As we enter the new year, we will be having our sixth LeadsCon Las Vegas. For me, it feels like just yesterday that I was meeting with Michelle Troop trying to convince her that a conference focusing on lead generation not only made sense but that someone other than the two of us would attend.

Neither of us would have predicted that our first event would draw 600 people. Similarly, we wouldn’t have guessed that five years later, our two shows would see almost 5000 people between them.

The industry that we serve has always had its share of challenges. No industry is without them. For lead generation, one that we have faced since the inception of the event is reputational. “Lead generation” for some people is a dirty word, as it conjures up images of those not out to serve the best interests.

The presence of bad players does not make an entire industry without merit. Just think of search, namely SEO. Outside of advertisements for pills, perhaps the biggest single solicitation we receive is for SEO services. These companies have no site of their own. They claim to have found you by “not clicking” on a paid ad, and try to entice you by offering an audit. Their messages are emotional, like fortune tellers, they share solutions to pains any business will have, not just yours. That they look to sell vaporware doesn’t take away from the value that real SEO offers. That’s how I think about lead generation.

Lately, due to pressures faced by the education industry, lead gen as a term has once again come into focus. Marketers and institutions have looked to rid their vocabulary of “leads.” The current term being used is inquiry generation. We have been approached even to change our name.

When we began LeadsCon, we always knew that the term was a blessing and a curse. It was a blessing in that it effectively described the behavior of a growing group of marketers. These were marketers not looking to buy impressions or clicks but to connect with an interested consumer. Similarly, there was a new breed of marketer who was able to help businesses by working with them on this type of interest instead of charging for their services on a per click or impression basis.

What has differentiated LeadsCon from other advertising events, even those that have dealt with leads, is that instead of trying to connect companies with data, the focus has been on real-time interest. That was the great innovation of the web, that a user could complete a form with information helpful to the business that might service them. And not only could they collect better, more specific information, they could collect it at the time the user expressed it.

LeadsCon in other words has not been about “leads,” even though the name has the letters in it. LeadsCon has and continues to be about how companies and customers connect; the marketing and the technologies that enable fast, better service. One day, we hope that is how others will see the world of lead generation. It is no worse of a term than a user being a “click” on a website. It is an objective description, a B2B term, not a subjective, B2C label.

Avoid the large crowds tomorrow morning by coming and picking up your badge today.

Registration is located in the beautiful Events Center Rotunda.

Here is a map of the hotel. We are in Events Center B & C.

Join 1800 of the top people in online lead generation and customer acquisition spanning 950+ companies large and small.

We can’t wait to see you in Las Vegas and thank you all of those coming for helping to make lead generation such an exciting place to be.

(Click image to enlarge)

For those thinking about attending, save $200 if you register before February 11, 2010.

Bankrate.com to the University of Phoenix, Career Education Corporation to Zillow, decision makers from more than 600 companies have already signed up forLeadsCon.

• View Full Conference Program
• See The Companies Attending
• Visit the Exhibitor List

Reserve your room before the Mirage sells out. Just $95 / night through February 10th!

See you soon.

Last year more than 1400 people made their way to the Mirage Las Vegas. This year’s show looks even more promising as we continue with our mission of bringing buyers, sellers, and technology solution providers together for the preeminent show for online lead generation.

We would also like to thank our launch sponsors – Lead Sponsor LeadPoint, Gold Sponsors AllWebLeads, Double Positive, Education Dynamics, TARGUSinfo, and Reply, along with our other great sponsors LeadPile, Tree.com, and Ward Media. Interested in sponsoring or exhibiting? View the opportunities section.

Early Bird pricing of $495 ends December 6, 2009!

As is the tradition post, show, we use this time to highlight some of what was written – both feedback and other takeaways – about the latest LeadsCon.

• Lead Critic – Brief Final Thoughts on LeadsCon East – “Overall, great show and I am very happy I attended the event. I was initially planning on skipping the event, only because it was a single day event and having to fly across the country for one day wasn’t something I was interested in, BUT, I am glad I did. For a lead gen guy its a must attend event.” Glad you felt that way, Mike!
• The Lead Blog – LeasCon An Overview – “Overall it was a very strong event. I was surprised because I thought that two shows was overkill. In fact online performance marketing is doing better than most in the economic downturn so the event attracted a large and varied crowd and the content of each of the meetings that I joined was quite enlightening…LeadsCon has become the must-attend event for anyone who is a serious lead buyer or seller.” Thanks, Nick!
• Lead Cirtic – LeadsCon, Quinstreet, and Bankrate – An recap of some industry buzz.
• The Pontiflex CPL Blog – “The LeadsCon East conference in New York City was a testament to the high degree the Cost-per-Lead advertising market has taken off in recent times… All in all a very interesting show.”
• AdExchanger – LeadsCon Panel On Ad Exchanges – “It was a great panel with many insights.”
• For Profit Edu – LeadsCon East very strong this year.
• Murray Newlands – LeadsCon Review – Sorry for calling the site Murray News

Twitter – http://twitter.com/#search?q=leadscon – (Follow us @leadscon)

Know others? Please let us know.

Thanks, again!

The rush of signups in the past three weeks far exceeding our expectations, outpacing on a percentage wise, any of our previous shows.

To all, thank you so much for your support and interest. We have such a great group of sponsors, speakers, exhibitors, and attendees. You make it possible.

To those for whom we have not had tickets, we absolutely wish that we had room to accommodate the last minute requests.

Don’t forget to mingle before you meet. Attend the Kick off Soiree at the one-of-a-kind Whiskey, just walking distance from the Marriott Marquis Times Square.

We can’t wait to see you.