Mr Morkel has told companies they should consider outsourcing lead generation if they lack the necessary in-house resources.The success of a business largely depends on the quality of its lead generation programme, one expert has stated.

According to Jack Morkel, companies need to ensure they remain "active" in their attempts to secure new customers.

He noted that firms lacking the time or resources to do this effectively may wish to consider outsourcing the operation to a specialist organisation that can handle the process through the use of lead generation surveys.

Mr Morkel said that as these require a "proper database of customers eligible for [the] particular product or service", some companies opt not to do them, due to the amount of effort required to complete the surveys successfully.

"Leads are very essential for businesses to survive and expand," he remarked, adding that it is important they are nurtured in such a way that customers are not given the "wrong impression" about a product, as this decreases the chances of securing a sale.

He concluded that the "best option" is to outsource the operation, as this means the process is being handled by specialists and therefore increases the likelihood of new clients being acquired.

It was recently suggested that sales outsourcing also has the benefit of reducing costs, with BusinessWorld Online reporting that research from the Institute for Development and Econometric Analysis concluded that the process can have a positive effect on profit.

Written by Julian Poulter and Copyright "Selling People 2009"