Some vendors try to ease the confusion by differentiating between “leads” (less qualified) and “prospects” (more qualified.) Ask anyone selling marketing software or services what their “cost per lead” is and you’ll get a different, and self-serving, answer. ve seen estimates ranging from single dollars to tens of dollars to hundreds of dollars. The cost is always the highest for whatever mechanism (trade shows, telemarketing, direct mail, marketing automation software) the competing vendor is hoping to trash.   Naturally, the price goes up the better the “lead” is.