Lead generation is the work of finding people or companies that might buy from you and collecting a way to contact them. A lead is a name plus permission or a reason to follow up. Common sources are search ads, content, events, cold outreach, referrals, and partnerships. Volume alone is not the goal.
The number that matters is cost per acquired customer, not cost per lead. Work backwards. You spend 2,000 euros on ads and get 200 leads, so 10 euros per lead. If 20 percent of leads take a call, that is 40 calls. If 25 percent of those calls buy, that is 10 customers, so 200 euros per customer. If a customer pays 600 euros over their lifetime and 300 euros of that is your cost of delivery, you keep 300 euros and the channel works. Change one step and the result changes: if only 10 percent of leads take a call, you get 5 customers at 400 euros each, and the margin disappears.
Measure each step, not just the total. A cheap lead that never answers the phone is more expensive than a 40 euro lead that converts.
Leads are usually sorted by readiness. Someone who downloaded a checklist is not the same as someone who requested a price. Treat them differently: the first gets useful information over several weeks, the second gets a call within a day.
The common misunderstanding is that lead generation ends at the form. It ends when someone follows up. Response speed changes outcomes more than ad wording does, and follow-up is where small teams lose leads they already paid for. The second misunderstanding is buying contact lists. Purchased contacts have no relationship with you, may break consent rules in your country, and harm your sender reputation.
