Lead management is the process of managing leads, constantly and equally.

Lead management is the process of capturing leads, tracking and managing prospective customers, qualifying them, giving them constant attention to make them sales-ready, and then passing them on to the sales team.

Sometimes referred to as customer acquisition management or contact management, it generally encompasses the following processes:

• Lead generation: Businesses create consumer interest and inquiry into products or services through a range of marketing tactics.
• Customer inquiry and capture: Consumers of marketing respond with interest and their data is recorded. This creates a sales lead.
• Filtering, grading, distribution, and contact: Leads are sorted by the validity of the request, prioritized based on likelihood of becoming a customer, and then dispersed to sales reps to be contacted.
• Lead nurturing: Leads are sorted by contacted or un-contacted and scheduled for follow-up processes.

If the process ends with a sale, the lead has successfully traveled down the sales funnel and emerged as a customer. Follow up is critical to maintaining high levels of customer satisfaction and sales efficiency.