From Cold Calls to Warm Leads: Evolving Strategies in B2B Lead Generation

From Cold Calls to Warm Leads: Evolving Strategies in B2B Lead Generation

Lead generation is a constant head for businesses. A staggering 91% of marketers say lead generation is the first priority and 53% of them spend half their budget on it. Yet, many rely on traditional lead generation methods that being poor results. 

The reality is that market has evolved, and clinging to outdated lead gen strategies won't bring the desired outcome.

Your low conversion rate is the cue to change lead generation methods and adapt to industry-proven, evolving strategies.  

In this article, I have covered 5 new B2B lead generation strategies for 2024 that are showing excellent results in the industry. Now, it’s time to adapt them into your business and make fortune. 

Latest B2B Lead Generation Strategies for 2024

#1 Account-Based Marketing

The goal of lead generation isn’t limited to bringing new customers. Marketers must consider customer lifetime value before launching any lead gen campaign. This is where ABM becomes one of the most effective lead-generation strategies. 

Snowflake, a cloud computing–based data cloud company, saw a 75% increase in SDR-booked meetings with account-based marketing.  

What is Account-Based Marketing again? 

ABM is a lead generation strategy in which marketers target a selected group of high-value accounts within a market instead of targeting a long lead list.

Bottomline—ABM is all about quality over quantity. 

It involves tailoring personalized campaigns to address the unique attributes and needs of each account. The goal is to prioritize Marketing Qualified Accounts (MQAs) and optimize resource allocation for more effective engagement and relationship building.

Account-based marketing is definitely one of the most effective lead generation strategies that will turn your cold calls into dollar bills in no time.  

#2 Cold Email Marketing

Is cold emailing dead?

The statistics say otherwise. 

Cold emails have been the primary lead generation for many B2B SaaS companies, and it is still making huge revenue for many.

Anevo Marketing booked over 30 meetings in less than four weeks using Smartlead. Another business, Wind Growth, helped a client improve annual revenue from a decent $800K to $4-5M - in just one and a half months.

Sounds impressive? Cold emailing is a lead generation strategy that allows you to get quality and quantity at the same time. 

It involves creating a highly targeted lead list using tools like Apollo, Clay, Listkit, etc, creating a personalized, cold emailing campaign, and launching it using a cold email tool like Smartlead. 

That’s it. Want to learn more about email lead generation? Check out How to Do Email Lead Generation. 

#3 Intent-Driven Lead Generation

Intent-based marketing involves tailoring your outreach messages based on a user's online behavior. 

It aims to engage those displaying clear purchase intent. Essentially, intent revolves around deciphering signs and behaviors that signal a high likelihood of a company actively considering a product within its buying cycle.

These signals include various interactions, such as 

• Clicks on social media ads 
• Multiple visits to the website
• Prolonged website engagement
• Newsletter subscription, etc. 

Why intent-driven lead generation?

Intent-based marketing is effective for several reasons. Firstly, it allows prioritization of leads, focusing efforts on those with higher conversion potential. Secondly, it helps identify the right timing for engagement, ensuring messages align with the buyer's readiness. Lastly, intent signals enable personalized interactions by understanding the buyer's position in the sales cycle, enhancing relevance and engagement.

#4 LinkedIn Prospecting

I recommend LinkedIn prospecting if you’re considering changing your lead gen strategies or adapting to profitable, evolving strategies in 2024.

LinkedIn has 58 million registered businesses, and the number is increasing rapidly.  

What makes LinkedIn one of the best channels for B2B lead gen is its scope for both outbound and inbound lead gen methods. All you need to do for inbound is create a detailed profile, make connections, post relevant, high-value content regularly, and engage actively. 

With only 2.7 million (out of 58 million) businesses posting regularly, it’s easy to increase your organic reach and create a brand image on LinkedIn. 

For outbound lead generation, one can use automation tools like Expandi that enable you to reach cold prospects most using an omnichannel approach.  

Marketers can also use LinkedIn Sales Navigator. It’s a little pricey but definitely worth it.

#5 Social Proof

B2B buyers are decision makers in various businesses and organizations, and study says 80% of them rely on a brand’s online presence to make purchasing choices.

It only means the majority of B2B buyers determine the credibility of a business from social proof available on the internet. In other words, they look for peer recommendations, product reviews, and case studies before purchasing a product.

So, if you’re looking for lead generation strategy, working con social proof and user-generated via content marketing is a good place to start. It might take some time but the result is outstanding. 

The key to creating social proof is being active on various online forums, helping your target audience grow their businesses, sharing free resources, and building yourself as a though leader. 

Conclusion

Lead generation is a headache but you can change it. Shortlist prospects from your existing, long lead list. Create personalized, highly targeted email sequences, and launch them using Smartlead. For better results, try outreaching the same people on LinkedIn as well. 

Don’t forget to study intent signals before outreaching. Create substantial social proof to back up your claims (that you solve your leads’ painpoints). 

That’s it. That is all a business needs to generate overwhelming amount of leads. 

FAQs

How do I generate leads for my B2B business?

Generate B2B leads for your SaaS business by employing targeted sales and marketing strategies, such as account-based marketing. Identify potential customers, create compelling content, and leverage social media to gain their attention. Implement cold email campaigns, attend industry events, and collaborate with influencers to capture interest. Nurture and qualify leads to convert them into paying customers, boosting revenue growth.

What is B2B lead generation?

B2B lead generation is the strategic process of identifying and attracting potential business customers (leads) for a SaaS company's products or services. Through targeted sales and marketing efforts, the goal is to capture the interest of businesses that could benefit from the SaaS solution, nurturing and converting these leads into paying customers to drive revenue growth.