We recently introduced our Pay Per Performance model which takes all of the risk off the clients and strongly motivates our team to produce results. While discussing this over and over with many prospective clients, the question of a lead vs. a reach has come up frequently and so I wanted to write a brief note to clear it up.

While it’s easy to confuse a reach with a lead, they are distinctly different, one supremely better than the other. By the explanation below, I’ll let you be the judge to decide which one is better…

Lead: It’s just that – a lead. It’s someone that may have some interest. It’s a possible business connection or a possible business development opportunity.

Reach: It’s someone reaching, interested, with a relationship already established. They already know about you, have heard about you and have a general understanding of what you do and now they want more. It’s the diamond of prospective clients that you wish you had daily.

Now let’s look at the dictionary definition of each as taken from The American Heritage College dictionary:

Lead: 9. To begin or open with. To go first or guide. 3a. Information pointing toward a possible solution; 7a. The introductory portion.

Reach: 4a. To succeed in getting in contact with or communicating with. b. To succeed in having an effect on. 3a. Range of understanding; comprehension. 1. To stretch out or put forth; extend 3. To arrive at; attain

So from the above definitions, it’s clear that a lead is the start, an introductory part or a beginning and a reach would be much further along than that and in fact is closer toward the end of the cycle. A reach entails someone reaching out for something. The introduction and start have all taken place and now it’s at the point of stretching or reaching for more.

So as it relates to business development and new client procurement, which would you rather have?

Our agency exclusively deals with reaches for our clients … not leads. Our performance model is based on number of reaches which to me, is the most valuable thing to our company and and our clients companies.

For more information about our services, click here to view a presentation on SlideShare.

How do your prospective clients find out about your company? How do you make the initial contact or the initial introduction to cultivate interest?

Times have changed. What used to work – going to companies door to door to get an appointment or cold calling a specific prospect to try to get 2 minutes are not as effective as they once were. New rules of business etiquette have interrupted these strategies. People are busy and they don’t want to be interrupted with uninvited visits or random phone calls.

We have experienced over and over that the name of the game is relationships and making smart introductions to the right people. The online world and, more specifically, new media have created an avenue to replace old systems of making introductions and building relationships with new ways that are generally acceptable in this day and age.

You don’t have to email blast 1000 people to hope for a response rate of 1-2% – you only need to make one connection, one introduction, to the right person with the right message to penetrate and gain interest and reach.

The methods of reaching out to prospective clients and making your company a known quantity as well as sparking interest have changed. Successfully adopted and utilized correctly, they will dramatically change your sales as well.