--- title: The Ultimate Cheat Sheet For Inbound Lead Generation description: Having an Inbound lead generation strategy in place will help to keep your business from falling into slimy sales routines we all know and love (hate). image: https://www.stratusinteractive.com/hs-fs/hub/208414/file-2380745807.jpg --- [![Stratus Interactive](https://www.stratusinteractive.com/hubfs/raw_assets/public/rename-old-files/assets/psd-header-logo.png)](http://www.stratusinteractive.com/) [Our Work](http://www.stratusinteractive.com/our-work)[Services](http://www.stratusinteractive.com/services)[About Us](http://www.stratusinteractive.com/about-us)[Learn](http://www.stratusinteractive.com/learn)[Blog](http://www.stratusinteractive.com/blog)[Contact](http://www.stratusinteractive.com/contact) STRATUS BLOG # The Ultimate Cheat Sheet For Inbound Lead Generation By Emmett Hughes · Jan 22, '15 [← Back to Blog](http://www.stratusinteractive.com/blog) [Inbound Marketing](http://www.stratusinteractive.com/blog/topic/inbound-marketing) It’s the end of a very long workday. You crack open a cold soda and just as you’re about to turn on Seinfeld and kick your feet up, you receive a phone call. It’s Sports Illustrated, inquiring if you’d like to subscribe to 2 years of their magazine. ![TVWatcher](https://www.stratusinteractive.com/hs-fs/hub/208414/file-2380745807.jpg) After you’re done explaining to the representative the proper way to pronounce your last name, you confess that you’re not much of a sports fan. Upon hanging up the phone, you’re left with a bad taste in your mouth and begin to ask yourself a series of questions. *Where did they get my information?* *Why did they just assume I enjoy sports?* *How much of Seinfeld did I just miss?* This annoying interruption in your night is exactly why we’re talking about [inbound lead generation](http://www.stratusinteractive.com/blog/bid/374361/Inbound-Lead-Generation-How-it-Works-How-Much-it-Costs)– a solution that will keep your business from falling into these slimy sales routines we all know and love- err, hate. ### **What is a lead?** Lets start by defining exactly what a lead is. A lead is a potential sales contact (typically an individual or organization) that expresses an interest in your goods or services. This means that instead of receiving a phone call from an organization they have no affiliation with; a true lead will receive correspondence from a business they've already expressed interest in. For example: If you took a short survey about sports on the Sports Illustrated website, you may have expected to hear from them in regards to your reading preferences. From a business standpoint, by filling out the survey, Sports Illustrated is able to personalize the connection that has already been established. A win-win for both sides allowing for the business to properly communicate and market to the potential customer. ### **Why do you need lead generation?** You need lead generation to effectively grow your business. All organizations need lead gen. and it’s silly to get into the business of anything without a plan of attack for generating leads (unless you plan on *going out of business*). Lead generation is a way of warming up your visitors to your products and services, placing them on the appropriate path to eventually making a purchase. When it comes to inbound lead generation *the key is to have your potential customer make the first move*, making it easier for them to decide to make a purchase from you somewhere down the road.  Now that we know what a lead is and why inbound lead generation is important we can go through the process of qualifying a lead, and it’s quite simple. ### **How do you qualify a lead?** Leads come in many different shapes and sizes, and are often qualified using the information that we already know about them (If you don't know much about the lead you don't need to worry). Information can be gathered in many different ways, (surveys, calculators, etc) but when implementing a [inbound marketing strategy](http://www.stratusinteractive.com/blog/3-inbound-marketing-tips-for-the-overwhelmed-ceo), we recommend using content offers. Content offers are a great way to gather information and are proven to harvest essential consumer information. To access the remarkable content you're creating, the visitor must fill out a form, which will give the sales team everything they need to personalize the conversation and move the lead down the sales funnel. ![Info](https://www.stratusinteractive.com/hs-fs/hub/208414/file-2378495100.jpg) ### **3 Simple Steps To Get Started** 1. Build Remarkable Content For Visitors 2. Gather Qualifying Information 3. Create a Personalized Buying Experience ## Explore More Browse more strategy, design, and inbound articles from Stratus. [View All Posts](http://www.stratusinteractive.com/blog) ![Emmett Hughes](https://www.stratusinteractive.com/hs-fs/file-2132366381-jpg/images/emmett.jpg) ## About the Author ### Emmett Hughes Emmett Hughes is a Thinker at Stratus Interactive in West Chester, PA. In his spare time he enjoys Philadelphia sports teams, collecting rare vinyl and spending time with his friends and family. [More from this author](http://www.stratusinteractive.com/blog/author/emmett-hughes) EXPERIENCE THE MARKETING REVOLUTION © 2026 Stratus Interactive 610.692.6229f  t  in  g+