What Is Lead Generation? Meaning, Types and the Account-Based Alternative
Lead generation is the work of finding people who might buy from you and capturing their details, so that sales has someone worth contacting.
Short answer. Lead generation means attracting or finding potential buyers and capturing their details so sales can follow up. In B2B it runs inbound (content, search, events) or outbound (email, LinkedIn, calls). Its unit is the person. When a deal needs several people inside one company to agree, account-based selling works the named company instead.
Updated 21 Oct 2026 · By the Intandemly team
What does lead generation mean in B2B?
In B2B, lead generation means producing the names of people at companies who fit your buyer profile and who have shown interest or can be approached. A lead is usually a person with a job title, a company and a way to reach them. The aim is to give sales a steady flow of people worth a conversation.
For the wider subject, see the B2B lead generation topic hub.
What are the types of lead generation?
Lead generation is usually split by who starts the conversation and who does the work.
- Inbound: buyers come to you. Content, search, ads, webinars, events and referrals bring people to a form where they leave their details.
- Outbound: you go to buyers. Cold email, LinkedIn messages and calls reach people on a list built from a buyer description.
- Outsourced: an agency or data vendor supplies contacts or runs outreach for a fee per lead or per month.
Each type has a different cost per lead. The lead generation cost calculator works yours out from your own numbers.
What is the difference between a lead, an MQL and an SQL?
They are stages of the same person moving towards a sale.
- Lead: anyone whose details you hold and who might buy.
- MQL (marketing qualified lead): a lead whose behaviour, such as downloading a guide or visiting a pricing page, suggests interest. Marketing sets the threshold.
- SQL (sales qualified lead): a lead that sales has checked for need, authority, budget or timing and agreed to pursue.
All three describe one person. In a large B2B deal that is the weak point: an SQL can be keen while the rest of the buying committee has never heard of you. The lead qualification checklist, account edition adds the account questions to the usual ones.
What is the difference between lead generation and demand generation?
Demand generation builds awareness and need in the market before anyone is ready to buy. Lead generation captures the people who are ready, or nearly ready, and passes them to sales. Demand generation is judged over quarters, in reach and reputation. Lead generation is judged in contacts and conversion. One fills the pool and the other fishes from it. Our guide to demand generation covers the first half.
How is lead generation different from account-based selling?
Lead generation starts from a description of a buyer and asks who matches. Account-based selling starts from a list of named companies and asks who inside each one must agree. The first works one person at a time and moves on when someone goes quiet. The second maps the buying committee and approaches several people at the same account.
| Lead generation | Account-based selling | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting point | A buyer description | A list of named accounts |
| Unit of work | The person | The company |
| People per company | One, sometimes two | Several members of the buying committee |
| When a contact goes quiet | Move to the next lead | Find the next relevant person in the same account |
| What is counted | Leads, MQLs and SQLs | Accounts penetrated, active conversations, pipeline |
| Best fit | Many similar buyers, short cycle | Few large buyers, long cycle, several approvers |
The full comparison is in lead generation vs account-based selling. The lesson Leads vs Accounts: Spears, Not Nets teaches the shift step by step.
Is lead generation the same as sales?
No. Lead generation finds and qualifies people. Sales turns a qualified conversation into a signed deal. Lead generation usually stops where a salesperson takes over, often at a first call, so a full calendar is not the same as a full pipeline. That gap is the question behind are lead generation companies worth it.
If you are comparing lead generation services rather than learning the term, our lead generation page explains how we work named accounts instead.
A lead list is a set of people who match a description. When one goes quiet, the next row takes their place and nothing is learnt about the company. A named account list is a set of companies you have chosen. When one person goes quiet, you find the next relevant person in the same account, and every reply teaches you how that company buys. In our BEST SAP engagement, 800 accounts were worked and 22 were penetrated: the funnel is counted in accounts, not leads. Run the lead list vs account list check on your own list.
Related terms
- Appointment setting →
- SDR →
- Outbound sales
- Account-based selling
- Account-based marketing →
- Buying committee
- Target account list
Common questions
What is lead generation in simple words?
Lead generation is finding people who might buy from you and getting their details so your sales team can contact them.
What is B2B lead generation?
It is lead generation aimed at businesses rather than consumers. The lead is a person at a company, and the purchase usually needs more than one person at that company to agree.
What is the difference between inbound and outbound lead generation?
Inbound waits for buyers to come to you through content, search and events. Outbound goes to buyers directly through email, LinkedIn and calls, using a list built from a buyer description.
Is Intandemly a lead generation company?
No. Intandemly is the account-based selling company: a platform plus a dedicated consultant working your named accounts. We report on accounts and pipeline, not on lead volume.
When should a company move from lead generation to account-based selling?
When deals need several people to agree, sales cycles run past a few months and you can name most of the companies you want as customers. At that point one more person on a list matters less than one more person inside the right account.
Want this run on your key accounts?
Tell us which accounts matter most and we will show you how we would work them.