20+ Lead Generation Strategies for B2B Businesses
Posted: Tue Dec 03, 2024 9:37 am
Do you feel like your B2B business isn't getting enough high-quality leads?
B2B lead generation can be a tricky business, but we're here to help. With this advice, you can increase your conversion rate , boost B2B sales, and adopt effective lead generation strategies in your marketing campaigns.
In this article, we focus on lead generation from a B2B marketing perspective, as B2B lead generation is different from B2C lead generation and requires different measures. We'll go over the basics of lead generation and take a look at over 20 different B2B lead generation strategies.
Definition and qualification of B2B leads or potential clients
First, let’s take a deeper look at what a B2B lead is. After getting this out of the way, we’ll move on to a more detailed discussion about lead generation and its strategies.
Definition of a lead
The lead is someone who is potentially interested in your product or service .
You need to know facts about your potential customer, such as jordan phone number list their name, contact information, location, and the company they represent, in order to identify them as a lead.
There are countless ways to capture and generate leads, which we will discuss later.
B2B Lead Qualification
After you identify a lead, you must: qualify it . This can be done by examining its:
Interest – have they approached you or have you approached them? How interested are they really? Do they already have experience with your products or services?
Enrichment – how much information do you have about them?
Rating: How ready are they to buy from you? Are they able to do so?
By answering these questions, you get an idea of who your potential B2B leads are.
There are different types of leads , but in this blog we want to focus on Sales Qualified Leads, because they are the ones that make money and are more likely to become real customers.
Sales Qualified Lead
The sales qualified lead (SQL) meets three requirements:
Interest
Need
Ability
This means that the SQL has a need that you can satisfy and a problem that your product or service can solve.
They are interested in your business and consider you as a potential cooperation partner.
Ultimately, they might buy from you, which means they have a sufficient budget and the person you are in contact with is authorized to make the purchasing decision.
If any of these requirements are missing, the lead is something other than an SQL and will most likely not buy from you at this time and will not move forward in the sales funnel.
In case this happens, focus on nurturing the lead better and keeping it in your marketing funnel, so that one day it can become an SQL, but don’t waste too much time. Otherwise, the sales team will miss out on more fruitful opportunities.
sales qualified lead SQL definition
Take a look at what lead scoring methods you could use to better understand what to do with your different types of leads.
B2B leads are not the same as B2C leads
B2B leads and customers are significantly different from individual consumers, so the same lead generation strategy will not work for both.
Think about your own consumer behavior as a private consumer. You probably know exactly what you need and want to buy, and how much money you have for the purchase. Chances are, you can also make the decision for yourself.
You usually know exactly where to buy products and services, which companies you like, and how to do business with them. If not, you figure it out independently.
Sometimes, you may make impulse purchases because of an advertisement or simply because you like a product or service.
Your purchasing cycle is probably very short, especially with everyday products and services.
consumer sales cycle
Now, think about a B2B buyer or a CEO of a small business .
Do they know what they need to buy? Not necessarily. They may have a problem, and not know how to solve it, or they may not even realize that they could optimize some part of their operations.
Do they know where they can buy something? Not always. You have to tell them.
Do you have a clear idea of how much money you owe and can afford to spend? You may need some time to calculate a shopping budget.
Are they capable of making a decision on the spot and making an impulse purchase? Most likely not. They may need to talk to the decision makers.
With this in mind, B2B leads differ from B2C leads because:
B2B lead generation can be a tricky business, but we're here to help. With this advice, you can increase your conversion rate , boost B2B sales, and adopt effective lead generation strategies in your marketing campaigns.
In this article, we focus on lead generation from a B2B marketing perspective, as B2B lead generation is different from B2C lead generation and requires different measures. We'll go over the basics of lead generation and take a look at over 20 different B2B lead generation strategies.
Definition and qualification of B2B leads or potential clients
First, let’s take a deeper look at what a B2B lead is. After getting this out of the way, we’ll move on to a more detailed discussion about lead generation and its strategies.
Definition of a lead
The lead is someone who is potentially interested in your product or service .
You need to know facts about your potential customer, such as jordan phone number list their name, contact information, location, and the company they represent, in order to identify them as a lead.
There are countless ways to capture and generate leads, which we will discuss later.
B2B Lead Qualification
After you identify a lead, you must: qualify it . This can be done by examining its:
Interest – have they approached you or have you approached them? How interested are they really? Do they already have experience with your products or services?
Enrichment – how much information do you have about them?
Rating: How ready are they to buy from you? Are they able to do so?
By answering these questions, you get an idea of who your potential B2B leads are.
There are different types of leads , but in this blog we want to focus on Sales Qualified Leads, because they are the ones that make money and are more likely to become real customers.
Sales Qualified Lead
The sales qualified lead (SQL) meets three requirements:
Interest
Need
Ability
This means that the SQL has a need that you can satisfy and a problem that your product or service can solve.
They are interested in your business and consider you as a potential cooperation partner.
Ultimately, they might buy from you, which means they have a sufficient budget and the person you are in contact with is authorized to make the purchasing decision.
If any of these requirements are missing, the lead is something other than an SQL and will most likely not buy from you at this time and will not move forward in the sales funnel.
In case this happens, focus on nurturing the lead better and keeping it in your marketing funnel, so that one day it can become an SQL, but don’t waste too much time. Otherwise, the sales team will miss out on more fruitful opportunities.
sales qualified lead SQL definition
Take a look at what lead scoring methods you could use to better understand what to do with your different types of leads.
B2B leads are not the same as B2C leads
B2B leads and customers are significantly different from individual consumers, so the same lead generation strategy will not work for both.
Think about your own consumer behavior as a private consumer. You probably know exactly what you need and want to buy, and how much money you have for the purchase. Chances are, you can also make the decision for yourself.
You usually know exactly where to buy products and services, which companies you like, and how to do business with them. If not, you figure it out independently.
Sometimes, you may make impulse purchases because of an advertisement or simply because you like a product or service.
Your purchasing cycle is probably very short, especially with everyday products and services.
consumer sales cycle
Now, think about a B2B buyer or a CEO of a small business .
Do they know what they need to buy? Not necessarily. They may have a problem, and not know how to solve it, or they may not even realize that they could optimize some part of their operations.
Do they know where they can buy something? Not always. You have to tell them.
Do you have a clear idea of how much money you owe and can afford to spend? You may need some time to calculate a shopping budget.
Are they capable of making a decision on the spot and making an impulse purchase? Most likely not. They may need to talk to the decision makers.
With this in mind, B2B leads differ from B2C leads because: