A Contact Is Not a Lead... But You Probably Have More Leads Than You Think [Ep. 385]
If you keep telling yourself you need more leads, there’s a good chance you’re overlooking people who are already showing you they’re interested. In this episode of The Real Truth About Business podcast, I’m breaking down the difference between a contact and a lead, and why recognizing buying signals earlier can completely change your pipeline. Service-based entrepreneurs often wait until someone books a discovery call, requests a proposal, or says, “I think I need to hire you,” before considering them a lead. That’s way too late. After 9 years of experience working with business owners, I’ve seen how much revenue growth gets left on the table because potential buyers aren’t being identified, nurtured, or followed up with. Your business strategy and lead generation process need to account for the quieter signals too. Email replies, questions, workshop attendance, content engagement, and conversations about problems you solve can all indicate interest. You may not need significantly more leads. You may need to recognize and intentionally nurture the ones already hiding in your network.
What You'll Learn:
- How to distinguish a business contact from an actual lead in your pipeline
- Which buying signals indicate someone may be interested before they explicitly ask to hire you
- Why waiting for someone to request a proposal or sales call can cost you revenue opportunities
- How to identify potential leads hiding in your emails, DMs, calendar, and existing network
- Why leads can be cold, warm, or hot and still deserve a place in your lead generation strategy
- How intentional follow-up and nurturing can improve your sales process without becoming pushy
Episode Highlights:
[00:00] Introduction: Why you're probably identifying leads too late
[01:30] The difference between a contact and a lead
[03:00] Buying signals you're probably overlooking
[04:00] A real example of someone quietly identifying herself as a potential lead
[05:15] Why your pipeline may already have more opportunities than you realize
[06:15] Following up doesn't mean immediately asking someone to buy
[07:15] How to audit your calendar, emails, and DMs for hidden leads
[08:15] Why intentional listening is essential for identifying buying signals
[09:00] The difference between treating someone like a contact versus a lead
[09:30] Wrap-up: Find the leads already hiding in your business
Key Takeaways:
A Contact and a Lead Are Not the Same Thing
Most of us have plenty of contacts.
They're people in our communities, social media followers, people we've met networking, email subscribers, former colleagues, and other business owners we've connected with.
But a contact becomes a lead when they demonstrate some level of interest, need, engagement, or another buying signal.
That's the distinction.
The problem is that many business owners wait until someone says, “I'm interested in hiring you,” books a discovery call, or requests a proposal before moving them into the lead category.
Your leads are showing up much earlier than that.
Start Paying Attention to Buying Signals
Someone doesn't need to explicitly tell you they're ready to buy before you consider them a lead.
Maybe they're consistently engaging with your content.
They're replying to your emails.
They're clicking links.
They're attending your workshops or conversion events.
They're asking questions about your service.
Or they're having a conversation with you and saying something like:
“Oh my gosh, that sounds exactly like what I need.”
That's a buying signal.
It doesn't necessarily mean they're ready to hire you today. It means they've demonstrated enough interest that you should start paying attention.
Inside the Focused Visionary Framework, this is an important part of the Pipeline pillar. You need to recognize when someone moves from simply being aware of you into demonstrating genuine interest in what you solve.
Someone Can Be a Lead Without Being Ready to Buy
There are different temperatures of leads.
Some are hot and ready to make a decision.
Others are warm.
Some are still very cool.
They can all belong in your pipeline.
I recently had an email conversation with someone while explaining my shift into more profit strategy work. She told me she had no idea whether her business was actually profitable or even how to calculate it.
Then she asked me to keep her updated as I continued developing this side of my business.
Did she say, “Michelle, I want to hire you”?
No.
But she literally told me she has the exact problem I'm building solutions around.
That's a potential lead.
Maybe she isn't ready today. But if that problem becomes more important in a few months, she's eventually going to start looking for a solution.
My job is to make sure she knows I can help solve it.
Follow-Up Doesn't Mean “Hey, Do You Want to Buy?”
This is where people get uncomfortable.
You identify someone as a lead and immediately think you have to start selling them.
You don't.
Following up can mean continuing the conversation.
It can mean asking another question.
It can mean remembering what they told you.
It can mean sending them a relevant resource.
Or it can mean reaching out months later when you've created something directly related to the problem they mentioned.
You could say:
“You mentioned a few months ago that you were struggling with this. I created something specifically around that problem, and I thought of you.”
That's not random outreach.
You're paying attention.
And you're giving someone the opportunity to decide whether your solution is relevant to them.
The Best Follow-Up Starts With Listening
I've personally told multiple people in recent months that I'm a potential lead for their businesses.
Nobody has followed up.
Why?
They may not have recognized the buying signal because I wasn't explicitly saying, “I'm ready to hire you.”
That's why identifying leads requires intentional listening.
If someone tells you they have the exact problem your service solves, listen.
If they tell you they're interested in what you're doing, listen.
If they ask you to keep them updated, listen.
People want to feel seen and heard. Remembering what someone told you and following up accordingly can be far more effective than waiting for them to eventually come back and ask how they can hire you.
Your Pipeline May Not Be as Empty as You Think
When clients inside the Focused Visionary Accelerator tell me, “I need more leads,” I want to know whether they actually need more people or whether they haven't identified the leads already around them.
This connects directly to the Pipeline and Sales pillars of the Focused Visionary Framework.
You absolutely need new people entering your world.
But before you pour all of your energy into more lead generation, look at who's already there.
You may have people actively demonstrating interest who haven't made it into your lead tracker because you're waiting for a much stronger buying signal.
Don't overlook the opportunities you've already created.
Go Find the Leads Hiding in Your Business
Here's your action step from this episode.
Go back through your calendar.
Look at the conversations you've had recently.
Go through your email inbox.
Review your DMs.
Think about coffee chats, networking conversations, workshops, and other interactions.
Who has mentioned a problem you solve?
Who asked questions about your work?
Who said something you offer sounds like exactly what they need?
Who asked you to keep them updated?
Who has consistently engaged with something connected to your offer?
Move those people into your lead tracker and decide what the appropriate next step is.
That doesn't mean aggressively selling every person.
It means recognizing that they're no longer simply a contact.
Treat Leads Like Leads
A lead is someone who has demonstrated some level of interest or given you a buying signal.
The moment you recognize that signal, it's your responsibility to determine the appropriate next step.
Maybe they need nurturing.
Maybe they need another conversation.
Maybe they need follow-up.
Maybe they're ready for an offer.
But if you continue treating every potential lead like a casual contact, you're leaving the responsibility entirely on them to eventually come back and tell you they're ready.
Your lead generation strategy shouldn't depend on that.
Before you decide your pipeline is empty, go find the opportunities that are already there.
You probably have more leads than you think.
Resources Mentioned
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