We hear this question all the time after a campaign starts:
“How many leads did we get?”
It’s an important number. But it doesn’t tell the whole story. You might generate 100 leads and still hear from the sales team:
“Most of them are not interested.”
Or you might generate just 30 leads and see 10 of them turn into real customers.
Which campaign performed better?
Obviously, the second one.
A Cheap Lead Isn’t Always a Good Lead
It’s easy to get excited when the cost per lead goes down.
But if those leads don’t answer calls, don’t have genuine interest, or were never likely to buy, that low CPL isn’t helping the business much.
That’s why we prefer to look beyond the lead count.
Ad → Lead → Qualified Lead → Customer
This gives us a much clearer picture of what’s actually working.
Marketing and Sales Need to Talk
Ads Manager can tell us which campaign generated a lead.
But the sales team can tell us whether that lead was actually worth generating.
That feedback matters.
Maybe one creative brings fewer enquiries but better customers. Maybe another brings a lot of leads that never convert.
Without sales feedback, you may end up scaling the wrong campaign.
So, Ask a Better Question
Next time you review your marketing, don’t stop at:
“How many leads did we get?”
Ask:
“How many were actually good leads?”
And even better:
“How many became customers?”
Because at the end of the day, the goal isn’t to fill a lead sheet. It’s to grow the business.