Third-party lead
A customer inquiry bought from an outside marketplace, comparison site or lead seller rather than generated by the company itself.
Use this definition in team training or when clarifying a sales note.
Definition
Third-party leads come from marketplaces, comparison sites, directories and lead sellers that sell inquiries to businesses. They typically arrive with a name, contact details and what the customer asked about, and they are paid for whether or not anyone works them.
Because these customers frequently inquire with several companies at once, the same person may be contacted by several competitors within minutes. Some leads are sold to more than one company, which sellers usually describe as shared rather than exclusive.
Why it matters
These leads carry a known cost per lead, which makes wasted ones easy to see in the marketing budget and hard to justify. When a bought lead reaches a live conversation and nobody asks for a next step, the team paid for an opportunity and then declined to use it.