Lead generation is the process of attracting people who have never heard of your company and then converting them into leads that are interested in what you are selling. In a perfect world, these prospects would show interest in your company by providing their contact information such as an email address or a phone number, and then be nurtured throughout your sales funnel until they become a customer.
Lead generation is performed with the intention of filling up a company's sales pipeline. Without lead generation, your sales team would not have potential buyers to which they could sell your company's offering.