Sales leads are a central part of the story of the movie Glengarry Glen Ross, about four absolute estate salesmen who want "the congenial leads" which will close more easily (result in closed sales, i.e. a financial transaction).
There are many Business Email Lists tools open to to generate sales leads. Vendors like implu, Experian or Wegener DM have special querring tools to access their dbase. Other employment chat like Instant Service or LivePerson to enter in contact with potential sales leads online. Leads generated based on data bank behavioral targeting and segmentation are often generated by Netmining.