and More

Learning how to get sales leads is the first step—and once you have them, they must be qualified and nurtured carefully to turn potential into profit.

This comprehensive guide explores everything you need to know about sales leads, from the various types to generating and transforming them into paying customers.

Want an easier way to find high-quality leads? Leadfeeder by Dealfront can help you spot and engage the right prospects before your competition does.

What is a sales lead?

What is a lead in sales? Sales leads are people or businesses that have shown a bit of interest in a product or service and may eventually become customers. While leads aren’t guaranteed customers, you can consider them opportunities to be nurtured into eventual real revenue.

However, it’s important to understand that not every lead in sales is on the same level. While one lead may be in the very early stages of understanding their pain point, another may have just come across your product while actively comparing solutions to their problem. 

They’re both leads at the end of the day, just on different sales funnel stages. Now, is that important? Absolutely. Understanding where in the leads sales journey a target is will help your team in many ways. You can tailor your messaging, for example, or make offers that are more likely to entice them.

Sales leads vs. prospects vs. sales opportunities

Not sure when to use “lead,” “prospect,” or “opportunity”? That’s probably because you’ve seen those terms used interchangeably, as they often are. You don’t want to lump them into the same category, though, as targeting one with messaging meant for another can actually hurt your sales process. 

Leads may show interest in your offering, but you don’t know for sure if they fit your buyer persona or customer profile. At this point, you haven’t determined that your solution would work for them and, if it does, that you’re even talking to the right person. They are very early in the sales process.

Vetting your leads qualifies them as prospects. In other words, a prospect is a qualified lead who’s compatible with your product or service. They need your solution and will probably buy after you make an effort to convince them.

Not sure how to qualify sales leads? Vetting may involve analyzing their: 

• Budget to know if they can afford your product or service

• Company size to confirm that they match your ideal customer profile

• Pain points to determine whether your offering solves their problems

• Decision-making authority to confirm you’re in contact with someone with the authority to make buying decisions

• Timeline to access how soon they’re looking to make that decision

If they check the right boxes, your sales lead becomes a prospect.

Sales opportunities are even more refined prospects. A prospect could fit your ideal customer profile without being ready to buy. However, sales opportunities have moved further down the sales pipeline and shown clear intent with actions like requesting a quote or booking a demo. 

In summary, sales leads, prospects, and opportunities are at different stages of the sales process. Remember that while sales opportunities have the biggest potential to become customers, sales leads and prospects need to be nurtured to create sales opportunities.

Types of sales leads

Leads can be grouped based on two other categories. The first centers on how far along they are in the buying process, while the other revolves around the content they’re consuming and, therefore, how you should tailor your marketing or sales.

We’ll use Alan, an office manager, as an example to explain these categories.

Cold leads

Cold leads know next to nothing about your business or product. They may have had little or no interaction with your marketing team or content and haven’t expressed significant interest in your offering.

Why are they considered leads, you wonder? Because, at one point or another, they still fit your buyer persona or show a bit of potential. If the concept reminds you of cold outreaches, it’s because, in both cases, you’re looking to convert a relevant contact you’ve no prior relationship with.

Let’s say Alan signed up for your mailing list on a whim while walking past your booth at a trade show. Even though he previously knew little about your company, you could still classify him as a cold lead if he works in the right industry and in a company of a size that matches your typical client.

Warm leads

A bit further down the tunnel, you get warm leads. These leads know who you are and the product you’re offering. However, like cold leads, they haven’t quite shown any significant tell-tale signs that they’re interested in buying.

Based on our example, Alan is a warm lead if he opens your marketing emails a few times or follows your company on LinkedIn. He may have even attended a webinar you hosted or downloaded a free guide from your website.

At this stage, the warm lead has shown a bit of interest and may be considering their options. However, they haven’t fully committed or taken steps that indicate they’re ready to talk to sales. So, they need to be nudged further down the line.

Hot leads

Now you’re finally getting somewhere. Hot leads are the most promising leads in your pipeline. They show strong interest and clear intent in your product or service and are even more engaged than warm leads.

If Alan agrees to hop on a sales discovery call and lets it slip out that he was mulling over switching vendors, he is a hot lead. 

At this point, Alan has displayed a strong potential for conversion, so it’s not about generating awareness or interest anymore. Instead, you should be well on your way to presenting a compelling offer.

Information qualified leads

Information qualified leads (IQL) provide their contact information in exchange for helpful information. They’re top-of-the-funnel (TOFU) leads, which means they’re not necessarily looking to buy yet—just interested in learning. 

IQLs are entering the awareness stage of the buyer’s journey and may not even know that they have a pain point that requires a solution yet. 

Let’s move on from Alan. An example of an IQL would be an HR manager visiting your website after browsing for onboarding tips for a new batch of remote employees and downloading an e-book they think will be helpful. However, to access the resource, they must provide their contact details. 

In marketing terms, that freebie is a lead magnet, and the HR manager has become an information qualified lead.

Market qualified leads

Marketing qualified leads (MQL) have interacted with your marketing efforts in a way that suggests they may be actively exploring a solution to their problem. At this point, they’ve learned about your brand and are somewhat familiar with your products. 

Think of the HR manager in our previous example. Let’s say you added them to your nurture campaign to deliver outbound marketing materials and set the stage for a relationship. 

If they read your emails and subscribe to your newsletter, or perhaps even a webinar, you may think they’re showing real interest. And, you’d be right. 

That kind of behavior bumps them from IQL to MQL. You’re not quite on the verge of closing a deal, though. MQLs still need to be nurtured and engaged to turn their interest into clear-cut intent.

Sales qualified leads

Sales qualified leads (SQL) are the closest to conversion. They’re set at (or very near) the decision stage of the buyer’s journey. That means they may have already evaluated your product alongside others and are ready to choose. 

After passing through awareness and interest, these leads are at the bottom of your B2B sales funnel (BOFU) and ready for direct sales pitches. This would be when the HR manager in our example requests a product demo tailored to their company’s needs. 

Clearly, they don’t need marketing materials or content anymore. Instead, the sales team and prospect can now specifically discuss pricing, onboarding, return on investment (ROI), and implementation timelines. 

How does sales lead generation work? 

So far, we’ve covered the various types of sales leads, from cold to hot and from information-qualified to sales-qualified, exploring their journeys through the sales process. 

But before you get down to nurturing and converting, how do you get those leads interested and warmed up to your product and business in the first place? That comes down to lead generation.

Lead generation is an umbrella term for the various methods and techniques involved in identifying potential customers and attracting their attention. It’s all about sparking interest and keeping it long enough to move your sales leads through your funnel.

Lead generation can be inbound or outbound.

The former relies on drawing leads in by providing content that they find valuable and relevant. It involves using SEO and content marketing techniques on channels like blog posts and social media. 

Inbound lead generation is a long game that focuses on building authority and trust. This attracts leads naturally when they stumble upon content that resonates or could potentially solve their problems. 

HubSpot is a leader here, with its high-quality guides on various topics that help visitors and attract them to seek solutions at the same time.

Outbound lead generation, on the other hand, is more direct. Here, campaign and performance marketers use cold calling, emailing, video prospecting, and other methods to proactively seek out leads instead of waiting for them to initiate contact.

It’s not just up to the sales team. Sales development reps and business development managers play their part, too.

Salesforce regularly sends personalized emails to decision-makers at large enterprises, offering product demos or invitations to exclusive webinars. Also, those sales reps who send you cold messages after zeroing in on your business using LinkedIn Sales Navigator are engaging in outbound lead generation.

Ultimately, the goal of lead generation is to get a steady stream of leads. Sure, they won’t all convert into paying customers. However, it’s a numbers game, and the more qualified leads you have entering your sales funnel, the higher your chances of sustained profitability.

How to generate sales leads

Lead generation cuts across the various stages of the buyer’s journey—awareness, consideration, and decision—with different tactics for each. 

Whatever the stage, you must understand not to cast a wide net, hoping something sticks. Instead, intentionally guide your leads toward a decision step by step. 

But what are sales leads strategies that work? These are our top seven methods for generating high-quality leads:

1) Create high-value content 

Content marketing is an incredibly powerful tool, so you should be among the 29% of marketers who have it locked into their arsenal. 

Relevant, original, and informative content helps potential customers in their research, so they’re likely to turn to you to learn more or make a purchase. 

To get the effect from your efforts, assume a trusted advisor role and build a customer journey into your content. That means anticipating their questions and interests at every stage and creating valuable and insightful content. 

Then, using CTAs and internal linking, you can steadily direct them toward taking action.

2) Make the most of social media 

With billions of people spending time on social media, it’s easy to see how it can be a potent lead gen tool when used with intent.

Businesses aren’t left out. Platforms like LinkedIn, X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, and even TikTok can boost your B2B lead generation with direct access to leads.

 On top of that, they can help you understand your audience, which is important if you’re looking to attract them with messaging that resonates.

But don’t just hire an intern and let them have at it. To see results:

• Optimize your profile to reflect who you are and what you offer.

• Post consistently, but focus on platforms your audience spends time on.

• Interact and engage, responding to comments and joining relevant conversations.

• Tone down the salesy approach and focus on your brand visibility and building relationships instead.

3) Tap into word-of-mouth referrals 

Current customers are often an underrated lead source, with many businesses overlooking their value beyond the revenue they bring in. 

The thing is, your existing buyers have already purchased from you and know firsthand the value you bring. As long as they’re happy with their experiences, they can be some of your best advocates. Word-of-mouth referrals will bring in high-quality leads because these prospects are more trusting from the get-go.

Reach out directly, letting them know how you would appreciate a referral. Ask while a positive experience or interaction is still fresh in their minds, and make sure to show appreciation. You can also ask for a referral immediately after closing a sale.

4) Offer incentives for referrals

Sure, happy and loyal customers may sing your praises to their friends and family if you just ask. But offering an incentive? That’s a trump card.

Dropbox is a great example because it tapped into referrals when it was still revolutionary. The file hosting provider’s rather simple program was partly responsible for an incredible 3,900% growth in just 15 months.

The strategy? It offers free storage to users who refer a friend to download Dropbox. To sweeten the deal, the leads also received free storage space when they signed up. You can also offer discounts, bonuses, free products, and exclusive access.

Other businesses in your space can also channel qualified leads into your B2B sales funnel. Form partnerships with complementary companies to create mutually beneficial referral programs, with each party getting a commission on referrals sent the other way.

5) Host webinars and workshops 

If you’re wondering, yes, webinars and workshops are still relevant today. They:

• Position you as an industry leader

• Provide an interactive platform to share insights and directly engage with your audience

• Provide a chance to showcase the workings of your product

Combine those benefits with effectively addressing topics that appeal to your ICP, and you’re well on your way to capturing highly targeted sales leads. 

Addressing the topics that appeal to your ideal customers allows you to attract an audience that’s already interested in what you can offer, so you can skip the awareness phase. And think about it; the more value you provide to attendees, the more likely it is that they’ll share your content and invite their network to subsequent events.

6) Attend trade shows and events 

Understandably, in-person events aren’t as trendy as they used to be, with everything seemingly going online. Still, there’s nothing like good old-fashioned face-to-face interactions for meeting leads and building relationships with them.

The concentrated pool of potential leads at trade shows, workshops, conferences, and industry meetups can be a goldmine. You can network, engage with delegates and decision-makers, and catch body language cues you might have missed online.

But how do you make the most of it? Many marketers talk down on live events because they just show up and wing it. Instead, build a strong process and consider the right questions:

• Do you know the companies attending and if they matter to you? 

• What kind of content are you bringing along? 

• How will you direct foot traffic to your booth and retain attention? 

• On-site demos or not? 

Plan everything to a tee, and you’re bound to enjoy a significant ROI.

7) Re-engage old leads that didn’t convert 

Fantastic product and marketing or not, you’ll lose a few leads along the way. But just because they didn’t convert the first time doesn’t mean they’re gone forever. It could be that the timing wasn’t right, or they didn’t have the budget to make a purchase when starting out. 

Whatever the case may be, there’s no harm in reaching out again. In fact, you should make a point to engage “lost” leads every few months unless they’ve firmly made it clear they’re uninterested and won’t budge. Keep the tone low-pressure and drop a hook, or let them know what’s changed.  

How to develop sales leads into conversions

Having quality leads in your sales process is great, but do you know what’s even better? That’s right. Closing them. 

Until your sales leads make a purchase, you only have potential, and that does nothing for your bottom line.

Below are a few ways to get positive results in the decision stage.

1) Score and prioritize your leads

Generating and converting leads can be very demanding, so you want to be sure that you’re directing your efforts in the right direction. Lead scoring determines interest and intent by assigning value to each lead in your funnel. 

While you can do this manually, the best lead scoring tools accurately capture interest and intent. They also integrate with major CRM and marketing automation solutions.

2) Nurture with value

Spamming your leads with emails until they cave is played out—and rarely works. Providing value is how you build trust. So, your lead nurturing strategy should be about cultivating mutually beneficial relationships throughout the buyer’s journey. 

You do that by delivering helpful, relevant content that solves their problems.

3) Make your website conversion-friendly

B2B buyers are usually deep into their buying research before reaching out to sales, and much of that research is done on your website. Considering that, your site needs to do more than look good. 

Instead, it should give leads exactly what they need to reach a decision. So, clarity over fluff. Make finding product information, pricing, case studies, guides, and answers to FAQs straightforward. 

What’s more, every page should include a clear next step to nudge sales leads in B2B markets into booking a demo, downloading a lead magnet, requesting a quote, or contacting customer support.

4) Personalize the journey

You’ll appreciate personalization when you realize how easy it is for potential buyers to ignore generic outreach. Understand that you’re not reaching out to a crowd but to companies with specific goals and challenges. Your messaging must reflect that.

It goes way beyond adding “Hi [First Name]” to emails. Did someone attend your webinar? Reference that in your email. Did a prospect download a pricing sheet? Send them use cases that align with their interests or intent. This sort of personal approach is more likely to trigger a positive response.

5) Follow up with purpose

All too often, businesses make the mistake of treating follow-ups as an afterthought rather than a proven driver of higher conversion rates.

Work on a balance in terms of frequency and intensity. That means avoiding the vague “just checking up” email weeks after a lead has gone cold. Then again, you don’t want to bombard them with daily messages, as that can quickly become annoying and counterproductive. 

So, make it count; personalize your follow-up based on where they left off and include a clear CTA.

Should you purchase from a sales leads database?

Previous sections explored several valuable tips for generating in-house. That said, certain solutions allow you to purchase leads directly.

So, you have the option of purchasing from a sales leads database—but should you?

The case for buying leads

Buying leads makes sense when speed and scale are your top priorities, especially when breaking into a new market with an empty pipeline and tight budget.

It can quickly expand your total addressable market (TAM) and help you skip the time-consuming task of digging up contact data. That means you can get to your meaningful outreach right away with pre-vetted B2B sales leads.

On top of that, top-tier solutions come with performance dashboards to help you monitor and analyze your lead gen success. 

The case against buying leads

If those benefits sound too good to be true, that’s because they can be. Buying sales leads is a risky game when you don’t do your homework and pick the wrong vendors.

The thing is, certain databases are outdated, inaccurate, and riddled with contacts who have no interest in what you’re selling. 

Buying from such a database will waste time and drain your resources, in addition to frustrating your sales team. On top of that, you risk damaging your reputation when your cold outreach comes off as spammy and intrusive to uninterested contacts.

Top B2B sales leads trends in 2025

Marketing methods have to move fast to keep up with emerging technology and strategies. Let’s briefly take a look at the lead gen, nurturing, and conversion trends that you need to be keeping your eyes on:

1) AI and automation

AI is making significant strides in lead generation and nurturing. While earlier automation increased efficiency, it was clunky and robotic. Now, AI is enabling smarter, more personalized interactions. 

How? The use cases are incredibly far-reaching. For example, using machine learning, AI tools can predict what content resonates better with leads and which leads are more likely to convert. 

2) Buyer intent data

Wouldn’t it be great if you could tell which leads are actually looking for what you’re offering, even before they fill out a form? Well, you can, with buyer intent data. 

Intent data tracks real-time behavior (like repeat visits or specific searches) to help you pinpoint interest and stage in the buyer’s journey. 

Based on that, you can fine-tune your personalization efforts to hit the right notes even faster. With tools like Leadfeeder, you can tell what companies visit your website and what they do there. 

3) Video

Granted, video isn’t quite an “emerging” trend. Still, it has now moved past being a nice-to-have to becoming essential for capturing and converting B2B leads.

Video helps to simplify complex ideas and can help build trust fast. It also keeps visitors on your site longer and can signal strong buying interest. 

How to find sales leads with Leadfeeder by Dealfront

Leadfeeder by Dealfront gives you a clear window into who’s visiting your site and what interests them. It goes beyond basic traffic reports to map anonymous visits to actual companies and pulls in verified contacts from its built-in B2B database with GDPR compliant data.

You’ll get access to decision-makers, complete with job titles and company info. On top of that, you’ll get automatic lead scoring and integrations with CRMs and email marketing platforms. So once you’ve identified high-intent visitors, you can act fast and drop them into tailored workflows without skipping a beat.

Sales leads: Final thoughts

In this guide, we’ve comprehensively covered sales leads, from what they are to the generation and nurturing strategies that will help you close them. 

Armed with the right tools and solutions, you can get there faster. Leadfeeder by Dealfront moves the needle by helping you find and score high-quality leads.

Interested in seeing how it can help? Request a demo or sign up for a free trial now.