Getting Leads: Step 1 of the Loop Selling Process

Sales is like farming. You don’t get a harvest without planting seeds. In business, those seeds are your leads. They are the people and companies who might one day buy from you. Without them, there is no pipeline, no nurturing, no conversion, nothing. That’s why getting leads is the first step in the Loop Selling process.

What a Lead Really Means

A lead is not just a phone number or an email you picked up somewhere. It’s a person or business that matches your ideal customer profile. They might not be ready to buy today, but they have the potential to do so.

There are three main types:

• Cold leads – people who don’t know you exist yet. You have to introduce yourself and spark interest.

• Warm leads – they know about you, maybe visited your website or clicked an ad. They’re curious, but not yet convinced.

• Hot leads – ready to buy, usually after multiple touchpoints.

Knowing the difference helps you avoid wasting energy. A cold lead requires education, while a hot lead just needs a good offer and quick closing.

How to Get Leads

There’s no single formula. Businesses that rely on one channel usually struggle. The smart play is to use a mix of methods:

Outbound Prospecting

Cold calling, emailing, and LinkedIn outreach. It’s direct and you control the pace. If you target correctly, outbound gives you instant conversations. But it’s heavy on time and energy.

Inbound Marketing

Here, the leads come to you. Content, blogs, SEO, social media posts, and webinars bring people into your world. It’s slower to build but more sustainable, because people who come inbound are often more serious.

Referrals

If you already have happy customers, you’re sitting on a goldmine. People trust recommendations from people they know more than any ad. The problem is most businesses don’t ask for referrals.

Paid Ads

Google Ads, Facebook Ads, and TikTok campaigns give you reach almost instantly. The catch is cost. If your funnel isn’t optimized, you’ll waste money.

Events and Networking

Webinars, expos, and industry events are underrated. They create face-to-face trust that emails can’t. Even a single strong relationship from an event can be more valuable than hundreds of cold calls.

AI and Automation

This is the new game-changer. Tools like Trembi Sales AI can research, find prospects, reach out, and follow up automatically. Instead of hiring five extra salespeople, you can let the AI run your outreach 24/7. That means small teams can compete with big players without draining resources.

Why Lead Quality Matters More Than Quantity

Thousands of unqualified leads will sink your sales team. The goal isn’t just to get leads, it’s to get the right ones. You need to ask:

• Do they have the budget?

• Are they the decision maker?

• Do they actually need what I’m selling?

• Is the timing right?

This early filter saves you months of chasing dead ends.

The Role of Technology

Lead generation without tools is like fishing without a net. You might get lucky once, but you won’t scale. At a minimum, you need:

• CRM – to capture, track, and organize every lead.

• Automation – to handle follow-ups, reminders, and nurture campaigns.

• AI – to do the heavy lifting of finding and engaging prospects at scale.

With Trembi, you can get all three in one place. That means instead of juggling multiple apps, you can run everything under one roof.

Common Mistakes Businesses Make

1. Buying contact lists – they’re full of dead emails and people who never asked to hear from you.

2. Over-relying on one channel – when it fails, your pipeline dries up.

3. Slow follow-ups – today’s buyers expect speed. If you wait a week, they’re gone.

4. No clear ICP – if you’re trying to sell to everyone, you end up selling to no one.

What to Track and Measure

Lead generation is not just about numbers. It’s about performance. The key metrics include:

• Volume – how many leads are coming in.

• Cost per lead – how much you spend to get one.

• Conversion rate – how many turn into paying customers.

• Engagement – are they opening, clicking, replying, or ignoring you?

If your leads aren’t moving through the pipeline, you don’t have a lead problem. You have a targeting problem.

Connecting to the Bigger Loop

Getting leads is the engine that powers the rest of the Loop Selling process. Once you have leads, you move to nurturing. Without a steady stream of quality leads, the rest of the loop breaks.

Think of it this way: a weak pipeline forces you to discount, rush deals, or accept bad-fit customers. A strong pipeline gives you choice, confidence, and better long-term revenue.

Final Word

Lead generation is not just the first step of Loop Selling. It’s the lifeblood of your business. The companies that master it never worry about running out of customers. And with tools like Trembi Sales AI, even small businesses can build pipelines that run on autopilot, keeping the loop alive day and night.