how long it takes to turn leads into active customers will depend on your business model type of products or services ideal customer and the cost of a purchase it will be easier for example to turn a lead into a customer for a 5 product than for a 500 product because most consumers take longer to make big purchasing decisions leads may need to be exposed to your brand or product seven or more times before they are ready to become an active customer 
the bottom linea sales lead is a person or business entity that may become a client or customer but isn t one now it can also refer to the data that a company holds which identifies potential buyers companies use many methods to acquire leads including advertising direct response marketing email marketing social media and cold calls the quality of a sales lead is determined by the accuracy of the contact information you have for them the incentive used to motivate them to become a prospective buyer and whether they are aware of the sales opportunity a qualified sales lead is one that is ready to be passed to the sales team and converted into a customer 