Lead
A lead is a person who has shown interest in your business and shared contact information — a name, phone number, or email you can follow up with.
What it actually means
A lead sits between a stranger and a customer: they've raised their hand — filled out a form, called, messaged, requested a quote — and given you permission and means to follow up. Leads are the primary product of local service marketing, since the actual sale closes later, by phone or in person. Not all leads are equal, which is why CPL alone can mislead; a campaign producing $15 leads that never answer the phone is worse than one producing $60 leads that book. Judging lead sources on qualification and close rate, and responding fast while interest is hot, is where lead generation becomes revenue generation.
Track every lead to its outcome, even in a simple spreadsheet — knowing that Instagram leads book 30% of the time and directory leads 5% changes where next month's budget goes.
Related terms
CPL is the average cost to generate one lead, calculated as total ad spend divided by the number of leads collected.
A lead form is a native Meta form that opens inside Facebook or Instagram, pre-filled with the user's info, so people can submit without leaving the app.
Speed to lead is how fast you respond to a new inquiry — responding within minutes dramatically raises the odds a lead becomes a customer.
A marketing funnel is the staged path from stranger to customer — awareness, consideration, conversion — with fewer people at each step down.
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