Whether you’re an advanced lead generation master or a beginner, there are three things you need to keep in mind if you don’t want to rely on a lead generation company. I consider these points Lead Generation 101. One you understand these three facts, you’ll be ready to start learning about lead generation strategy.

Three Lead Generation 101 Facts

The three things to remember are:

1. Lead generation is just the beginning,
2. it works for every industry, and
3. it’s not that hard.

1. It’s just the beginning.

The most important fact of Lead Generaton 101 is that lead generation is only one piece of the puzzle! That’s because lead generation doesn’t close deals.

A study by Gleanster Research found that “50% of leads are qualified but not yet ready to buy.” That means that, if you aren’t nurturing your leads, you’re leaving half of your sales on the table.

It could be that they’re just not ready to buy, or maybe they’re not ready to buy from you. And the same logic applies to fundraising and mobilizing voters. Just because someone gives you their information at a rally doesn’tmean they’re ready to vote for your candidate or write a check.

If you need people to do something, you need to know how to generate leads and close them.

To do that, you’ll need to implement solid lead management strategies. Because that’s how you’ll keep your brand top-of-mind with your prospects. Then you can send targeted messages to them when they’re ready to take it to the next level.

2. It works for every industry.

My goal is here is to help you make sure you have a handle on every step of the process, from generating, to nurturing, to closing leads. To do that, I’m going to cover universal principles of lead generation that apply to every industry.

That’s right. Lead generation concepts are universal.

Whether you’re a digital marketing strategist for a SaaS company, a field director for a political campaign, an attorney hanging out a shingle, or anything else you’ll be able to apply these concepts to your business (or campaign or nonprofit).

Your specific strategies will vary, but the concepts stay the same.

3. It’s not that hard.

I see a lot of lead generation professionals refer to the concept of a “funnel” to describe the structure of their individual campaigns. I see Facebook ads all the time talking about building a funnel for this or a funnel for that, or offering a funnel “blueprint” or a funnel library.

Here’s a stunning Lead Generation 101 insight for you: funnels are pretty simple.

And you really only need three.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that lead generation is easy. All I’m saying is this: lead generation isn’t rocket science.

Don’t believe the hype. If you’re willing to put in the time, you can learn how to generate more leads (and close them). And the best way to get started is by reading my free 4,000+ word guide: The Ultimate Lead Generation Guide: How to Get Leads Online.

It will teach you:

• how to build a funnel,
• the only three funnels you need for perpetual lead generation,
• how to qualify leads so that you don’t waste time or money,
• how to use marketing automation to generate leads while you sleep,
• and much more (like lead scoring and landing page fundamentals)

Most people would probably package an article like this as an ebook and sell it for $47. And even if you only learn how to build a funnel it’ll be worth 100 times more than that. So check it out and let me know what you think.