B2B Lead Generation: How to Win New Business Customers for Yourself

1. What are B2B leads?
2. How does B2B lead generation work?
3. 4 B2B Strategies for Your Lead Generation
4. Which tools are suitable for lead generation?
5. Conclusion: All you need is Lead Generation

Can companies increase their sales and expand without constant lead generation? Hardly! Why generating B2B leads is so important, how best to implement them, and which tools support you, you will learn in this article.

What are B2B leads?

The term "Lead" is based on the English verb "to lead", which means so much like "lead". In sales and marketing, it means contact with potential buyers. Often, a lead leaves his contact details (e.g., by subscribing to your newsletter).

If you define end consumers as your target group, then you collect B2C leads (Business-to-Consumer-Leads) in customer acquisition. If, on the other hand, your offer is aimed at business customers, it's all about B2B leads (Business-to-Business-Leads).

The contact data you collect is defined by your needs. For example, the data of a B2B lead can consist of the name of a contact person, their professional email address and telephone number, and the company name.

How does B2B lead generation work?

B2B lead generation process

All your strategies and processes for acquiring new customers represent your Lead generation. This means that your marketing reaches interested parties and hands them over to the sales department.

In the past, the manageable amount of data was the biggest problem for many companies. Meanwhile, various tools provide marketing and sales departments with valuable user data. Conversion Tracking and Marketing Automation are often the standard in lead generation and who knows what AI features will still stir up the market.

What is the goal of B2B lead generation?

Lead generation means more than just winning new customers.

It has a positive effect on many areas:

• Traffic
• User engagement
• Company reputation
• Collaboration partners
• Brand awareness
• Competitive positioning
• Sales
• Conversions
• Target groups
• Customer retention

When and who should carry out a B2B lead generation?

In short: Every company with a B2B target group should carry out a B2B lead generation. Lead generation is not a one-off action, but the implementation of a constant process that is continuously monitored and adjusted.

How are B2B leads defined and qualified?

The basic definition is clear: A lead is a user with interest in your product or service. This could be a project manager who has registered for a trial version of your project management tool.

You should know that leads show very different qualities. Many companies distinguish between 3 lead categories:

1. Marketing Qualified Leads (MQL):Leads who have dealt with your marketing actions but are (still) not interested in a sales conversation.
2. Sales Accepted Leads (SAL):MQL whose (proposed by the marketing department status is accepted by sales.
3. Sales Qualified Leads (SQL):Leads who actively show their interest in a specific product or service.

B2B lead qualification

Other companies even divide their leads into five categories. In this case, these two groupings are added:

1. Product Qualified Leads (PQL):Leads who use your free products or services.
2. Service Qualified Leads:Leads who signal a specific need to your service department.

If you should be confused due to various terminology: Depending on whether you illuminate lead generation from a sales or marketing perspective, you come across different terms. In the world of sales, they usually speak of raw, cold, warm and hot leads. But the same thing is meant.

How do you know in which phase your lead is? As a rule, you can easily read the qualification level at the touchpoint in your Customer Journey.

With these two methods you can qualify your leads:

1. Determine interest in the product or service

There are several ways to determine your lead's interest.

Two examples are:

• Forms: When leads take the time to fill out forms, you can assume a high interest and specific need. Here you can query all relevant data. But always remember that time-intensive questions can also deter.
• Content: When leads read your blog or your e-book, you know they are interested in the topic. You get more information about their current status through the use of calls-to-action.

2. Lead Scoring

B2B Lead Scoring

With lead scoring, you qualify your leads based on quantitative data. Assign them a score (value) on a scale from "prospect" to "ready to buy". Different criteria can be used for evaluation in each company.

For example, you can evaluate their interaction behavior or their demographic data. The only important thing is that you use uniform evaluation criteria across departments.

What is the difference between B2B leads and B2C leads?

With B2B leads, lead generation is more complex, as it involves decision-makers and users. With B2C leads, on the other hand, decision-makers and end consumers are usually one and the same person.

What does a B2B lead generation process look like?

One thing ahead: There is no one-size-fits-all solution for lead generation. All your marketing and sales measures should be coordinated. The path that leads take from first contact with your company to contract conclusion is called the sales funnel.

It usually consists of three stages:

1. Attract visitors
2. Convince leads to give their contact details (interaction)
3. Qualification of leads and nurturing

In the marketing world, the term "Conversion Funnel" is often used. The principle is the same. First, it's about generating as much traffic as possible. Like in a sieve, relevant leads are "sieved" from stage to stage until ready-to-buy leads can be converted to happy customers.

B2B Lead Generation Conversion Funnel

Each company achieves the greatest success with different measures. Our orientation guide – a Guide to Lead Generation – shows you a possible way to many new leads.

Lead generation software likeLeadz, SalesViewer® and KlickLead supports you throughout the entire lead generation process. In it, you can control, manage and scale your lead management campaigns.

4 B2B Strategies for Your Lead Generation

Which strategy promises the greatest success for your company always depends on your company itself, your portfolio, and your target group. There are pull and push strategies for lead generation.

Push strategies (outbound lead generation) are traditional marketing strategies like TV spots. That is, companies actively advertise, perform cold acquisition, and throw flyers in mailboxes to attract customers. This way, the large mass can be reached, which automatically brings scatter losses.

With pull strategies (inbound lead generation), companies turn the tables. The target group is refined. Your measures are directed only at people with interest or concrete need. For example, with SEO texts, leads are made aware of the company and encouraged to take a specific action (like contacting).

1. Content

Content seems to remain an important component of the B2B marketing mix in the DACH region – also in 2023 and beyond. 75 percent of respondents to an eMinded study stated that they would focus on their online channels. In their eyes, the most important topics are personalization (62 percent), marketing automation (61 percent), and customer journey analytics (57 percent). Their budgets flow into all content and performance disciplines.

The nice thing about Content Marketing is that there really is the right format for every company and every product: blog articles, videos, graphics, E-books, white papers and studies - absolutely any form of valuable content counts.

According to the survey, these are the three most popular:

• LinkedIn Marketing (30.6 percent)
• Search Engine Marketing (SEA = 24.8 percent, SEO = 19.8 percent)
• Email Marketing (11.6 percent)

2. Build Personal Contacts

Don't worry, we're not jumping back into the Stone Age at this point. Making offline contacts doesn't automatically mean turning your back on the digital world. You can On- and offline lead generation simply connect with each other.

• Close local cooperations
• Networking (offline conferences, seminars, and events)
• Appear as a speaker in suitable communities
• Sponsorship
• Promotion and giveaways

In fact, a Study by the Dialog Marketing Association Austria (DMVÖ) proves that face-to-face conversations are not seen as old-fashioned but are totally popular after this long dry spell:

• 33 percent of respondents generate leads at fairs and events
• 31 percent of respondents generate leads in field service

3. Trial versions

Do you sell technical products? Then trial and demo versions can particularly pay off. This works especially well if you accompany them during the trial run (or your Chatbot) so that they effectively use your product and thus recognize the many advantages. Then present a limited-time special offer – et voilà!

4. Cold calling and cold mailing

The classic B2B cold acquisation is a hotly debated topic. While some declared the method dead a long time ago, others still swear by it. Gitnux reports on several studies from 2022 and 2023, including companies like Zippia,LinkedIn, HubSpot and Salesforce.

The conclusion: Cold acquisition still works! Provided that you approach it correctly. The usual success rate is 2 percent. This means you can turn 2 out of 100 conversation partners into warm leads. You should be able to increase the rate to as much as 10 percent.

The studies also disprove the death knell argument for cold acquisition: "Nobody wants that." The results show, almost half of buyers (49 percent) prefer the first contact via a cold call. Buyers in technology companies even appreciate cold calling more. Here, 54 percent say they like to be contacted by cold calls.

Which tools are suitable for lead generation?

No matter which option you choose, a software accompanies you on the road to professional and effective lead generation. On OMR Reviews you can find many helpful Lead generation software.

You can refine your tool selection using filters. The verified user reviews help you find the right solutions.

The most popular systems on OMR Reviews are:

LinkedIn Sales Navigator

Leadinfo

Perspective Funnels

Lusha

Leadfeeder

RocketReach

SalesViewer®

Conclusion: All you need is Lead Generation

Lead generation is not only relevant for your sales. It decides about your long-term company success. The contemporary B2B lead generation is a colorful mix of the best working methods for you to attract interested persons and to build a relation to them. Grab the opportunity and get started with lead generation tools. They support you with automation so you can focus on what's most important: your leads!