Top 23 B2B Lead Generation Tips From Experts 2023

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Businesses can improve their B2B lead generation process by incorporating new tactics from three major methodologies: online lead gen, sales prospecting, and networking. And sometimes the most unconventional methods are the ones that will provide you with the biggest boost in new business. So we reached out to B2B sales experts and compiled the top unique techniques they’ve used to find and book meetings with corporate decision makers.

• Tips for Online B2B Lead Generation: Learn to generate business leads through tips like using backlinks for SEO and hosting educational webinars. Read more below.
• Tips for Outbound B2B Lead Generation: Learn to source leads with sales prospecting methods like tracking company job openings and using social media. Read more below.
• Tips for Generating B2B Leads With Networking: Typically we categorize networking as an outbound tactic, but we gave it its own section for this article because networking tactics were so common among our experts. Read more below.

To learn more about generating B2B leads for your business, read our ultimate guide on B2B lead generation, where we cover the B2B lead gen process and share the best strategies and tools for sourcing high-quality leads.

Tips for Online B2B Lead Generation

Online lead generation strategies are great for B2B companies that want to capture lead information such as email addresses and encourage regular inbound messages and calls from interested decision-makers. Read on to learn some of the best online B2B lead generation strategies, from placing social proof on your website to running educational webinars.

James Spitler

CEO

Share Helpful Content Across Multiple Channels

“I’ve used a technique called ‘content syndication’ to generate leads for my B2B business. This involves creating high-quality, informative content related to my business and industry, and then sharing it through various online channels such as social media, industry blogs, and partner websites. By promoting my content through these channels, I’ve been able to reach a larger audience and attract potential leads who are interested in my products or services.”

— James Spitler, Play Creative Design

Hilda Wong

Founder & Author

Put Social Proof All Over Your Website

“The more social proof you gather for your website, the easier it gets to build trust in your business and generate B2B leads. Consider adding social proof to all your landing pages, homepage, review pages, and others. Try to collect as much positive feedback as you can from businesses you’ve helped, as this will directly contribute to increased sales for your business.”

— Hilda Wong, By Hilda Wong

Christian Velitchkov

Co-Founder

Regularly A/B Test Your Lead Generation Web Pages

“One of the best corporate lead generation strategies is running A/B tests on key pages. There are several third-party tools that run A/B tests for websites which will help you find flaws or issues in the website. For example, maybe your CTA button on your landing page is too hard to see. Making this testing a weekly or monthly practice will help you optimize your site and landing pages.”

— Christian Velitchkov, Twiz

Rashid Khan

Founder

Improve Your SEO Through Credible Backlinks

“Having backlinks (when a website directs customers to your website by including a link to it) from reputable sources and established websites in your niche tells Google that you’re a trustworthy site, so you’ll rank higher in the SERPs. One of the best ways to get backlinks is to concentrate on creating incredible content that other blogs truly want to link to. The more high-quality material you have, the more backlinks will start to automatically flow your way every day.”

— Rashid Khan, Dubai’s Best

Brenton Thomas

Founder & Marketing Manager

Host Educational Webinars

“One tactic that has been effective for generating business leads is hosting webinars. By offering valuable content and providing a platform for attendees to ask questions and engage with the business, webinars can be a powerful way to generate B2B leads and nurture relationships with prospects. Additionally, these events can be promoted through social media, email marketing, and other channels to attract a larger audience and drive more leads.”

— Brenton Thomas, Twibi

Wolfe Bowart

CEO

Publish Case Studies Detailing Your Customers’ Results

“Highly analytical B2B buyers and decision-makers are often risk-averse, so case studies should be a fundamental part of your content marketing strategy in order to persuade them. By presenting the return on investment from past purchases, you provide evidence that reassures these stakeholders before they commit. Maximize the reach of your case studies by shamelessly advertising them — you'll be amazed at how quickly they elevate your credibility.”

— Wolfe Bowart, Vivi.Pins

Gauri Manglik

CEO & Co-Founder

Create Valuable Lead Magnets to Capture Lead Information

“A lead magnet is essentially a giveaway in exchange for the contact information of your potential customers. B2B lead magnets can be anything from an ebook to a free trial of your product or service or even just a discount on something you sell. It's important that you choose something that will appeal to your target audience and provide them with value. And make sure to advertise this magnet through social media, your website, emails, and other channels.”

— Gauri Manglik, Instrumentl

Carlos Barros

Director of Marketing

Run Remarketing Ad Campaigns

“Use remarketing ads with targeted messaging across channels like social media or Google. You can also use retargeting ads to target people who have abandoned carts (reminding them why they were interested in the first place) or specific segments who’ve visited a certain page or signed up for email lists but didn't convert yet. Tailoring your ad messaging based on previous interactions will help ensure maximum conversion rates from your efforts.”

— Carlos Barros, Epos Now

Tips for Outbound B2B Lead Generation

Using outbound lead generation strategies is a great choice for B2B businesses and sellers that want to proactively reach out to potential leads through various methods and channels in an effort to spark curiosity. Read on to find some effective outbound methods that sales experts swear by, like visiting offices in-person or using LinkedIn to build prospecting lists.

Chris Castanes

Sales Memoirist & Speaker

Visit Offices & Drop Off Business Brochures

“I always keep some type of brochure with my contact information in the car in case I decide to cold call or do some ‘drop offs.’ When I could find a nice office with a large staff or sales team I would ask the receptionist if I could use the restroom, where I would leave a brochure on the back of the toilet. I got some calls because I had a ‘captive audience.’ ”

— Chris Castanes, Chris Castanes

Joshua Rich

CEO & Founder

Carry Samples & Presentations On the Go

“If you’re a manufacturer or a wholesaler looking for business leads, I strongly advise having a sample product on you in your everyday backpack. For example, if you work in the clothing industry, tuck a couple of your best-selling apparel items in your bag. In the case that you’re walking door to door, and a client happens to be pleased with your pitch, showing impressive samples right away can be the icing on the cake and a deal-maker.”

— Joshua Rich, Bullseye Locations

Emily McGovern

Marketing Specialist

Track Job Openings at Companies to Find Opportunities

“Try setting an alert for job openings in your industry. Companies hiring may not realize that your product or service can help fill a need in their business. This is usually a cost and time savings opportunity for them.”

— Emily McGovern, Total Solutions

Henffrey M. Muthama

Marketing Executive

Institute a Cold Calling Practice

“Cold calling is an often overlooked tactic that can help you generate B2B leads. It's something that most people don't do, so it'll give you an edge over the competition. And it's profitable. People who engage in cold calling are 3x more likely to convert than those who don’t. Some of the most successful B2B companies out there are using cold calling, and seeing great results.”

— Henffrey M. Muthama, LEDask

Michelle Kop

Founder & CEO

Craft Cold Emails That Address Common Frustrations

“Since I’m the founder of my own PPC agency, I’ve turned to cold emailing in order to find my clients. I conduct extensive research and use database services to find businesses in my preferred industries (law firms, home services, and other local businesses). In my cold email, I make sure to address the pain points that B2B businesses have with hiring a PPC agency and showcase my wide range of clientele, and the results I achieved for clients.”

— Michelle Kop, Level 28 Media

Isaac Ware

Director of Demand Generation

Reach Out When a Past Customer Changes Companies

“We’ve seen success in generating corporate leads by tracking key contacts as they leave customer accounts and join new companies. Contacts that have purchased before are 3x more likely to buy again, so we push these contacts into new campaigns across email and paid media, and start targeting them with ads that are relevant to their relationship with our company whether that is as an alumni customer, late stage closed/lost opp, power user, or champion. This tactic has generated leads that convert at a fraction of the cost of any other campaign.”

— Isaac Ware, UserGems

Joe Benjamin

Founder

Hire an SDR Service to Help You With Cold Outreach

“We like to leverage SDR outsourcing because it allows us to supplement our in-house team. We hire fractional SDRs who work at top tech companies that want to pick up an extra 10 hours of work per week. We're able to access top talent that we normally couldn't get full time. They bring a fresh perspective and expertise which results in more meetings booked.”

— Joe Benjamin, RevPilots

Brandon Mackie

CRO & Co-Founder

Create Prospecting Lists With LinkedIn’s Advanced Search

“One unique tactic that our business has used to generate B2B leads is utilizing LinkedIn's advanced search features. By targeting specific industries, job titles, and locations, businesses can find potential leads and build relationships through the platform's messaging system or by connecting and engaging with their content. This approach can be particularly effective for B2B businesses, as LinkedIn is a professional networking platform with a large user base of business professionals.”

— Brandon Mackie, Pickleheads

Rodney Warner

CEO

Direct Message Decision-Makers on Social Media Networks

“People often forget that decision-makers in B2B companies are also humans. And like others, use social media as well. People aren't as likely to open an email as they are to open a DM on Instagram or Twitter. It has worked like a charm.”

— Rodney Warner, Connective

Tips for Generating B2B Leads With Networking

Business networking is an excellent option for B2B salespeople that want to actively participate in their industry and build relationships with potential customers along with other people who may help them in other ways — for example, executives at companies that’ll pass them referrals or industry thought leaders who’ll guest speak on their webinar, bringing their audience with them. Keep reading to learn the B2B networking tactics from our panel of B2B sales experts.

Sean Nguyen

Director

Form Partnerships With Companies in Your Industry

We’ve worked with other brands that are relevant to our business in order to generate leads, and it worked really well. Partnerships like this can be a great way to reach new audiences, improve SEO, and get creative with your marketing campaigns. It allowed us to tap into a larger portion of our audience because the other businesses had already established a strong connection with that audience — thereby helping us to tap into that relationship too.”

— Sean Nguyen, Internet Advisor

Will Yang

Head of Growth

Collaborate With Influencers to Create Content

“One technique that’s been particularly successful is leveraging the power of partnerships. We partnered with thought leaders and influencers in our space to create webinars and workshops featuring our platform. This enabled us to connect with hundreds of prospects interested in our product, resulting in an uptick in leads.”

— Will Yang, Instrumenti

Paige Arnof Fenn

Founder & CEO

Hold Annual Video Calls With Industry Peers & Past Customers

“Go on a virtual listening tour. Politicians do it all the time and it’s great for business too. Make a list of new customers, past ones, the movers and shakers, people you admire, and prospects, and wish them happy holidays. Then ask a few smart open-ended questions about how they’re doing and sit back and listen. It costs nothing on Zoom. And if you do it in person, it’s well worth the the price of a few coffees and meals. People love to be asked their opinions, and they’ll share feedback and tell you their problems. It’s worked wonders for me.”

— Paige Arnof Fenn, Mavens & Moguls

Derrick Hathaway

Sales Director

Prioritize Real Conversations Over Online Interactions

“It’s risky to rely entirely on your website, blog articles, or videos to generate leads for your organization. Sales are all about connections; you want to have as many genuine discussions with business decision-makers as possible. If a B2B lead inquires about a feature in your email, don't simply provide a link to your website. Instead, respond to their inquiry by offering a brief phone chat or video session to guide them through the feature's operation.”

— Derrick Hathaway, VEM Medical

Mladen Maksic

CEO & Founder

Run Virtual Networking Events for Your Industry Peers

“As a B2B business owner, hosting virtual networking events is one unique technique I've found to be successful in generating leads. They allow you to create a mutually beneficial environment for lead generation and building relationships by bringing together industry professionals from different companies and providing valuable content.”

— Mladen Maksic, Play Media

Nina Neuschuetz

Marketing Manager

Engage With Decision-Makers on Social Media Networks

“I've been focusing on social media, which is where I get to interact with business decision-makers directly and learn more about their needs. I've been using LinkedIn as my main source of social media engagement, but I'm also building up my Twitter followers and Facebook page fans. The beauty of this approach is that it allows me to connect with a wide range of B2B leads throughout my target market.”

— Nina Neuschuetz, BOSTONtec

Bottom Line: B2B Lead Generation Ideas

The best lead generation plan is a collection of outbound and inbound techniques. One B2B business might use cold calling, cold emailing, and content marketing, while another focuses on social selling and PPC ads. As a B2B salesperson, it’s important that you choose the methods that make the most of your strengths and resources and work for your specific target audience.