Your leads aren’t going to share information without something in return. Marketing is always quid pro quo. And there’s no better quo than a lead magnet.

Engaged prospects who are not ready to purchase just yet, what can move them? This concern has consistently afflicted marketers.

Between attracting a lead and finally closing a deal lies a rugged patch of land – MOFU. It’s packed with hesitance and uncertainty, the mundane nitty-gritty of every decision-making process. These may influence leads to either drop off, linger, or make a purchase.

Simply put, hesitance stands as an emotional barrier in MOFU and BOFU, potentially stemming from:

• Lack of trust in the brand
• Fear of wasting money
• Analysis paralysis
• Internal pressure to justify the investment to the stakeholders
• Doubt whether it’s the right fit for the organization

The purchase makes ample logical sense on its own. But the ambiguity and emotional risk influence buying committees to delay the final decision.

As a solution, marketers opt to create content that offers a playful nudge in the right direction – lead magnets.

The Basic Understanding of Lead Magnets

Often perceived as a freebie or bait, lead magnets are trust-building tools. They are primarily leveraged at the top of the funnel to engage and establish brand awareness in exchange for the lead’s contact information.

But its role transcends the initial steps. Lead magnets work wonders for leads even in the middle of the funnel. When crafted with the right intention, these content pieces can help qualify leads and nurture them closer to a purchasing decision.

It’s the psychological factor of reassurance imbued within the magnets that convinces a potential customer: “We understand your concern, but you aren’t wrong for considering us. Others have done it before you. Here’s how it worked out for them. And it can help you as well.”

5 Lead Magnets to Elevate Your Nurturing Strategies

Not all perform equally across all industries. Even across your ICP, each buying committee has individual preferences shaped by consumption patterns and professional backgrounds.

For the B2B audience, lead magnets are practical tools.

It should simply help justify the investments to the decision-makers and stakeholders. And grasp your target audience’s attention.

Not every lead magnet listed on the Internet is deemed crucial for businesses to succeed. But there are a few fundamental (best) must-haves for every B2B organization.

1. Webinars

Videos are gaining significance across marketing. And savvy marketers must leverage their maximum potential.

It’s the upcoming star in digital marketing, and with the market hungry for uniqueness, it will only gain momentum. For marketers, it’s one of the most interactive channels to grow their presence and also communicate with customers.

Why not utilize it in the form of a lead magnet?

Source: Forrester

Webinars as a lead magnet have a multitude of benefits to offer. In an attention-deficit economy, it’s sure to induce a ripple.

So, take this (barely) trodden path and offer curious content. It doesn’t have to be long presentations with the perfect voice-over.

You can convert blog posts or eBooks that are compelling into slides and creative visuals, using them as a springboard during your live talk. The reference could be any blog that establishes you as the subject matter expert.

And remember to add fresh insights that the blog doesn’t offer, with the recording serving as an additional resource.

The fundamental benefit: Highlight the people (humans) behind a corporate entity.

2. Templates

Sometimes, an execution requires a quick hack. It’s not always necessary to start from scratch.

This is why templates exist. These pre-designed formats are direct solutions for your audience’s needs as they require little to no modifications. And a means to save time and effort.

Using templates for, say, a Lead Generation Landing Page, marketers can save resources and focus on the next step.

Source: HubSpot

Through these templates, you’re offering your audience a channel to elevate their performance without the added effort.

Using a simple sign-up form before allowing the users to access the templates ensures that they are engaged enough to take this extra step. This might only be beneficial at the top of the funnel.

At the bottom, the sign-ups could be directed toward the newsletter rather than to collect email addresses.

Rest assured, offering templates is a sure-shot way of informing the users what you’ve in store for them.

3. Checklists

Checklists are a list of actionable bits of advice.

And they are very easy to create from already-written blog posts. Its content follows the ‘things to keep in mind’ pattern.

Taken from the main piece of content, these can be split into a significant number of steps to make the outcome more achievable.

You can also offer it in a downloadable/printable format so users can keep track as they complete a single milestone.  

Source: Forrester

Checklists are great lead magnets because they instill a sense of achievement and a positive feeling into your audience.

Think of checklists for your marketing campaigns – whether ads or conferences. You can create a checklist for a variety of them, covering the before and after as well.

Checklists are unique, concise, and easy to consume. And they offer ample, immediate value to users – download the relevant checklist and use it right away.

4. Free Tools

Numerous digital marketing businesses offer free tools that solve specific problems or make tasks more manageable. They are digital utilities that are (often) free to use.

Not only do these offer quick and tangible results, but they also provide instant gratification.

Take, for example, HubSpot’s ROI Calculator.

Every business wishes to know if its efforts are bearing fruit. Measuring the ROI is one way to justify the investment to stakeholders.

But most businesses aren’t sure where to begin. And measuring ROI follows a basic framework – starting with the right metrics that must be tracked. Amid the confusion, HubSpot offers a free tool to calculate the ROI.

It’s simple. You have to fill out the form, and voila! The calculator will provide a detailed and comprehensive ROI report.

This is why free tools have gained such momentum as lead magnets. They are genuine and strategic, without the need for aggressive sales tactics that overwhelm visitors.

5. Case Studies

Two of the prerequisites of lead magnets are offering value and being digestible. Case studies fit well and are one of the most commonplace lead magnets for B2B businesses.

Their significance has remained, even as several marketing trends come and go.

Source: HubSpot

Case studies are proof of a business’s capabilities and skills. They outline the company’s success stories with clients, also iterating how the solutions can help others, too.

It helps boost credibility and trust within a brand, especially in the MOFU, where buyer hesitance is high. Most businesses offer case studies on exchanging emails, especially when buyers are in the negotiation stage with SDRs.

By offering case studies to leads, businesses are illustrating their industry expertise and also convincing them that – yes, you’re making the right decision, as have others before you.

And the best facet of using case studies as lead magnets? They never expire.

6) Bonus: eBooks

Original content isn’t always a solution. And the market is filled with content of all types, with originality a thing of the past.  

So, marketers choose a middle ground – repurpose insightful content into another format.

Imagine developing comprehensive blogs on how technology has shaped marketing and covering every aspect from A to Z.

Source: Ciente.io

Given how crucial this segment is in modern marketing, you’ve to create more content around it. But how? Convert it into the ultimate guidebook.

Start by including all the articles around technology’s influence in the marketing landscape into one asset.

Yes, you would want to change the tone, add an introduction for each chapter, and publish it as a book. It’s informative, comprehensive, and offers enormous value.

To optimize their Martech stack, your audience can also revert to the guidebook and use it as a reference.

The Role of Lead Magnets at MOFU

At MOFU, lead magnets can offer clarity, address objections, and prove credibility. However, not every lead magnet can drive the desired results.

Some prove profitable in attracting the ICP, while some collect dust. So, it depends on the right lead magnet and what you intend it to do – generate brand awareness or nurture leads.

At the MOFU stage, trust building is the priority. And the audience is finite and segmented. So, the lead magnets are more targeted and valuable – ones that can help the lead decide between dropping off or purchasing the solution.

The general ones are whitepapers, templates, case studies, price charts, and product comparisons, among others.

But one dilemma plagues modern marketing teams. With marketing asked to do more with less, i.e., prove their investment, can they take a risk?

Lead magnets might work, but they don’t guarantee success. So, as a marketer, you might have to reiterate: Is investing your time and resources into lead magnets worth it?

The truth is that lead magnets hold significant value for B2B companies.

Imagine you’re a SaaS organization that doesn’t have lead magnets at all. Now, how do you track who your website visitors are, especially ones who haven’t signed up? You cannot discern how to communicate with these prospects because you’ve no idea who they are. Additionally, there’s no way to segment which visitors engaged and which didn’t.

But beyond outlining its space amid other marketing functions, there’s another burning issue across B2B – Do lead magnets work?

The answer is subjective.

While many marketers lean towards the stance that all content should be free to consume, some argue that the use of lead magnets in B2B is practical. Both arguments make sense.

The short answer is: Irrespective of the result, experiment.

After all, in marketing, it’s not the hacks and how-tos that matter, with mountains of online content outlining what to do.

But execution is where marketers falter the most – the essence of every campaign.

To get this right, focus on the basics – the three core components every lead magnet should entail:

1. Clarification – Address the specific pain point or objections.
2. Reinforcement – Reassure and build trust through social proof.
3. Personalization – How do your solutions fit their needs?

The final content piece might align with the brand’s voice. But at the molecular level, each lead magnet must entail those mentioned above in its framework.

It’s crucial to differentiate a regular lead magnet from a good one.

The traditional content playbooks outlined lead magnets as a PDF published with a form, highlighting it’s free to download.

However, modern marketers have changed the content game to adapt to changing buyer patterns.

A regular PDF wouldn’t serve the desired purpose. Instead, a quality lead magnet is built with intention – one that is meticulously crafted, well-researched, and addresses relevant pain points. And is shareable.

With half-heartedly developed and generic information, your lead magnets would fail to do more than compel leads to download.

What Makes a Great B2B Lead Magnet?

Align lead magnets with your core offerings

Lead magnets should be an extension of your brand solutions. If you’re offering content marketing services, the lead magnets could focus on SEO strategies or how to streamline content strategy with the stages in the buyers’ journey.

Talk about their pain point

One of the avenues where marketing falls short is focusing too much on selling. That’s not technically your job, but sales. Your assets should focus on how the solutions can help businesses address specific challenges.

Easy to consume

Decision-makers don’t have a copious amount of time to waste. If they need an answer, they require it stat without any hindrance. This is one of the primary factors of B2B lead magnets – they should be easily accessible, concise, and simple to go through.

Provides value

Lead magnets’ content needs to be directed and have a focus. They aren’t merely a means to get contact information. But assets that have to move lead in a particular direction and inform them. So, it must provide practical, actionable, and informative tools to the user.

Key Traits of an Effective B2B Lead Magnet

Creating unheard-of pain points

In the rush to deliver something unique, marketers derail from the core notion. The content is relevant only when it addresses the audience’s pain points and needs, not when it focuses on what personally interests marketers.

How are your lead magnets supposed to attract an audience when it doesn’t address their specific challenges? Cover genuine business challenges.

Lengthy production time

Lead magnets, when developed and distributed regularly, would have more impact. It demands simplicity and conciseness. So, taking weeks to curate one magnet is unnecessary. Focus on delivering value consistently.

Delivering false promises

Your lead magnets are neither bait nor a teaser. Teasing and withholding value within these content pieces is an incorrect strategy. Instead, instill value at full force and establish what you have to offer.

With lead magnets sometimes being the first piece of content that leads interact with, they should showcase your capabilities. So, they should be stand-alone resources that deliver practical solutions and outline the next step.

Publishing is the final step

Lead magnets such as whitepapers and eBooks are evolving channels. So, you should also prioritize regularly updating them.

In the current landscape, buyers, businesses, and the market – are all changing rapidly. Your lead magnets should align with the market conditions and audience feedback.

In short, lead magnets are a testing medium.

Your prospective buyers take you for a spin before committing to you – they are testing your expertise. And every time it’s successful, the lead comes closer to becoming your active customer.

This is why it’s a prerequisite to choose the right lead magnet.

Lead Magnets: An Innovative Nudge for Your Businesses

These are some of the fundamental and best lead magnets that currently give marketers a strategic edge. They provide a foundation for long-term value-driven relationships and set the tone for your brand — how uniquely do you approach problem-solving?

But as the marketplace evolves and digital innovation strengthens its roots, marketing assets must also transform. It’s simple — digital experiences demand that marketers innovate.

How long will the old playbooks offer leverage? There’s little space for them amidst modern practices. And this applies to every crevice of marketing – from strategy to execution and the intricacies.

Most businesses have already begun developing AI lead magnets and personalized assessments that drive more engagement and also offer community access.

Although sophisticated, these lead magnets demand a lot of care and attention from marketing teams. But the pay-off is quite satisfying, as these assets influence user perception and drive value.

And in exchange of this perceived value, the leads will gladly share their information for access.

After all, the goal is to illustrate audience understanding and reliability. What’s better to deliver these than the right lead magnets?

Modern marketing and sales have discovered their treasure trove – data. How can they gauge its maximum potential to find the best prospects?

There’s a fundamental problem with traditional lead-gen strategies.

Imagine a scenario where marketing teams capture leads, collate the details, and hand the list to sales. Sales teams are then expected to call these leads and gauge their intent.

This method of lead generation is counterproductive. It could prove detrimental to sales productivity, and consequently, the irrelevant leads overshadow the high-quality ones.

Lead scoring is your savior in this case.

What is lead scoring?

According to Gartner’s sales glossary, lead scoring has a straightforward definition:

“It’s a method of evaluating the quality of sales leads by using a relative and objective ranking of one lead against another based on a variety of buyer profile fit and behavior criteria.”

This model of differentiating or identifying high-value leads has become an asset for digital marketers. It has also proved to be a bridge between the marketing and sales disconnect, facilitating them to outline integrated efforts.

Adopting lead scoring models can significantly lessen conflict between the two teams, elevating overall performance. Thus, it has become crucial in fast-paced digital marketing.

However, before we dive into the nitty-gritty of lead scoring, let’s underscore why it’s necessary in the first place.

Lead scoring is a vital segment of marketing and sales.

For robust marketing, churning out new (hot) leads, nurturing them, and sending sales-ready leads to the SDRs are paramount. Most marketing strategies, such as lead generation, focus on this. Even after the meticulous execution of these strategies, these concerns persist.

One crucial concern for marketing has always been getting new leads into the funnel.

Beyond these, more challenges are branching from this specific concern:

• Modern buyers interact with your brands across multiple channels and touchpoints. This could easily create complexity in attributing which specific touchpoint drove genuine interest for the prospect.

Why is this a problem? Without this clarity, your teams may either overvalue or undervalue the leads using the incomplete data. And this could further complicate nurturing and scoring efforts.

• Tracking genuine buying signals is tricky. And can result in a lot of ambiguity around an account. Like, a lead might visit your website a couple of times and even download your whitepapers.

But this doesn’t always indicate the intent to buy; they might just be here for market research.

What does this pose a challenge? Most teams cannot fine-tune behavioral data to gauge purchasing intent, or even interpret these signals accurately. This could lead to false negatives and positives in the pipeline.

• Not all leads convert or drop off; some merely go cold. It’s tasking to underline whether these leads have moved on entirely, or the investment into re-engagement campaigns could be worth it.

Should your teams push and dig deeper? Because a lack of these efforts could easily make you lose out on a potential reactivation. The singular means is to attain a nuanced understanding and regular tweaking.

It’s the obvious truth that not every lead is interested in buying from a business.

To relieve themselves of these concerns, marketing teams have moved to adopt strategic lead scoring frameworks.

A glimpse into the basics of lead scoring: Why has it become requisite?

In simple words, lead scoring is an effective means of measuring lead quality.

Imagine lead as a crucial ingredient in a recipe, much like salt. They are a significant portion of the targeted market segment and illustrate interest in a brand.

Irrespective of whether these signals come from new prospects or existing customers, brands contribute a significant portion of their time and resources in nurturing them to:

• Either turn the new prospects into first-time buyers
• Or, convert the existing ones into long-term loyal customers by persuading them to purchase a second time.

Both contribute to a consistent flow of leads in the sales pipeline.

The actual problem lies with lead identification – it’s not this straightforward.

Lead identification isn’t this simple, especially where each lead is characteristically unique. They present multiple attributes that determine whether the particular lead is the ideal fit for a business.

On the one hand, a specific set of attributes illustrates whether they fit a brand’s ICP, and the other outlines how active the leads are and their interest level:

• Personal details: The prospect’s location, industry, job, company size, etc.
• Brand-related actions: The number of pages visited, searches performed on the website, resources downloaded, email click-throughs, demo requests, etc.

This is why data selection is significant in lead scoring.

Of course, such specifics hold different levels of weight for numerous businesses. It highly depends on the company’s working formula and goals – each of them has its own models for assigning scores based on its value system.

However, some common data points are integral in establishing a lead-scoring model and ensuring its effectiveness.

The primary factor is outlining which data should count and which shouldn’t. Because lead scoring isn’t subjective, it’s an analytical approach – the more accurate the assigned score is, the easier it is to discern the most promising leads.

But assigning scores isn’t a piece of cake.

There’s a cluster of data available. But it’s all intertwined and complex to uncoil.

While data is a goldmine for marketers, not every minute facet actually holds any value. This is why it’s paramount for marketers to differentiate which lead information will help lock leads and guide them closer to becoming potential customers.

The 80/20 rule and why it’s a prerequisite for effective lead scoring.

While assigning scores based on historical data sounds easy, the knot of leads and the current business model may complicate it in the flick of a hand. A recent report on sales states that average B2B sales cycles have become 25% longer than before.

With sales turning digital and buyers becoming tech-savvy, selling and buying have become demanding. So, marketing and sales must move. They should leverage leads with the maximum chances of closing.

As the B2B sales expert and an advisory council member of HBR, Mark Osborne states–

“Remember the 80/20 rule: 80% of your revenues come from just 20% of your clients. This is even more pronounced when expanded to the percentage of leads that become your best clients.”

It’s crucial to adapt to the times. So, it might not be a stretch to say that brands that leverage the “see-what-sticks” rule are losing opportunities.

Lead scoring realigns your brand’s priorities.

With a robust scoring strategy, marketers can amalgamate promising leads. It helps rank leads based on their sales readiness.

What are the particular aspects that are considered to rank leads? – their place in the buying cycle, interest illustrated through specific actions, personal attributes, and whether they’re an ideal fit for the company.

However, a lead scoring system isn’t meant for all.

Fundamental limitations and requirements for strategic lead scoring

For businesses with standalone marketing processes, those ignoring the lead database except for hot leads and searching for a quick fix aren’t the ones for whom lead scoring could prove effective.

Lead scoring requires focus and sales input to identify the perfect lead. It’s a long-term strategy that works when modified to the business’s working models. Hence, it’s not merely a superglue that will disperse all lead generation and qualification concerns in one go. The effectiveness might take time.

The same goes for ignoring the entire database except for hot leads. Cold and warm leads still carry intent, even if it’s not as high as the hot ones. This is why nurturing is also a crucial facet of marketing.

Just because a lead shows minimal interest doesn’t mean it cannot be nurtured. Time and resources are significant, and directing these to subpar-quality leads is potentially a waste of time.

But is this always the case? Not quite.

High-intent leads are significant and should be prioritized, but low-intent ones aren’t entirely irrelevant. Meanwhile, some leads can be handed over to sales, and others can be nurtured further rather than ignored.

Lead Scoring: Where’s the real focus?

Lead scoring spotlights all the leads in the database – cold, warm, and hot.

Every integral sales pipeline activity is at the center rather than only the leads. Overall, lead scoring fosters meaningful and relevant conversations. This is crucial for developing interest, irrespective of the intent they hold initially.

Lead scoring has specific intentions – to make marketing more convenient for marketers and offer relevant experiences to the leads. This boosts conversion rates, allowing teams to work more efficiently and speed up sales.

Common lead scoring methodologies: from BANT to data types

One of the common lead-scoring tactics has always been BANT – budget, authority, need, and timeline- used by almost every business at some point.

This is a conventional approach to lead scoring where marketing automation software plays a crucial role. This methodology leveraged two types of information to assign scores:

• Implicit: Form fill-ups, website visits, email click-throughs, and other online behaviors.
• Explicit: Revenue, company size, industry type, job title, etc.

However, there’s another type of data which should be accounted for – spam.

Junk or fake data is always clustered with the essential ones, especially on a company’s landing pages and forms. This data type should be negatively scored or filtered out to ensure that the lead-scoring model is working effectively.

Moreover, a strategic merger of implicit and explicit information can foster a comprehensive angle to a brand’s lead-scoring tactics.

One of them is implicit lead scoring.

Implicit (behavioral) lead scoring

Implicit lead scoring entails behavioral scoring. It tracks a prospect’s online actions to evaluate their intensity of interest in an offering. It also involves scoring leads on the quality of data marketers hold, such as the location of their IP addresses.

Behavioral scoring, like any scoring model, gauges the prospect’s intent to buy. Behaviors such as responding to emails, whitepaper downloads, website interaction, and getting back on offers demonstrate high interest.

However, online behaviors aren’t easy to determine – they are multidimensional and ambiguous. So, a scoring system can be outlined based on two behaviors – passive and active. Passive behavior indicates a low engagement rate, whereas active buyer behavior means hot leads demonstrating high engagement.

Examples of implicit lead scoring –

Imagine one prospect visiting a brand’s website, downloading a whitepaper and eBook, and signing up for its newsletter. Whereas the second one likes and shares the same brand’s LinkedIn post, clicks on a link, and browses the website. But they don’t take any further action.

Even though both prospects engage with the brand, their behaviors carry different weight. Lead scoring has to take this into account, too. The first prospect might actually be interested in the brand’s solution if they download “how-tos” and significant resources.

However, the second one might require nurturing, i.e., more persuasion into how the brand’s solution is right for them. But even for the nurturing process, qualifying them as fitting the target market is crucial. Or the efforts are truly wasted.

Sometimes, a lead-scoring model might assign the same score to active and passive prospects.

So, what’s the solution here?

Evaluating the total score against the score from the last few months. Using certain flags to mark more active actions or assigning different scores for distinct products.

This lead scoring depends on the information the marketing teams collate through marketing automation software and tools.

However, there’s another means – leveraging data that prospects offer.  

This is explicit lead scoring.

Explicit lead scoring

The data for this lead-scoring process comes through registrations, form fill-ups, newsletter signups, etc. It entails demographic and firmographic data outlining how well the prospect fits the brand’s ICP and if it aligns with the buyer persona.

Some of the most common data that marketers should consider are job title, company size, industry, revenue, and geographical location.

With explicit lead scoring, it’s straightforward to deduct scores, too. When a prospect unsubscribes from the newsletter or emails, has an entry-level job, or shows no interest in adopting new services.

Sometimes, this prospect data also relays how well they fit the ICP. But it’s more prominently used to attribute negative scores or deduct them. Data-based scoring is quite a simple lead-scoring method. Including this with the existing lead scoring model can elevate the comprehensiveness of the process.

This is highly beneficial to:

• Enhance communication quality
• Scale marketing efforts
• Help map a complete prospect profile

But one lead-scoring model might not be enough.

As a business scales, it might expand its service line while entering new markets. So, a one-size-fits-all lead-scoring model wouldn’t suffice.

Comprehensively assigning scores focuses on both implicit and explicit methodologies. It tracks whether the prospect rightly fits and has the relevant interest.

By developing a model that prioritizes both these attributes, it’s easier to highlight prospects with high scores in both categories and demonstrate quite a high conversion potential.

Additional lead scoring models to find the right fit for your business.

1. Manual lead scoring model

In a manual lead-scoring model, marketers assign lead scores based on their experiences and judgment. Most often, this is also based on some qualitative data, not pre-set rules or algorithms.

How does this model work?

Typically, your SDRs or marketers evaluate each lead using a checklist, attributing how valuable or sales-ready they truly are.

But there are more nuances –

1. The primary step in lead scoring is setting a benchmark.

To highlight this, analyze the newly acquired customers against the total number of generated leads. This is the lead-to-customer conversion rate and gives your brand a measurable objective.

2. Second, underline and select the different attributes of leads you think were high-value ones. Not every available criterion can be used for the lead scoring model. It should align with the sales objectives and fit the current business model.

The chosen attributes depend on having detailed conversations with sales and what truly matters to your brand.

3. Third, evaluate the closing rate for each attribute. This underscores the marketing team’s actions while figuring out how many people convert based on their actions.

4. Lastly, compare the close rate of individual attributes with the overall sales team closing rate.

In manual lead scoring, points are assigned from 1 to 100 based on the outlined data types. In the final evaluation, the points are then added – the higher the final score, the more likely the lead is to convert.

The overall process of assigning scores is somewhat linear –

However, manual lead scoring has two limitations: it’s laborious and prone to human error. This traditional process is based on salespeople’s historical experiences and “gut feeling.” It decreases the accuracy of the entire model, allowing hot leads to fall through the cracks.

2. Demographic lead scoring model

The demographic lead scoring model is based on the aspect of ICPs, from job titles to industry size. It considers not merely who the leads are but also what they do.

But this model has an inherent complication: there are several demographic traits, so it’s crucial to gauge how they interplay and evolve.

Think: a fintech company’s marketing manager may score differently than a retail business’s CMO. The buying stages, needs, and budgets are obviously different – one size doesn’t fit all.

Demographic traits are static, but the overall lead scoring model can’t depend on these immobile numbers. It also has to gauge the fluidity of businesses and the marketplace – how quickly they pivot. The industry shifts every three years, titles change, and goals meander.

Without consistent updates to the collated data and proper data hygiene, your lead scoring methods are outdated. The leads that once fit and were deemed relevant might not be anymore.

This is a crucial aspect to factor in to avoid wasted efforts and resources.

But this lead scoring model has a significant limitation: it heavily relies on demographics. By only focusing on these traits, your business can overlook emerging segments or unconventional buyers who don’t fit in but hold genuine interest.

This could lead to several prospective opportunities just slipping through the cracks.

While the demographic lead scoring model is optimized to filter the right fits, it could potentially blindside teams. Especially when detached from the behavioral context. The framework you follow here shouldn’t be too rigid and should be streamlined to find a balance.

A balanced framework: coupling demographical statistics with real-time engagement insights.

3. Negative lead scoring model

Negative lead scoring is quite a subtle but highly underappreciated segment of lead qualification.

There’s one thing every marketer must understand: not all leads are relevant and worth pursuing. While some undertake spammy actions, others are not interested and actively detract from any interaction.

In this model, you deduct scores/points when leads portray low-intent behavior. It asserts that not every click is a green light, something most marketers often forget. A lead could be interacting with content that has nothing to do with buying your solutions – zilch, not the slightest interest in your brand.

While some others may illustrate a decline in interest, such as unsubscribing to your newsletter, unfollowing you on social media, or downloading reports for academic purposes.

Negative lead scoring takes these behaviors into account. It ascertains that your teams aren’t spending time than required on leads that showcase unfavorable actions, especially to avoid lead score inflation.

Overall, this model works for two scenarios: to remove non-prospects and streamline the scale for leads with unfavorable attributes.

So, the focus is solely directed towards nurturing high-quality leads.

Deducting points is as necessary as adding them. It identifies the non-prospects amidst a pool of potential ones, saving your time. You’re deprioritizing irrelevant leads quite early on and cleaning your sales pipeline. This is a strategic step to:

• Avoid misleading and inaccurate metrics
• Wasting resources on leads that you know won’t convert
• Adjust messaging only for nurturing high-priority leads
• Elevate overall sales performance and efficiency

4. Predictive lead scoring model

Lead-scoring has now shifted to predictive lead-scoring.

Even though the purpose remains etched in stone, the tidbits have significantly evolved. Today, modern marketers leverage the prowess of AI and machine learning to predict high-quality leads.

Adopting predictive lead scoring is imperative across today’s dynamic business landscape.

Developing a model is just not enough. Tweaking it regularly to ensure its accuracy is crucial.

But what if your team doesn’t have to do that anymore? Technology has made this convenient.

Predictive lead scoring utilizes machine learning capabilities to sort through thousands of data points and highlight the best lead. It assigns scores using predictive modeling algorithms.

How does predictive lead scoring work?

Predictive lead scoring is a step ahead. It leverages implicit, explicit, and historical data.

In the initial phase, the business integrates predictive lead-scoring software like HubSpot with its CRM. This allows the software’s machine learning capabilities to assess the data points across the business’s contact base and discover the perfect leads for conversion.

It studies the website and email behaviors, interactions logged in the CRM, and demographic and firmographic data to identify the leads. The software sifts through data from multiple sources, offers real-time insights, and reroutes the high-scoring leads to the sales reps.

Overall, in predictive scoring, the model looks at the information that customers have in common and those who closed but didn’t have anything in common. This is developed into a formula where prospects are sorted, beginning with those with the highest potential to convert.

Technically, it automates the entire manual process. The advantage is that it’s scalable, effectively expanding the business’s database, leads in the pipeline, and sales team.

Another benefit is how the software improves itself as it gains more data from the leads. The machine gets intelligent as it works and collates data points, and the lead-scoring strategy automatically streamlines and optimizes as required.

Lead scoring best practices.

To effectively qualify leads that truly align with your business requirements, you need the best practices.

The focus shouldn’t be merely on data. Of course, data is a goldmine, and integrating predictive lead scoring is all about convenience. However, such processes require a lot more than this.

Lead scoring best practices aren’t about setting up a machine and letting it do its job. Marketing and sales still have to lend a helping hand.

And even if that’s not necessary, the teams must understand how this process aligns with their lead-nurturing roadmaps.

1. Understand what led a customer to start as a lead or even make a purchase. Highlight the analytical information and map how it slowly transforms at each marketing funnel stage – what made an impression on the prospect?

2. Leverage the sales teams’ insights and experience. They are adept at reading the audience and are the ones who interact with them.

By outlining their buying behavior, your teams could identify which campaigns have the most influence. This will allow marketing to refine the leads’ exposure to key information and content.

3. Hearing from the buyers themselves can never go wrong. It’s advantageous to hear from those who use the services to underscore the whys. Their perspective can offer enormous value to the sales and marketing processes.

Why did they make a purchase? Map out the patterns in the buying behavior of different clients.

4. Prioritize the prospect data available. Predictive lead scoring is objective. The data it collates might not entirely be incorrect. At least 80% of it might highlight the prospect’s interest.

So why not leverage this? Only particular trial and error can help understand whether it’s working as it should.  

5. But data isn’t always the champion. Sometimes, inauthentic or even stale data can create problems while initiating contact with prospects. The conventional approaches don’t consider market trends, the industry’s shifting dynamics, or inconsistent buyer behavior.

To stay ahead of the revenue curve, implement real-time adjustments.

In reality, lead scoring is a mix of observable and immeasurable components.

Assigning scores isn’t merely about attributing numbers to prospects. As outlined beforehand, the nitty-gritty of scoring must be understood comprehensively.

Truthfully, predictive scoring models have taken the labor off marketers’ and SDRs’ hands. But their role in the process hasn’t been entirely diminished; only their labor has. A strategic and robust lead-scoring demands an alignment between marketing and sales.

Any disjointedness will only create issues further down the pipeline. What good is a contact list of hot leads if marketing and sales don’t even see eye to eye on what a “lead” means?

Further down, how will anyone establish who are quality leads and who aren’t?

When the point scoring system isn’t aligned and based on a shared vision, how can it be expected to give the desired results?

The sales pipeline could get leads who aren’t interested in a purchase.

What sense does quantity make without any quality?

Marketing and sales both bring unique insights to the lead-scoring process. Before any other step, lead scoring best practices ensure a synergy between marketing and sales.

This will build a high-quality pipeline and ensure leads convert on time, resulting in a boost in revenue stream for a long time to come.

But with the self-directed buyer and AI tools on the rise, this glue has peeled off. There is no semblance of the old inbound lead gen left anymore.

Embers, yes. But the rest has vanished away. Yet, many organizations create content that speaks nothing and has no voice.

Even great companies do this- to rank, they create blogs that are full of content that has no real value, and they know it. All of the value they are creating lies in the product they are selling. All they want is for their buyers to buy their product.

And the propagation of misinformation continues to exist because the companies that rank for these terms have gained authority through their products. But companies who are starting out need to be careful.

These content pieces will introduce you to basic concepts but will not give you the answer.

But there is a clear answer: Inbound lead generation is about attention and standing out.

The question is: Are you creative enough to take that risk?

What is Inbound Lead Generation?

Inbound lead generation is nothing but attracting a group of individuals that are interested in your product or services. This can be done through traditional means like putting out content and hoping search engines rank you for them or putting out ads.

Essentially, you reach potential buyers (a.k.a. your intended audience) and hope they like what they see and keep coming back for more. Then you use this audience to convert them beyond the TOFU stage and into consideration and eventually the buying stage.

However, the modern buyer does not follow the logic dictated above. They have changed slowly over the years and now completely. The buyer is self-directed and needs high-quality marketing assets that provide real value to them.

And creating content that says something is a high-risk high-return strategy.

Inbound Lead Generation and the Modern B2B Buyer’s Journey

However, there is a reason risk-taking is seen with caution. Many organizations have to think beyond marketing campaigns. They must think about their reputation.

1. What if this message is ill-received?
2. What if we get canceled?
3. And worse, what if there’s no buzz?

These are all logical and vital questions to ask before running campaigns. Brand reputation is what sets most competitors apart.

But there is a loop here. To stand apart from your competition and gain a brand reputation, organizations have to learn to take creative risks. But why is that?

Why are risks such a deciding factor? It’s because of the buyer.

Before everyone went digitally native, the buyer had no choice but to turn to Google for information. And SEO wasn’t as stringent as today— but that is also because Google has been intentionally killing organic reach to make companies spend on advertisements.

Now, buyers have changed their attitudes. After the virus, everyone has become cautious of their spending. And importantly, they have become wary of whom to trust.

Unfulfilled promises and buyer regret have jaded the modern buyer. Now, they trust themselves to make the right decision.

And the numbers reflect this bright as day.

1. B2B buyers are done with 80% of their buying journey.
2. Buyers have a preferred vendor ready
3. They know their requirements.

It’s clear that buyers have bias. There are many reasons for having these biases— maybe they have formed deep relationships with their partners or know that they will get the job done. However, these biases are difficult to navigate.

Not impossible, but there are many obstacles standing in your path.

Leveraging Inbound Lead Generation Through the B2B Buying Committee

The average B2B buying committee is made up of 11-13 members. Each member has a bias, and they bring that to the discussion.

However, the reasons behind these biases may not matter. The main point is there is one. And there are three things that are happening: –

1. The bias is helping you
2. The bias is not helping you
3. You’re not part of the buying list.

The third option should be your least preferred one.

But then you ask, how do we market our products and services if we’re not even going to make that list?

That’s the question.

And the harsh truth is, if you don’t trust your product to be different or the service to provide something unique— even if it’s price or quality or process— no amount of marketing will fix that.

However, the assumption here is that your product/service solves a problem, no matter what that is.

In this case, you leverage the buyer committee, which is made up of diverse individuals. And as these people are leaders, they will have an opinion.

You must sway these opinions in your favor.

Inbound lead generation today is about swaying this opinion. Becoming part of this bias.

That brings us back to risk-taking.

Power of Value in Driving Effective Inbound Lead Generation

Ciente has created a value framework. Through observing high-quality posts, our traffic, and countless social media posts, we’ve realized that content that speaks to its intended audience follows this framework.

However, many organizations and individuals teeter on the line of safety. Never really say anything of substance and value.

For example, let’s look at this blog.

Who is this written for?

It’s for SEO purposes, yes. But beyond that, what purpose does this serve? The definitions offer no new insights and provide no value.

This is the AI score of the entire blog. And this is one of many. Tens of thousands of these blogs have the same structure and say the same things.

And the buyers have caught on to this.

Whether it’s an agency or a product company, B2B buyers are looking for depth and quality— not quantity. Their industries are full of risks, and they want mitigators, not imitators, to help them bridge the gap.

How can an organization help others if they don’t create original ideas?

Value is in perspective.

What if an organization promised you a product that can give you research on your ideal buyer?

They tell you: –

1. They are AI-powered
2. They do all the research and give you insights.

Floored by the app, you buy it and realize that the insights are not real-time and the AI is just a ChatGPT clone.

You complain and ask for a refund. But the organization tells you they did not promise real-time data. Just insights and the research.

If the data is outdated, it’s not their fault. You got what you paid for—research, insights, and an AI.

And this has happened to many organizations and buyers. Faced with unmet promises, they have had to evaluate the value of the organizations they are buying from.

They now look very closely at what you say. And what value you bring.

And a good metric of value is the perspective you offer.

1. Why did you create the tool?
2. What does it do for its users?
3. How does it do it?
4. What has been the effect of the tool after people have used it?

Such introspection helps you create messages that move the audience to action. It also provides clarity and authenticity— something buyers will be craving a lot more of.

There is a reason organization like G2 and TrustRadius have become successful. They peel the layers of authenticity and help buyers make sense of their buy.

However, the perspective has a catch: your product and services must embody it.

Alex James, one of LinkedIn’s upcoming B2B stars, believes that your perspective is your product, quite literally.

Without this perspective, without this unique take, your service will be white noise. But it need not be grand— differentiate on price, on process, or on delivery— but differentiate and provide what your buyer is looking for.

Value is in building trust.

This is the crux of this entire blog. The Tl;dr.

Trust in your brand is what modern marketing teams should be fostering. You must have heard about a common pain point that affects the B2B industry— there is no single definition of a lead.

While there can be no specific definition, marketing teams should broadly define the lead as an entity that shows interest and has begun trusting your brand.

Even if they don’t buy from you immediately, this trust will be that mindshare. If you’re selling a manufacturing plant, your ideal buyer should think, “Hey, I know XYZ, I like what they’re doing. Let’s contact them.”

And make no mistake, attracting the buyer so that they call you is what you want.

Value is in diversification.

A significant shift in marketing is the transformation of content and online platforms into assets.

These assets are: –

1. Owned media (Your website, email list, apps, software, etc.)
2. Paid media (Ads, sponsorships, influencers, etc.)
3. Earned media (Word of mouth, press mentions, UGC, et al.)
4. Borrowed Media (Social media, YouTube, platforms like Medium and the like)

While having owned media that has authority is the dream, lead generation campaigns must give value by creating content with all these four assets in mind.

Repurpose great content to deliver value across each channel. It creates authorities of different types and attracts a diverse pool of leads that can help you.

But there is one hiccup that marketing teams fall under.

Creating low-quality content. For a lot of teams, repurposing content means low effort.

While creating an inbound lead gen strategy, teams must repurpose content for various media.

However, while creating a multi-channel strategy, the delivery for each channel is different. Maybe your blog breaks down the principles of design: –

1. For LinkedIn, it could be a carousel with eye-catching graphics.
2. For YouTube, it could be a ‘director breaks down a scene‘ type of video.
3. For Instagram, it could be a quick reel.
4. For your newsletter, these could be actionable items.

Imagine such a strategy and the leads it would deliver you. Remember, lead gen focuses on giving actual value to your prospects.

But why, you ask?

Because lead gen is increasingly about mindshare, diversification, and providing business value when and where your prospects need it.

Value creates mindshare

Mindshare is crucial for businesses to survive. Peep Laja, the CEO of Wynter, published research on LinkedIn. It is an interesting piece. Wynter surveyed 300 C-suite buyers and found out:

1. Top of mind determines if the buyer will consider the vendor.
2. 75% of buyers turn to peers when creating the shortlist.
3. Famous brands are automatically qualified for consideration.

There are a lot of valuable insights in the post, but for this section’s sake, these three will do.

They tell the story of mindshare not just between your ideal buyer but also the industry they are in. And valuable pieces bring in this mindshare.

Of course, you will need channels to deliver your content. But they should be eye-grabbing. That can be through some radical new message or speaking of your perspective clearly.

This process has to be done again and again. Your perspective needs to be synonymous with what you’re trying to sell.

Multi-Channel Strategy for Modern Inbound Lead Generation

When we speak of diversification, it is essentially the multi-channel strategy to build assets.

For lead generation, the traditional methods, while helping you stay discoverable, do not help much in brand building and trust. By this point, it should be apparent to you— that trust and relationship-building drive real growth.

But how do you use these four types of media to get mindshare?

1. Owned media (Your website, email list, apps, software, etc.)
2. Paid media (Ads, sponsorships, influencers, etc.)
3. Earned media (Word of mouth, press mentions, UGC, et al.)
4. Borrowed Media (Social media, YouTube, platforms like Medium and the like)

Of course, investing in SEO and SEM should still be a priority. According to industry buzz, marketing teams will now need to create copies optimized for LLMs like ChatGPT and Perplexity.

But, they still don’t have the lion’s share for service-based searches— Google retains that.

So what is the multi-channel strategy here?

1. It’s creating content around your buyers’ needs and problems.
2. Repurposing it and making yourself synonymous with the solution.
3. Using paid media to increase brand-audience surface area.
4. Earning testimonials and word of mouth
5. Using different channels to spread your solution.

This has to be a continuous and patient process. And young brands need to realize the power of effective adverts very early — it helps them.

But for inbound lead generation to work and for the multi-channel approach to be successful, your brand has to be your service and product— it cannot be different from your process. Every piece of content must solve a problem your buyer has or might have in a way that you would solve.

As Elsa Dithmer of Auvik says, “High-value content—whether in the form of thought leadership, case studies, or interactive tools—should provide actionable insights that empower buyers. When content is well-optimized, highly relevant, and consistently delivers value, it establishes authority, nurtures prospects, and ultimately accelerates [sales] pipeline velocity.”

Inbound lead generation example

One really amazing example that we found was SAP. Everyone knows SAP as the creators of the ERP suite.

In 2020, when fear had reached its fever pitch, SAP, inspired by an exchange between two 7-year-old children, decided to inspire hope. They created a podcast series following a 12-year-old girl and her eccentric aunt. They complimented this with stop motion videos, blogs and traditional assets— all carefully mapped to specific industry pain points.

According to Ginger Shimp, Global Content Strategist, Sr. Marketing Director, SAP, this resulted in:

• 48% higher engagement than all other SAP social campaigns in 2020
• 22,000+ podcast listeners (industry benchmark for top 2% is 18,000)
• 10,000+ views for industry-specific YouTube videos within 30 days
• Significant pipeline generation (EUR924.4M) and projected revenue (EUR266.15M)
• Global expansion to LATAM, India, China, and Australia/NZ markets
• Partner co-investment from major firms including Capgemini

Inbound Lead Gen will help you make the shortlist.

And everything you do culminates here. For a while now, B2B marketers have lagged behind. But now, they can’t afford to.

Buyers have a list of vendors and, on average, choose from 3. But many teams are busy bottlenecking themselves- marketing to every buyer available in the hopes that they buy.

That is not your function- marketing is not sales.

Marketing is directing the buyer and priming them for sales.

Your job is to increase the surface area of your product/services and your brand. To build trust with your buyers.

Give them what they want, and the buyer will come to you. But make sure to increase that surface area time and again. Market to everyone in your ICP, even if they are not buying. Because they will buy tomorrow and you need to be there to be remembered and to be called.

Change the way you do lead generation, and only then will you make the shortlist.

Organizations end up navigating a pool of irrelevant prospects, making marketers feel lost. In this chaos, lead qualification is your compass.

While 61% of B2B marketers send all the leads to sales teams,  only 27% are of high quality. The rest have to be discarded because they are not ready to buy or are irrelevant.

However, there is one way to improve the numbers- implement lead qualification.

Qualifying allows you to figure out whether a lead is the right prospect. Failing to qualify a lead can cause you to invest resources in the wrong direction, or not get the intended ROI. Marketing and sales teams must qualify leads to understand how well a prospect fits the brand, and how likely the leads are to make a purchase decision.

And it is a multi-stage process. Let’s explore this in detail.

Qualified leads vs. Unqualified leads

Brands must differentiate between leads that qualify as good or high-quality and those that miss the points. Let’s take a quick look at the two types-

Unqualified leads

• Those whose needs do not align with your brand
• Leads whose demands you cannot serve due to lack of or limited resources
• Prospects whose budget doesn’t match your price models

Qualified leads are those prospects who typically tick all the boxes.

These are three common types of qualified leads

• Marketing qualified leads (MQLs)
• Sales qualified leads (SQLs)
• Product qualified leads (PQLs)

Why is lead qualification important?

The answer is simple: time and resources.

If you want to save time and money, start qualifying those leads!

It makes sure you don’t end up pitching solutions to prospects who do not express interest or who are not ready. By qualifying your leads upfront, you can save your company’s time and money in the long run.

Unless you have unlimited resources, you should qualify leads before acting upon them. When you qualify leads, you learn

• Whether a prospect is the right fit for the industrial domain
• If they have a need your product or solution can solve
• Whether they have the authority to make purchasing decisions on their own
• It is best to access these details before reaching the prospect directly

Other advantages of lead qualification include

• Higher close rates
• Qualifying leads early on lets you focus on the sales-ready leads, which increases deal closing rates.
• Better use of marketing resources
• You can launch relevant content only for prospects who can relate to them and find them beneficial.
• Improved data quality

You can also ensure that the data you have is accurate and up-to-date. This is important because poor-quality data can create a series of problems.

Although this isn’t an exhaustive list, lead qualification is important because it benefits the bottom line of business.

Qualify Leads with Lead Scoring

It’s one of the most commonly used methods for lead qualification. Lead scoring quantifies the qualification process by assigning value to each prospect. And this happens in the early phases of a pipeline before too much time has been invested in the prospect.

Lead scoring functions on a simple theory. If all new prospects are assigned an objective point value, it becomes easier for sales teams to determine where their time can be invested wisely.

Your brand can create its lead-scoring system to match its unique needs. But no matter what the plan is, you’ll need to gather data before you qualify leads.

Here are some of the things that you should be looking for.

How the Lead Qualification Process Works

Lead qualification helps determine the chance of a prospect converting into a paying account.  It’s usually an ongoing process that lasts through each stage of the sales journey. So long as the lead shows interest in a future sale, they will keep moving through all phases of the sales funnel.  

The first step of lead qualification starts in the marketing stage. Now, whether that happens through inbound or outbound lead generation is something you will need to decide. In this stage, your marketing team captures contact details through site visits, email subscriptions, or social media engagement. These interactions serve as a turning point for you to decide whether any lead fits the ICP.  It’s a stepping stone to qualify leads and move on to the next step. The sales rep can reveal the prospects’ needs and budget constraints.

The data assimilated during this phase enlightens about a prospect’s viability.

In case it turns out to be a dead-end interaction, try to leave it on a positive, helpful note. You never know, this can result in future business from this lead, or they may refer more qualified leads to your brand.

How To Qualify a Sales Lead

Some leads may seem easier to qualify than others.

To eliminate challenges, you need to have a data-driven, result-oriented lead qualification framework.

We have compiled a list of some common lead qualification strategies that can help you convert more cold leads into qualified leads.

BANT

BANT- Budget, Authority, Need, Timeline, helps you cover some typical characteristics from a customer’s perspective. Let’s walk through these:

• Budget – Does your solution fit the prospect’s purchasing budget?
• Authority – Is the prospect authorized to make decisions?
• Needs – Does the prospect need your product or service? Or are they just exploring and weighing options?
• Timeline – Is the timing best for the prospect to make a purchase decision? Are they ready for it?

If you want a simple way to begin lead qualification, BANT is your best bet.  It centers around 4 important principles that qualify leads. This checklist helps you filter out irrelevant leads or leads less likely to convert, in no time.

Customer needs and resource constraints are some of the main factors determining the quality of prospects. Brands must verify if every prospect fits all the criteria before investing time and sales efforts.

CHAMP

CHAMP- Challenges, Authority, Money, Prioritization is an alternative framework to BANT. Using CHAMP allows you to prioritize a lead’s pain points. You can then focus on delivering the ideal solution that addresses the challenge. Solving the pain point with personalized solutions helps improve customer relationships and build brand trust. As a result, they move through the sales cycle faster.  

The CHAMP framework is suited for situations where some leads are unclear about your brand’s offerings. Understanding prospects’ challenges will help you connect with the audience and improve your chances of lead conversions.

MEDDIC

Now the MEDDIC framework could seem quite complex, but it is effective. This lead qualification approach focuses on these criteria:

• Metrics – Are there any quantifiable results like more ROI, that prospects can expect to derive from your brand?
• Economic buyer – Who is the buying decision-maker? Who is authorized to make a purchase?
• Decision criteria – What is the checklist that the prospect typically follows for decision-making?
• Decision process – What approach do potential leads follow while assessing a brand’s offerings?
• Pain point identification – What challenges are the prospects facing?

Champion – Among the potential customers, is there anyone who is already satisfied with the services and can serve as a champion for it? In other words, talk about it or provide a referral.

To successfully apply a MEDDIC framework, gather detailed information about potential customers. This strategy is a good fit especially if you are doing business with a low volume of high-ticket sales.

SPIN

This is an effective method to qualify leads, with a focus on these areas:  

• Situation – With the SPIN approach, you can understand the lead’s context. Check whether their current goals and capabilities align with your brand’s offerings.
• Problem – SPIN helps you identify the pain point of the target audience.
• Implication – Weighs options and explores the consequences of these problems. Will the solution have the impact the audience seeks?
• Need-Payoff – Demonstrate ways in which the solution will benefit the prospects

Integrating this lead qualification framework allows brands to engage strategically with leads and create relevant solutions. It draws upon valuable insights that allow scope for a curated method, improving lead conversions and customer satisfaction.

SCOTSMAN

SCOTSMAN is a popular sales methodology to qualify new leads. Created by Advance, which allows a detailed analysis of prospects before they move too far in the funnel. The acronym stands for solution, competition, originality, time, size, money, authority, and need.

Let’s walk through each of these.

S: Solution

The solution you are trying to deliver for a specific pain point of a lead

C: Competition

A lead that is speaking to you is also researching other options. Knowing your competitor gives you the advantage of highlighting the strengths that make your brand unique and the best choice for the lead.

O: Originality

Once you know who you are competing against, focus on outshining the competition by drawing upon your unique ability to solve the challenge.

T: Time

Like any method, getting the timing right could be a huge game-changer when closing a deal.  This aspect of the SCOTSMAN will explain if the lead is interested in a solution.

S: Size

The size of the opportunity would explain whether or not the lead is a good fit. For instance, if your solution is designed for a small team but the lead is an enterprise company, you must look for leads that align with your brand.   

M: Money

You would be surprised to know that budget is the make-or-break aspect of the deal. Figure out if the lead has enough financial resources to take things forward.

A: Authority

Is the person you are communicating with, in a position of authority to have a final say in the purchase? Or is there more than one team member required to sign off on a deal? These details are best sorted out earlier.  

N: Need

The final aspect of the SCOTSMAN sales methodology checklist is needed. You want to make sure the prospect understands their needs well, and these align with what your solution can do for them.

At this point, brands must use the right questions to ensure that they can articulate their needs clearly, and prove that your solution is ideal for their pain point.

FAINT

Stands for Funds, Authority, Interest, Need, and Timing.

This lead qualification technique functions on the funds available, decision-making authority, and the interest of the audience in your solution, apart from the need and time frame. In this methodology, leads will only need your solution if they know the value it adds to their growth. With FAINT, you can experiment with ways to generate interest or need for the product/service among the prospects. This qualification stage allows you to create opportunities to place your product as a must-have rather than a nice-to-have: a feature that makes FAINT stand out.

So, where does lead qualification fit in?

Ideally, lead qualification should happen before moving leads into the sales cycle. This is right between the periods where they were considering cold traffic and converting into paying accounts. It emphasizes the need to develop a clear roadmap for your brand’s sales funnel. Without having a clear picture of the purchase patterns of customers, it could be tough to fit the qualification process into the customer journey.

Lead Qualification Criteria

Let us understand the pointers that help qualify a lead, based on their readiness and willingness to purchase.

The ultimate goal is to distinguish between leads with the most potential to convert into paying accounts and those with the least.

The business objectives help define the lead qualification criteria. However, you can qualify them by understanding their goals, pain points, buying authority, and budget.  

In a perfect world, the marketing qualified leads (MQLs) and sales qualified leads(SQLs) would coincide. However, if the sales team rejects too many leads, the marketing qualification criteria will need tweaking.

Qualifying a Lead with Marketing Automation

Marketing automation is revolutionizing industries, ‘stepping up’ processes, and helping brands bring their ‘A-game’. It does so with software that automates many aspects of marketing and lead gen, making it easier to manage them and improve productivity. The best part is you can integrate software solutions to automate all marketing activities— from the initial opt-in to follow-up sequences and behavioral emails. Automation can streamline the overall customer acquisition process.

In other words, each time a prospect wants to receive email updates. For instance, your system will automatically generate email responses designed to qualify their interest in your solution.  

Let’s consider another example. If a prospect submits a sign-up form, the marketing automation software will automatically add them to a contact list. Then, it sends curated content that moves them towards making larger purchases. Alternatively, you can change the command and set it up for a different objective.

How To Improve Your Inbound Lead Qualification- 3 steps

To keep up with the changing B2B dynamics, the techniques and processes for qualifying leads also evolve. Employing these steps will help you achieve better results in lead qualification:

Have a qualification expert

The process is both critical and complex. Businesses have started investing in designated software and a team member to gatekeep new inbound sales leads. You can assign an expert the nitty-gritty of the process, which would ensure consistent and high-quality leads.

Pay attention to emails

Although different channels are available to foster engagement with customers and build brand reputation, emails remain a significant communication route. An email list holds great value, so when customers invest efforts to interact with emails and express interest in your brand, they could qualify as leads.

Keep at it persistently

Persistence plays a huge role in improving the lead generation strategy performance. The best way to determine whether a lead is qualified is to discuss their pain points and the solution they seek. The mode of communication doesn’t matter. But persistence does, without being sales-y of course!

Work on scheduling a sales meeting or contact them to understand if they are interested.  The best way to find out if your lead is qualified is through a real conversation with them about their needs. Your goal is to put behind the maybes and focus on the yes’s.

There are a ton of different ways to qualify a lead. But this checklist might simplify the process.

Figure out their interest in your product or service

Some customers who do not initially show interest might grow it. But, this could involve more research about your brand. So, if a lead is not showing much interest, the best thing to do is target them with content that demonstrates brand value.

What about the resources?

If a lead does not have adequate resources to make a purchase, it’s best to move on to the next lead.

Are they ready to make a purchase soon?

It’s important to factor in time when qualifying leads. The bottom line is that someone could be interested in your offering and have the resources, but if the timing is not right, it’s best not to pursue them.  

Is the lead you are speaking with authorized to make a buying decision?

This step will only apply to B2B deals, where the lead you’re targeting may or may not have the final say over the company’s purchasing decisions for their department.

And in case the lead is not part of the decision-making committee, focus on their company. Find out who are the persons within the business with the power to make the sale. You can either go about it with research or directly ask the lead you targeted.

How do you use the Checklist?

Use the checklist to gather essential data that helps you score them effectively.  And how you implement this would depend entirely on the answers. For instance, if you get a ‘yes’ for the entire checklist, place the lead at the top of the scoring system. If some are ‘yes’ and some are ‘no’, keep the lead in the middle of the ranking system. It helps you figure out upfront how promising different leads in the funnel are.

AI forecasting for lead qualification

Brands can leverage AI to qualify leads and derive inputs. AI and machine learning models help you filter out leads that have the highest likelihood of converting into paying accounts. AI achieves this by analyzing historical data to discover patterns and behaviors that show increased conversion probability, which helps brands invest their sales resources.

These are some key features of AI-integrated forecasting-

Predictive Analytics:

AI evaluates extensive customer interaction data alongside behavioral patterns to determine which leads will likely convert. The algorithms process variables such as past interactions, website visits, email engagement, and demographic data to generate lead conversion scores.

Behavioral Insights:

AI tools allow you to monitor and assess a prospect’s digital footprint. This makes it easy for sales teams to concentrate on high-value leads when AI systems detect repeated product page visits or specific content interactions as strong buying signals.

Lead Scoring Optimization:

The traditional lead scoring method depends on manually entered data and fixed scoring metrics. Machine learning systems maintain lead scoring models through continuous refinement and updates that help improve accuracy with the accumulation of new data over time. Employing an AI system improves your brand’s capability to qualify leads. And this happens by integrating information from external sources including social media and industry trends.

Sales Forecasting:

Businesses can enhance sales forecasting accuracy by integrating AI capabilities into their CRM systems. Your sales teams could benefit from AI models that analyze historical sales cycles to forecast lead conversions and optimize resource distribution.

Automated Follow-ups:

AI-enabled systems use lead behavior to automate the scheduling and sending of personalized follow-up communications. AI triggers automated emails or reminders to leads who show product interest but have not completed purchases to encourage them to convert.

Lead qualification- more than a strategy

It can elevate lead conversions for B2B brands looking to maximize their efforts and drive better results. Lead qualification lets you focus on the leads with maximum potential, saving costs and valuable time. Plus, it benefits brands by wise allocation of resources. The outcome- overall better chances of closing deals.

Effective lead qualification helps businesses focus their resources on high-quality prospects- improving sales efficiency, shortening the sales cycle, and increasing conversion rates.

Each framework enlisted in this blog has its strengths and weaknesses. However, the best approach for your brand will depend on the nature of your product/service, the complexity of the sales process, and the specific needs of your target audience. Modifying these methods per your brand and audience could improve your lead qualification efforts even more.

Irrespective of the framework you decide to implement, the main point is understanding your prospects deeply and aligning your efforts with their needs, budget, and decision-making processes.

Marketers and SDRs use leads and prospects interchangeably despite their distinct roles in a sales funnel. Find out how they differ.

Defining “prospects” and “leads” is often seen as an unnecessary step and many marketing and sales teams use these terms interchangeably, assuming there are no differences between them.

This common but minuscule mistake could have significant repercussions for businesses, relying on lead generation to drive sales. If your company’s marketing messages and sales teams sound inexperienced with the basics, your potential buyers may not take you seriously.

The simple reasoning here is that modern buyers are self-directed and know their industry inside out. To close them, your teams will require nuance.

Agreeing on what these terms denote will improve the marketing-to-sales hand-off and speed up the sales cycle.  However, understanding the distinctness of each term is not about learning marketing or sales jargon.

It’s rather about observing the nuances held within the different processes and how to use them to your advantage.

Benefits of understanding the differences between prospects and leads

SDRs play a significant role in streamlining sales processes through lead prioritization and identification. What if their misconstrued understanding of a lead affects their approaches?

It could affect the sales pipeline.

Thus, it’s all about segmenting potential client organizations and individuals based on their interests and qualifications. Differentiating between prospects and leads can further assist sales teams in:

Prioritizing their efforts on those most likely to convert.

B2B sales is a lengthy process. And sales reps spend a crucial part of their time negotiating and conversing with prospective buyers. Too often, they assume the role of customer support.

This is a mere distraction from their actual roles. Hence, they should focus their resources and time on the most promising opportunities.

Additionally, by identifying leads and prospects, sales can conduct qualification processes according to the BANT framework. It helps them further narrow down their lists of potential clients.

Outlining an informed forecasting for the sales pipeline:

Sales forecasting is a vital ingredient in mapping a business’s revenue and growth. An accurate prediction outlines a realistic growth projection and aids in decision-making. It impacts marketing strategies, sales goals, financial planning, staffing requirements, etc.

According to HubSpot, sloppy or inaccurate sales forecasts can create huge blunders. Specific sales organizations have had to lay off a chunk of their employees while some filed for bankruptcy.

 Meanwhile, a strategic vision and information used for forecasting actually entail certain benefits – from assisting in investment planning and highlighting possible issues to boosting motivation across the team.

And the right differentiation between leads and prospects can improve this entire process. Through thorough monitoring and tracking of where individuals are in the pipeline and how they progress, predicting possible revenue growth could be smooth.

Tailoring communications with potential clients:

How can marketing and sales understand how to approach prospects and leads when they don’t know the purpose they serve? Why were they differentiated into two different categories in the first place?

Thus, recognizing different stages of the buyer’s journey where the prospective client is will help unearth the answers. This helps understand their needs and expectations and personalize communications effectively.

Consistent outreach and messaging are crucial to nurturing potential buyers. It keeps them in the loop while also keeping them engaged. Hence, mapping their preferences thoroughly to elevate the relevancy and effectiveness of the marketing messages should be no objection.

Enhancing the customer experience overall:

A B2B sales process can be cumbersome for reps and clients alike. And the final few payment processes offer no reprieve, easily dissuading potential clients.

In an age of digitized word-of-mouth marketing, it’s easy for a business’s reputation to take a hit. It all boils down to the customer experiences while progressing the sales pipeline. Navigating this through personalized and curated buyer-specific experiences can be a logical first step.

This will not only develop positive client relationships but also imbibe trust and loyalty, leading to a good market reputation.

However, there is a huge concern here.

This is only possible by carefully articulating the differences between a lead and a prospect.

But before we jump onto the differentiating factors of a lead and prospect, isn’t it reasonable to understand where they stand individually?

We encounter “leads” at the very beginning of the sales funnel.

A lead is an individual or organization interested in your business products/services. This might not always indicate a full-blown interest in making a purchase.

But that doesn’t mean they couldn’t be a potential buyer.

There are specific intent levels which categorize leads into different types:

1. Cold – Little to no purchase intent. Cold leads are mostly just researching or browsing through your brand’s website. But they haven’t illustrated any further intent, i.e., sought out more information or contact details.
2. Warm – Leads who demonstrate a need for your solutions or take a stronger interest. These leads belong somewhere in the middle. They don’t necessarily wish to purchase on the fly but could be persuaded.
3. Hot – These hold the highest level of intent. The hot leads are most engaged. They continuously ask for discounts and pricing details to finalize their purchasing decisions.

Remember, even at the top, the leads are at different parts of their buying journeys. No leads are ever equal. Cold and warm leads might require more persistent nurturing than hot ones.

Why is this so?

Lead quality is affected by a myriad of distinguishing factors – from organization size and industry type to financial capabilities.

But how does a brand know who is who?

These leads are commonly generated through comprehensive and personalized marketing and advertising efforts. They either click on a banner ad, engage with a social media post, download a whitepaper, subscribe to email marketing, or fill out a form. Thus, marketing entails a lot of information regarding leads, which might be an integral component in segmenting them.

Segmentation is necessary for lead prioritization, i.e., filtering out high-quality (hot) leads who perfectly fit the ICP. It’s the most effective way of aligning marketing and sales and boosting conversion rates. To further convert them into customers, ensure they progress down the funnel.

Lead nurturing has been a tried and tested process to boost the probability.

Lead nurturing includes surveys, events, referrals, ads, and personalized inbound marketing strategies.

Furthermore, modern marketers today rely on quality before quantity. This is effective because high-quality leads have more chances of conversion and do so without many hiccups. Meanwhile, having lots of quality leads also contributes significantly to the pipeline.

When the pipeline is brimming with moderately qualified leads, there are chances that at least some of them will convert, if not all. Hence, cold and warm leads shouldn’t be sidelined in pursuit of hot leads because they also entail immense conversion potential.

What happens when the leads are qualified?

When leads finally become qualified to be potential customers, they are now deemed prospects. Leads are those who have merely shown interest – there’s no commitment, whereas prospects are singled out as ones who are the right fit for the business.

Prospects are one step ahead in the funnel. They have interacted more deeply with the brand and have a high likelihood of conversion. It’s not just this. After careful segmentation and thorough processing, the sales team believes these fit the BANT framework accurately.

This lead qualification process helps highlight how well the lead suits the brand’s offerings.

Generally, the BANT framework is the underlying metric that helps businesses convert leads into prospects – budget, authority, need, and time (urgency). The marketing team might formulate a questionnaire to gauge whether the leads fit the criteria based on the answers.

Are they suitable for what we are offering? The answer should be a positive nod for leads to be labeled as prospects.

Additionally, there are other identification processes that help further, such as the lead scoring system. This includes assigning scores to leads based on the collected information – firmographics, demographics, behavior, browsing data, etc.

The ones with the highest final score are then considered prospects.

Once the leads convert into prospects, lead nurturing continues to be paramount. It works crucially well in building relationships and connecting with prospects. A brand’s nurturing efforts in engaging its potential customers should equal or transcend the buyer interest levels.

Consistently offering them valuable content and personalized communications keeps prospects engaged. As the prospect gets deeply entwined with the sales pipeline, further engaging down the sales pipeline, the gap between a lead and prospect widens.

Some of the widely-applied but robust nurturing strategies for prospects comprise:

• Curate valuable and diverse content – blog posts, whitepapers, podcasts, events, and case studies.
• Consistent communication – remember to answer their queries promptly and dismiss any significant doubts the first time.
• Illustrate trust – Trust is a key factor in establishing a brand’s credibility. Offer reliable and transparent solutions that allow prospects to trust you for the long term.

Most nurturing strategies at this point in the pipeline include intangible elements such as relationship-building and trust. To ensure prospects are more engaged than before and have a higher possibility of conversion, strategically leverage tangible elements, such as content.

As mentioned before, some strategies used to qualify and engage leads and prospects might hold several similarities. But the same marketing efforts impact them differently. And in turn, if any of their progression or drop-off affect the funnel differently?

Leads and prospects exist and have different impacts on the sales funnel.

Every business wants to turn its leads into prospects. Most of them fall off, but the high-quality ones hold crucial weight. Even though the ultimate focus is on quality, the more the merrier.

How to convert a lead into a prospect?

1. Reach out to the lead

Conduct follow-ups through calls, emails, or a social media message. During this conversation, offer valuable details based on the initial interaction and their interest in the solutions.

2. Educate

Provide the lead with enough e-Guides, whitepapers, and eBooks that converse with the topic they’re interested in or highlight their pain points. This will establish your brand as the authority and further educate them regarding who you are.

3. Engage and assess

To engage on a deeper level, ask them about the challenges they’re facing and what they aim to attain (for themselves or the business). Continue asking them open-ended questions and actively listen to their pain points. This will help personalize your pitch later.

4. Illustrate the benefits of the solution

Highlight how your brand offerings can help relieve or overcome their challenge. There should be a clear advantage you can offer to them through your expertise. Focus on that.

5. Consistent follow-ups

Abandoning or ghosting the leads can build a negative customer experience. This could propel them to drop off rather than convert further.

After all, buyers aren’t mere revenue sources. They are entities with real issues and pain points. And you can aim to be their saving grace.

Understand where each potential buyer fits.

The entire B2B sales funnel is quite complex and intense. Even if we understand the different approaches, steps, phases, or strategies attributed to the funnel, it’s difficult to pinpoint every tiny detail.

Hence, understanding the differences between specific sales terms, such as leads and prospects, helps structure all these elements. Now you know how to generate leads or qualify prospects – such details contribute to the success of your brand.

The differences highlight the nuances present across a B2B marketing and sales process. It’s not merely one or two steps or just buying and selling. Studying where a lead fits into the sales funnel and where a prospect does helps outline how to approach and persuade them to convert.

It’s essential for tailoring communication and personalizing messages during lead generation – inbound or outbound. Overall, the focus is on what will boost conversion, increase loyalty, and provide value to your buyer- and that’s knowing where each buyer fits.  

The customer is king. Remains true even in B2B. Without customers, no business, whether small, medium, or large size, can sustain or thrive.

Businesses, in the past, may have had various marketing and lead generation strategies. But today, in 2025, the case is completely different in the B2B market. No amount of generic marketing strategies can fetch you a qualified lead.

The foundation for sustained growth, market dominance, and revenue success is having a strong customer base. But it all starts with finding the “right leads”.

So, how do you identify and acquire such leads? Obviously, you need some solid strategies along with lead generation techniques.

This article explains the top lead generation strategies to ensure B2B success and strengthen your customer acquisition journey.

Did you know?

In 2024, around 45% of B2B businesses struggled to generate leads through their marketing initiatives. Eventually, the dip in lead acquisition impacted sales and revenue growth. Currently, more than 61% of marketers state that acquiring qualified leads is their greatest challenge.

Since business growth and expansion are top priorities, we’ve identified a set of proven and right lead generation strategies designed to help you overcome this hurdle, drive sustainable success, and generate not only leads but high-quality ones.

Here are Some Top-notch Strategies For B2B Lead Generation

Strategy#1: Get Your Hands-on Quality Leads through YouTube

Did you know that 70% of B2B marketers say video content helps convert leads? Yep, that’s because videos make it easier to share information quickly and keep your audience engaged.

YouTube is the second-largest search engine after Google, meaning millions of professionals and thousands of businesses search for solutions daily, basically inbound lead generation.

But if you’re not utilizing YouTube, you’re missing a huge opportunity!

Think about it—most professionals don’t show interest in generic sales pitches anymore. They may ignore traditional marketing and tune out completely. However, when they watch valuable, long-form content on YouTube, there is an overflow of engagement and trust.

The longer they engage with your multimedia content, the more likely they are to see you as an expert and eventually become a paying customer.

So, if you want leads that matter to your business, promoting your business or products on YouTube can be a game-changer.

Strategy #2: Sending Cold Emails

You might be wondering, is this a strategy that really works?

Obviously, why won’t you? Knowing the fact that prospects have no prior relationship with your brand.

However, if you look from a different perspective—It works! Yes, It really DOES!

The success hinges on how eye-catching your subject line and email content are.

Let’s break this down:

Sending an email like, “Hi, my company is XXX, and here are the features, benefits, etc.” is a big mistake! It’s generic and boring. A sloppy email is indeed a wrong move! Here the user might get bored because the majority of the content is something they’ll not relate to.

Conversely, sending an email that addresses their pain points with something like, “Are you struggling with [specific issue]? We have a solution!” immediately grabs attention and sparks interest.

And pulls high-quality leads automatically toward your business.

Just,

Take Note of a Few Things You Need To Work On: Who’s your target audience? What are they looking for? What are the needs, pain points, challenges, etc?

When understood thoroughly and implemented strategically – cold emailing is one of the best lead generation strategies.

Strategy #3: Warm Outreach & Referrals

Warm outreach is highly beneficial if you are looking to generate sales-qualified leads. Here’s the thing, warm outreach involves reaching out to potential customers who are already in good terms with your business.

With warm outreach, the phenomenon called “warm referrals” comes into play.

If you want to generate qualified leads and cut through the noise, never hesitate to ask your current customers for referrals. This way, your loyal customer base gets to play a significant role in your lead acquisition journey.

This highlights the fact that warm outreach and customer referrals are some of the best practices in lead generation.

Strategy #4: Conducting Webinars

Webinars aren’t just about lead generation—they’re about filtering out the serious buyers from the tire kickers.

If someone takes time out of their business schedule to attend your webinar, they’re already invested.

That’s why webinars convert so well—they’re basically a group sales pitch to an audience that’s already interested.

How to make webinars work towards generating high-quality leads?

• Host them regularly (monthly or quarterly works best).
• Deliver insane value—educate first, sell second.
• Engage your audience—Q&A, polls, real-time interaction.
• End with a strong CTA—special offers, free trials, or demos.

The key is to not make your webinars feel like a boring sales presentation. Make it interactive, insightful, and packed with value. The more trust you build, the more likely they’ll want to work with you.

Strategy #5: Start Podcasting

Globally, an estimated 504.9 million people, or about 23.5% of internet users listen to podcasts.

Out of the colossal figure, many prospects may get enticed with what you have, right?
That’s a massive potential customer base!

So, take the right move and begin podcasting, invite top industry leaders for an interview, or discuss a “topic” that gives value to them and your target audience, ending up with access to a plethora of leads who are enthusiastic about your business solutions.

Thinking about where to start it? Alright, let us help you with that!

You can use platforms like Spotify Podcasters to upload podcast clips and tag industry leaders.

A Tip: A follow-up with a friendly email offering them the clips to share ensures that their podcast participation is valuable.

This strengthens relationships, making it easier to transition from podcast guests to a sales-qualified lead, ultimately converting them into loyal, long-term customers.

Strategy #6: Email Marketing: Not Dead, Just Underutilized

Some say email marketing is dead. That’s a lie.

What needs to die? Spammy, generic, and irrelevant emails.

Email still ranks #1 for engagement—but only if done right. The key here is personalization, segmentation, and timing.

What works in 2025:

• Email segmentation—not all leads are the same.
• Behavioral targeting—send emails based on actions, not guesswork.
• Value-first content—give insights, not just sales pitches.
• Subject lines that pop—keep it clear, direct, and compelling.

Most businesses treat email as a megaphone. Treat it as a conversation instead. Engage your audience with personalized strategies, and they’ll actually read (and respond to) your emails.

Strategy #7: SEO & Content Marketing: The Long Game That Pays Off

SEO isn’t just about Google rankings—it’s about being the first name people see when they need a solution.

Make your content piece stay at Google’s pinnacle, and see how traffic increases on your website, giving you an ample number of leads.

To talk about Content Marketing!

It ensures whatever information prospects look for is provided in different forms of writing. Whether it’s blog posts, case studies, or industry reports—valuable content brings inbound leads straight to you.

SEO trends to watch in 2025:

• Optimize for voice search & AI-driven queries.
• Create deep-dive, data-driven content (not fluff).

This isn’t about churning out endless blog posts. It’s about strategic, high-value content that answers real buyer questions and earns trust over time.

Lead Generation Tips

A master in SEO & a Jack in Content marketing in your business working strategically, utilizing proper lead gen tactics will ensure you get the “right lead”.

Strategy #8: Email Lists: Skip the Guess Work!

GenZ professionals are shifting toward smart approaches that require minimal effort, resources, and time.

Similarly, a modern take on B2B lead generation strategy is necessary!

All you need to do is find the email list provider suitable for your B2B business.

Once you have the provider, you just need to fill out a form specifying your requirements. Within 2-3 business days, you will have a list of prospects who are genuinely interested in your solutions and have the strongest odds of being converted.

Just a Simple & Smart Approach –  For Generating B2B Leads!

Goodbye to the Lengthy Lead Generation Process!

So, here’s why lead generation is Important for any B2B success story!

It’s simple! You need to start generating leads for your business –

• To ensure growth and sustainability.
• To form strong sales pipelines.
• To identify the right customers.
• To enhance brand awareness and credibility.

There are more such reasons. Ultimately, the point that matters is that without generating leads, you won’t have a customer base. Without customers, you’ll have no sales or business. Such is the prominence of lead generation.

Now that you understand effective lead generation strategies, the next step is to know how to track the performance of your campaigns.

So, below are some of the metrics to consider for an effective lead generation process.

Important Metrics to Measure Lead Generation Process!

• Cost Per Lead – Cost per lead is defined as a marketing metric that helps to determine the cost spent for different marketing strategies to generate a lead.
• Lead Conversion Rate – Lead conversion rate is defined as the percentage of leads that get converted in the total leads received.
• Lead Quality Score – Also known as lead scoring, this metric or system allows you to assess the quality of your leads through different scoring methods.
• Return on Investment – ROI can be defined as the amount received in returns on the total amount spent.

Regularly analyzing these metrics will help refine your lead acquisition strategy, optimize lead gen campaigns, and maximize ROI for long-term business growth!

Final Thoughts

B2B lead generation in 2025 isn’t about doing more—it’s about doing better.

Buyers are smarter than ever. If you’re not providing real value, they’ll move on. Whether it’s video, email, referrals, or automation, the winning strategy stays the same: build trust first and sell second.

So, what’s your next move?

“Get the right strategies, execute them well, deliver value, and the leads will follow