{"id":2311,"date":"2025-02-25T11:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-02-25T12:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.backstagelenses.com\/?p=2311"},"modified":"2025-02-25T12:57:51","modified_gmt":"2025-02-25T12:57:51","slug":"how-to-generate-more-b2b-leads-for-your-sales-team-plus-expert-tips-and-new-data","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.backstagelenses.com\/index.php\/2025\/02\/25\/how-to-generate-more-b2b-leads-for-your-sales-team-plus-expert-tips-and-new-data\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Generate More B2B Leads for Your Sales Team \u2014 Plus Expert Tips and New Data"},"content":{"rendered":"
Missing quota because your pipeline is thin? And you can\u2019t find a quick remedy to source new leads. You aren\u2019t alone. Of salespeople, 40%<\/a> view B2B sales lead generation as the most difficult part of their jobs.<\/p>\n In turn, the remaining 60% are able to populate their pipelines with quality leads and crack the end of the month.<\/p>\n How do they do it?<\/p>\n Read on a roundup of tips and tactics from sales pros and real-world examples to bring in new leads.<\/p>\n Table of Contents<\/strong><\/p>\n Sourcing B2B leads requires you to understand a company\u2019s goals as well as the individual\u2019s. Not only are you conducting outreach to individuals<\/em>, but you must also find organizations<\/em> that are a good fit for your solution.<\/p>\n In many ways, this makes prospecting easier \u2014 but the budgets, stakeholders, and gatekeepers you encounter throughout the sales cycle can make finding the right B2B leads that much more important.<\/p>\n Before we move further, benchmark yourself against these three B2B sales landscape stats. Maybe you\u2019re doing quite right, and there\u2019s no need to stress over it.<\/p>\n <\/a> <\/p>\n According to recent HubSpot data<\/a>, sales companies are facing both budget crunches and becoming more risk averse \u2014 70% of sales professionals say that their budgets are being scrutinized more, and 62% say their company is taking fewer risks.<\/p>\n Interestingly, while just 15% of marketers<\/a> say they\u2019re facing challenges with traffic and lead generation, one of the top challenges cited by marketing teams is making the best use of these leads. In other words, getting great leads is just the start of reciprocal B2B relationships.<\/p>\n It\u2019s also worth noting that B2B leads are expanding their research repositories. While they value data provided by potential partners, research firm Gartner<\/a> reports that B2B buyers find third-party interactions \u2014 sources of data not owned by B2B companies \u2014 1.4x more valuable than information from companies themselves.<\/p>\n As a result, lead generation has become an omnichannel effort that combines both first- and third-party data for best results.<\/p>\n <\/a> <\/p>\n If you\u2019re not sure where to begin with B2B sales lead generation<\/a>, these seven strategies are a great way to get started.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re interested in reading more about how to grow your pipeline, check out our ultimate guide<\/a>.<\/p>\n Strategic Account Director Jack Matsen<\/a> saw a 38% increase in demos booked within six months of implementing a lead bot.<\/a><\/p>\n Matsen says, \u201cOur bots collect information that gives us time to come prepared with potential solutions before we walk into meetings with new prospects. Having this information ultimately leads to better, more beneficial conversations.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s important to identify which pages you\u2019ll install lead bots on, what you\u2019ll say, and how you\u2019ll route those leads. If you have a lot of organic traffic coming to your pricing page, or you notice this page is a high converter for you, drop a lead bot there to engage with a higher number of leads.<\/p>\n Make sure the language you\u2019re using with your lead bot is friendly and conversational. In other words, don\u2019t start a conversation with, \u201cHello, how can I help you today?\u201d Instead, try, \u201cHello, thanks for stopping by our pricing page! Can I answer any questions about our three pricing tiers?\u201d<\/p>\n Think of HubSpot’s example. The lead bot greets you with a straightforward message designed to convert and bring in new leads with less friction. HubSpot\u2019s team also uses smart CTA buttons to guide the lead down the pipeline.<\/p>\n And, once a prospect answers a \u201cqualifying question,\u201d such as \u201cChat with sales,\u201d<\/em> have your bot route the lead to the correct rep so a live conversation can take place.<\/p>\n X chats are when a group of people meet on X (formerly Twitter) to discuss a certain topic, trend, or interest area using an agreed-upon hashtag. For example, if you sell a PPC tool, you might join the weekly #PPCChat<\/a>, in which chat runners or guest hosts share a discussion topic ahead of time, and industry folks share their thoughts and questions.<\/p>\n Source<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n The format of X chats is for the host to share a series of ordered questions (e.g., \u201cQ1: What\u2019s your biggest pain point with your current PPC tool?<\/em>\u201d), and participants reply in kind (e.g., \u201cA1: My biggest pain point is competitive spend.<\/em>\u201d).<\/p>\n If you want to reply to someone\u2019s answer or question \u2014 like the one above \u2014 start by replying directly to the question asker\u2019s question. From there, here\u2019s what NOT to do in an X chat:<\/p>\n Don\u2019t be that rep. It\u2019s a good way to get a group of people to turn on you and possibly block you from future chats.<\/p>\n Instead, offer value only when you have non-salesy value to contribute, share knowledge, link to helpful articles, and share hacks other clients have used successfully. Here\u2019s what your response should look like:<\/p>\n Show up to these chats regularly and know when to contribute and when to listen. You\u2019ll make connections with people each week, and you can ask if it\u2019s alright to follow up with a few of them offline after you\u2019ve built foundational rapport.<\/p>\n You can take a similar approach to Quora or Reddit as you\u2019d take on X chats: Always Be Providing Value (ABVP).<\/p>\n Quora<\/a> is a knowledge-sharing platform on which users can ask questions and receive answers from industry experts around the world. Good answers are upvoted and appear at the top of the page.<\/p>\n Create a free account, make sure to fill out your profile, and choose your interests. Get a feel for the platform by answering questions. Again, never be overtly salesy. Answer questions you have a background in, and consider rewording blog posts from your company\u2019s website to provide organized and well-researched responses.<\/p>\n Source<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n When appropriate, link to a few different articles that might answer your prospect\u2019s next few questions on the matter.<\/p>\n View Quora as a rapport-building tool, and only offer your solution or ask for more of their time if there\u2019s an opening or you\u2019ve connected on another platform like LinkedIn.<\/p>\n The most valuable real estate in any email you send is arguably the email signature. You can sell without selling.<\/p>\n Start by adding a professional headshot, your appropriate contact information, and, if possible, your company logo (hyperlinked back to your website). As a bonus, add recent awards or industry accolades your company has received, links to popular blog posts, a snappy customer review, product announcements, or a calendar link to book time with you.<\/p>\n Expert tip:<\/strong> \u201cUse email signature optimization combined with setting a lead bot. Over 200 leads per quarter were generated just by adding a CTA in email signatures. Adding an AI chatbot to the website also increased the number of qualified leads received after business hours by 40%.\u201d \u2014 Jose Gallegos,<\/a> Growth Marketer & Founder of Jose Angelo Studios<\/a>.<\/p>\n Pack your email signature with as much value as the body of the email itself and optimize regularly. Need some help getting started? Try this email signature generator<\/a>.<\/p>\n Before making a purchase, 95% of consumers<\/a> read online reviews. So, isn\u2019t it time you make sure your reviews are everywhere? Ask your Customer Support team for a list of happy customers, or pull your top NPS scores and reach out to those customers.<\/p>\n You can even run campaigns asking these happy clients to leave reviews on customer review sites like G2<\/a> and Capterra<\/a>. Having a strong presence on these sites can be a huge lead driver for your business.<\/p>\n Paying for a vendor account on a peer review site comes with added benefits, including customized landing pages, access to industry-specific reports and data, and premium placement in their software directories.<\/p>\n Whether the stereotype of mortal enemies, sales and marketing, is true for your organization or not, it\u2019s important for reps to understand the importance \u2014 and the lucrative nature \u2014 of having a strong working relationship with their marketing team.<\/p>\n Here are a few areas to partner with them on:<\/p>\n HubSpot CRM<\/a><\/strong> connects your marketing, sales, and customer service on one platform. Sales teams can track activity, manage pipelines, and close more deals with tools like meeting schedulers, email templates, and AI writers.<\/strong><\/p>\n Like X and Quora, the goal of joining LinkedIn Groups<\/a> is not to spam everyone in the group with your offer. Search for industry groups where you know some target accounts and ideal customers hang out. Become a contributor to the group and build relationships with members by offering value and listening.<\/p>\n Leslie Oma\u00f1a Begert,<\/a> Co-founder and Creator of FabuLingua,<\/a> a learning app for Spanish, shared what has worked best for her business:<\/p>\n “Drawing from our experience cultivating language learning communities, LinkedIn groups emerged as our most powerful B2B connection point. The traditional sales playbook falls short when you’re trying to reach educators and learning institutions genuinely interested in innovative teaching methods.\u201d<\/p>\n Our breakthrough came when we shifted from promotional posts to sharing real stories of language learning transformation in educational LinkedIn groups. During one discussion about engaging young learners, I shared how a Texas elementary school implemented our storytelling approach. Their Spanish program saw unprecedented engagement, with students spontaneously using the language outside class. This authentic success story sparked dozens of meaningful conversations with other educators.\u201d<\/p>\n Their main tactic? Shifting from selling to solving real problems. When a group member asked about keeping students motivated, they shared insights from their story-driven method.<\/p>\n Begert wraps it up: \u201cThese contributions positioned us as trusted education partners rather than vendors. School administrators started reaching out proactively, already convinced of our expertise through our consistent value-adding presence.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/a> <\/p>\n Strategies are one thing, but there\u2019s no substitute for real-world experience. Here are nine expert tips to help supercharge your lead generation.<\/p>\n It might seem counterintuitive, but your end goal isn\u2019t making sales \u2014 it\u2019s making customers. Sales in isolation drive temporary revenue increases, but if every lead buys one product or service and never comes back, your potential pool of purchasers quickly dries up.<\/p>\n Customers, meanwhile, represent a steady revenue stream, as they regularly return to make additional purchases or upgrades.<\/p>\n This is especially critical for B2B lead generation. B2B sales processes typically take longer than their B2C counterparts, have higher purchase prices, and may include multi-year contracts.<\/p>\n What happens when you don\u2019t make the sale? It\u2019s an inevitable part of the B2B experience: Negotiations that are going well may suddenly stall, or business needs may change in response to market demand, leading to sales that almost cross the finish line but come up just short.<\/p>\n While it\u2019s tempting to see these unclosed deals as failures, they\u2019re actually opportunities. Here\u2019s why: If sales teams can forge relationships with B2B prospects, they can set the stage for opportunities down the line.<\/p>\n Consider a B2B lead that abruptly pivots due to changes in business strategy. Rather than simply walking away, sales teams can recommend tech- or service-agnostic products that could help leads solve their current challenges. The result? When it comes time to make new B2B purchases, your company is top-of-mind.<\/p>\n Great content helps capture lead interest and kickstart conversations. Social media can help amplify the impact of content \u2014 for good and for ill.<\/p>\n For example, if you\u2019ve got in-depth content that\u2019s performing well in SEO and generating leads<\/a>, posting it on social media can help drive more interest and create more opportunities. If, however, your content isn\u2019t getting the response you anticipate, social media will make the problem worse. The only difference? More people will see it happen in real time.<\/p>\n Put simply, social media is like a loudspeaker. Don\u2019t announce anything you don\u2019t want heard.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not new. It\u2019s not flashy. But it is absolutely necessary for your B2B campaigns to succeed: Test, test, test. And when you\u2019re done, test some more.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s why: What you don\u2019t know can hurt your bottom line. Consider a new marketing campaign with a new logo and tagline for your value proposition. On paper, it looks like a great idea. C-suites love it, marketing teams are excited, and sales teams are ready to start fielding calls. And then \u2026 nothing happens.<\/p>\n As it turns out, your new campaign didn\u2019t resonate with your target audience. Now, you\u2019re left with two choices: Sink more money into a failing effort or scrap the project and start over, costing even more time and money.<\/p>\n Thankfully, there\u2019s an alternative: Test. Use A\/B testing to try out campaign ideas and see which one sticks. Use surveys, emails, and even phone calls to discover what prospects like about your website, your content, and your campaigns. Make changes in line with their responses, and then \u2014 you guessed it \u2014 test.<\/p>\n Wondering how to generate b2b leads<\/strong> through SEO efforts? You need to look in the right place. Sure, you could spend time and money creating general campaigns that might capture some target audience interest but will mostly go unnoticed. Or, you can make sure that you find your audience \u2014 and your audience can find you.<\/p>\n To accomplish this goal, start by defining your target B2B customer<\/a>. What industry(s) are they in? What does their budget look like? What are their pain points? Once you\u2019ve found your audience, find where they are online. Look at their websites, their social media pages, and their recent press releases.<\/p>\n This gives you a sense of what these leads have, what they want, and what they\u2019re looking for. Equipped with this information, conduct a keyword volume search. What you\u2019re looking for are long-tail keywords \u2014 keywords that are three or more words long.<\/p>\n These keywords have lower search volume than their shorter counterparts but target a specific audience. Prospects searching these keywords know what they want and are far more likely to convert. By finding your audience and identifying their ideal keywords, you can capture more of your target market.<\/p>\n Not all leads are created equal. Lead scoring helps prioritize the most qualified leads based on factors such as industry, budget, engagement with your content, and interactions with your sales team.<\/p>\n Assign a score to each lead, so you can focus your efforts on those who are most likely to convert.<\/p>\n Having the right lead scoring system in place made all the difference for Expo-Genie\u2019s sales team.<\/a> Before using SalesWings, they had no way to track lead interest beyond email opens.<\/p>\n The team was flying blind when it came to understanding who was truly engaged. With predictive lead scoring in Salesforce, the sales team could track website visits and identify when leads became warm or hot, even weeks after the initial contact.<\/p>\n This helped them target leads at the perfect moment, leading to a 30% increase in opportunities, a 25% boost in closed deals, and an extra $20K in revenue over the past few months.<\/p>\n Source<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n Webinars are an effective way to generate B2B leads by sharing valuable content and engaging with your audience live. Promoting relevant topics attracts leads, while a Q&A session builds trust and showcases your expertise.<\/p>\n One of my favorite books is Diary of A First-Time CMO Vol 1<\/a> by Cognism’s CMO, Alice de Courcy<\/a>, in which she talks about how, in the early days at Cognism, she turned webinars into a winning tactic.<\/p>\n Courcy changed her \u201cmake that sale\u201d <\/em>mindset and instead of chasing sign-ups, she focused on creating content that fueled more engaging, high-impact webinars. Plus, she rewarded attendees to boost participation.<\/p>\n Alice hosts live cold-calling sessions where participants can try out their scripts and make calls, while a subject matter expert provides real-time coaching to help them improve.<\/p>\n If attendees miss the live session, they lose out on the chance for personalized, one-on-one feedback.<\/p>\n Get your current clients to spread the word. Offer irresistible incentives like discounts, exclusive content, or special rewards for every referral. Since people trust recommendations from colleagues or partners, tapping into your existing network can bring in highly qualified leads who already know and love your business.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve recently read a great case study by Referral Factory<\/a> that highlights how a B2B financial services business grew significantly through a referral program. This company faced challenges \u2014 low conversion rates from PPC ads and difficulty reaching the right audience.<\/p>\n To overcome these struggles, they launched a double-sided referral program where both the referrer and the new customer received rewards. For every successful referral, the referrer earned an Amazon voucher, and the new customer received a \u00a325 discount. They promoted the program through email marketing and added referral links across their website and transactional emails.<\/p>\n The results were nice:<\/p>\n Source<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n What stood out was the viral effect: 21% of referred customers went on to refer others, creating a strong loop of growth.<\/p>\n \u201cThe way you position yourself at the beginning of a relationship has a profound impact on where you end up,\u201d notes Ron Karr<\/a>, author of Lead, Sell, or Get Out of the Way.<\/p>\n The old saying holds true: You never get a second chance to make a first impression. And what better way to make a great first impression than by offering leads for free? Maybe it\u2019s a demo of your product, a free eBook, or in-depth market research.<\/p>\n As long as it\u2019s something that your target audience wants, it\u2019s a great way to get the relationship off to a great start and demonstrate that you understand the market.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n
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B2B Sales Lead Statistics<\/strong><\/h2>\n
7 B2B Sales Lead Strategies to Start From<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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1. Set up a lead bot.<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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2. Join or contribute to X chats.<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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3. Answer Quora and Reddit questions.<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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4. Optimize your email signature.<\/strong><\/h3>\n
5. Solicit customer reviews.<\/strong><\/h3>\n
6. Work with marketing.<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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7. Participate in LinkedIn Groups.<\/strong><\/h3>\n
9 B2B Lead Generation Tips from Experts<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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1. Consider the end goal.<\/strong><\/h3>\n
2. See opportunities, not failures.<\/strong><\/h3>\n
3. Be smart about social media.<\/strong><\/h3>\n
4. Test, test, test.<\/strong><\/h3>\n
5. Leverage long-tail keywords.<\/strong><\/h3>\n
6. Implement a lead scoring system.<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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7. Use webinars.<\/strong><\/h3>\n
8. Implement referral programs.<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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9. <\/strong>Start with free to make more sales.<\/strong><\/h3>\n