Top 20 Lead Generation Ideas From Expert Salespeople

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Successful salespeople are always on the lookout for new ideas they can apply to their lead generation strategy. A diversified approach that makes use of multiple tactics, both outbound and inbound, as well as multiple channels is the most effective approach for strengthening your sales pipeline. We asked sales experts to tell us their favorite techniques for generating business leads so that you can find some new methods to use in your new or current strategy.

Online Lead Generation Ideas: Get expert tips on generating leads via inbound methods like content marketing and advertising. Read more below.
Outbound Lead Generation Ideas: Learn some expert ideas on sales prospecting, including cold calling, starting conversations on Quora, and others. Read more below.
Ideas for Generating Leads via Networking: This usually falls within outbound lead generation, but we created its own category because of its popularity. Read more below.

For the fundamentals of sourcing leads, check out our ultimate guide on lead generation, where we break down the concept into a four-stage process and share some of the most effective software tools and strategies for generating leads for your business.

Online Lead Generation Ideas

Online lead generation is great for businesses that want to passively collect lead contact information and encourage inbound calls and emails from their target audience members. Read on to learn some inbound tactics that sales experts have found effective, from running customer loyalty programs to submitting articles into industry publications.

Kristen Hariton

VP of Marketing

Host Educational Webinars

“It seems counterintuitive, but put sales secondary to content value when you're designing a webinar. Prioritize an outline that provides folks with information they want and need, and they'll see your company as a trusted advisor (without having to give them a hardcore sales pitch during the event). This was especially true during the onset of COVID, when our industry needed clear answers and advice on how to care for their residents and buildings. By designing webinars around COVID strategy instead of just our product, we were able to get people engaged with our content on a higher scale and turn those people into solid leads.”

— Kristen Hariton, SiteCompli

Mike Nemeroff

CEO & Co-Founder

Tim Connon

Founder

Sean O'Neal

President

Yoav Morder

Search & PR Director

Laura Rike

Pinterest Coach & Consultant

Share Content & Run Ads on Pinterest

“So many people think Pinterest is simply an online bulletin board for things like recipes, crafts, and wedding inspiration, but it’s actually a powerful search engine that can be used across industries and has robust ad capabilities. Consider pinning blog content onto it to get increased visibility, email sign-ups, and even sales. Plus, optimize your use by taking advantage of any new features as an early adopter. Lastly, use the platform regularly.”

— Laura Rike, Laura Rike

Marco Evans

Social Media Executive

Leverage Social Media Marketing

“I've found that by creating engaging and informative content on platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn, I can attract a large number of potential customers who’re interested in my product or service. I also make sure to regularly interact with my followers and provide valuable information and advice to help build trust and establish myself as a thought leader in my industry. This approach has helped me generate a steady stream of high-quality leads that are likely to convert into paying customers.”

— Marco Evans, The Web Factory

David Reid

Sales Director

Yatrik Naik

Business Development Manager

Publish Articles in Industry Publications & News Sites

“Getting featured in a major publication can be a huge boon for your business. It will give you more exposure and credibility, which will lead to more customers — and hopefully more revenue. There are several ways to get featured in a major publication, but the most important thing is to find out which writers cover your industry and then read their work. This way, you’ll have an idea of what topics they like to write about. Once you have this information, begin pitching them stories that interest them personally and are also relevant to their readership."

— Yatrik Naik, Babyhood

Elias Diaz

Sales Director

Offer Valuable Lead Magnets

“There’s no one size fits all strategy for lead generation. However, one of the most effective ways to generate leads is to identify where your leads are, their needs, and the problems your services or products can solve. Then create lead magnets that are tailored to their needs. Think about this: if you can’t explain or showcase the value of your business to your target audience, they’ll definitely look over to your competitors, and will only see you as an additional noise in the market.”

— Elias Diaz, Virtudesk

Outbound Lead Generation Ideas

Outbound lead generation, aka sales prospecting, is most appropriate for businesses that want to proactively start sales conversations with potential leads. Check out the following tips from sales experts about how to generate high-quality leads using direct outreach methods.

Tom Abbott

CEO & Co-Founder

Initiate Sales Conversations With Current & Past Customers

“Tactics for generating leads depend on the economic situation. During uncertain times, fewer customers are willing to risk trying something new, so mining your existing database should be the priority. Keep existing customers happy and get them to renew and spend more through cross-selling and upselling. Then focus on past customers. They already know you. Get them back. Then target closed/lost customers. They didn’t choose you before for any number of reasons but the timing could work now. They already know you. Go after them.”

— Tom Abbott, SOCO Sales Training

Michael Sullivan

Business Development Executive

Cold Call & Cold Email in Tandem

“When doing cold outreach, avoid throwing darts in the dark. People are busy, and a few random calls and emails aren't going to engage them. It's vital to structure outreach through a cadence that utilizes multiple channels, including calls, emails, LinkedIn, and video, but calls and emails are the bread and butter of any cadence. It's best to use calls and emails in tandem; a call by itself is a phantom touch, and emails are the best voicemails.”

— Michael Sullivan, Leyton Consulting

Seth Dotterer

CEO

Send Insightful Research Reports

“Giving value first makes all the difference. We would create custom research reports by vertical. We’d pick an industry, like anti-virus software, do a super targeted research report comparing performance of the top 10 players in the space, and send it to them. We’d say, ‘Hey, we did this report. Your company came up in the third spot. Are you interested in seeing it?’ And it's not bad for PR, either."

— Seth Dotterer, SiteCompli

Min Hwan Ahn

Founder & Attorney

Offer Free Assessments & Consultations

“One unique or special technique that I have used to generate leads for my business is to offer free consultations or assessments to potential clients. This allows me to provide value to potential clients and build trust and credibility with them, while also gathering information about their needs and concerns. I then use this information to tailor my sales pitch and address the specific wants of each potential client.”

— Min Hwan Ahn, EZ485

Abhi Bavishi

Growth Marketer & Automation Expert

Answer Reddit Users’ Questions

“One unique technique that I used to generate $10K+ worth of qualified leads was to find highly relevant Reddit communities and engage in threads with helpful comments. I semi-automated the whole process of finding these opportunities by using IFTTT to monitor certain keywords in sub-reddits, and auto-pushing them to Airtable, when there's a match. From there, I'd write a response on the Reddit thread, which would sometimes turn into a conversation and become an opportunity.”

— Abhi Bavishi, Abhi Bavishi

Ideas for Generating Leads Through Networking

While business networking is an outbound tactic, we broke it out into its own section because it was so popular amongst the sales pros we asked. Networking is an excellent way to build relationships with industry peers and potential clients that might pay off in the form of new leads now or down the road. Read on to learn about some great networking-centered lead generation ideas.

Jake Hill

CEO

Attend Industry Conferences & Events

“While most companies nowadays focus on online advertising and digital strategies to find leads, one often overlooked strategy is attending in-person conferences and events where there may be potential leads. This is a guaranteed way to create traction for your company, as you can network in various ways that allude to your abilities and preferences. Don’t be afraid to sell your product whenever you feel the time is right. Chances are, you’ll walk away from these conferences with more confidence and a greater understanding of what you need to do better next time!”

— Jake Hill, DebtHammer

Erica Arrechea

Founder

Form Strategic Partnerships With Other Businesses

“As part of our lead generation strategy, we strategically partner with competitive firms in our industry to drive leads and new business. While this partnership may seem counterintuitive, it ensures that both parties are provided with the best opportunities to grow their customer base in an ethical manner. We have a unique agreement to refer clients that have decided not to continue service with us to our competitors, thereby providing them the best experience and ensuring the client's needs are met. This strategy has helped us significantly increase the reach of both of our services, resulting in more leads for both ourselves and our partner companies.”

— Erica Arrechea, Cinqe Matchmaking

Jeff Mains

CEO

Work With Micro-Influencers

“You shouldn’t be reluctant to collaborate with someone who has a relatively low number of followers but a high engagement rate. It's easy to assume that in order to take advantage of social media marketing power, your chosen influencer must have tens of thousands of followers. But that quality isn’t totally necessary for successful campaigning to generate leads. Business owners can rely on the relationships that micro-influencers have developed with their small audience and use a direct messaging strategy to persuade them to learn more or make a purchase.”

— Jeff Mains, Champion Leadership Group LLC

Eric Hirsch

Strategic & Creative Director of Digital Marketing

Host a Booth at a Trade Show

“Working a trade show booth is all psychology. When you're passionate about what you're doing and saying, and you're genuine, others can't help but be interested. Generating leads is about connecting with people, listening to what they have to say, and providing a solution to their challenges. But you can't wait for them to wander in; you have to engage with them. Otherwise, they will probably just walk by and grab a brochure when you aren't looking.”

— Eric Hirsch, CDx Diagnostics

Bottom Line: Lead Generation Ideas

Lead generation is the lifeblood of any business’s sales revenue. The best strategy will encompass a variety of different techniques, from online tactics like social media marketing to outbound ones like cold calling. Regardless of which lead generation ideas you choose to include in your plan, always focus on delivering value before pitching, preferably in the form of insights, advice, or free resources. For more, review our guides on online lead generation and sales prospecting.

Top 20 Lead Generation Ideas From Expert Salespeople