The Complete Guide to B2B Lead Generation: A Series

Business-to-business (B2B) lead generation is a term that describes all activities involved in generating new leads for a B2B business (a company that markets and sells to other businesses, as opposed to B2C businesses who sell directly to consumers). There are several methods used by B2B businesses to generate leads, but all activities can be grouped into two categories: inbound marketing or outbound marketing. The most successful B2B lead generation programs combine both inbound and outbound lead generation tactics.

B2B lead generation in itself is important. Without it, companies wouldn’t be able to grow as fast and increase their profits. Lead generation efforts are what help a company to acquire new customers and ultimately beat out competitors. When you reach out to prospects and fulfill their needs before a competitor, you become their preferred partner. For this reason, B2B lead generation can also help you build long-term relationships and acquire lifetime customers.

Furthermore, understanding the meaning of different B2B lead generation terms is important for several reasons. First, it makes it easier to work alongside your internal marketing team. Secondly, if you’re working with a B2B marketing agency, you’ll have an easier time conversing with them if you know the lingo; thus, making your partnership more successful.

We’ve defined B2B lead generation, but there are still several terms and definitions you need to know to be a successful B2B marketer. Outbound marketing and inbound marketing are two strategies for driving leads for your B2B business. To make crystal clear about both marketing strategies, we’ve defined outbound and inbound marketing below. We also talk about what is involved in the process for each marketing strategy, as well as the team and tools that make a successful program possible. In the coming weeks, we’ll be adding more blogs to this series to elaborate on this series to expand on these ideas.

Here is what every successful B2B marketer should know about lead generation.

Outbound marketing, also known as “interruption marketing,” is the promotion of products or services through advertising, promotions, public relations, or B2B sales. It is called “interruption marketing” because it pushes messages out about products or services to consumers who weren’t necessarily looking for them in the first place. But, with the right prospecting strategy in place, companies can find qualified leads and take those leads through a nurturing process. Ultimately, when done right, outbound marketing can help you build a solid sales pipeline that consistently generates new opportunities, helping you to grow your business and build long-term relationships with customers.

Outbound Marketing Process—An outbound marketing process is all the processes and activities involved in your outbound marketing strategy. Since outbound marketing refers to the kind of marketing where a company initiates the first conversation with its prospects, this often means B2B appointment setting. The goal of B2B appointment setting is for trained sales reps to call on, follow up with, and nurture qualified sales leads and ultimately schedule an appointment for another rep who will deliver a detailed pitch and close a deal.

Several activities are involved in the outbound process. Some key terms to know about the outbound marketing process include, but are not limited to the following:

• Prospecting
• Telemarketing
• Email marketing
• Cleansing
• Intro
• Lead nurturing
• Appointment
• Prospect
• Qualified lead
• Call guide
• Target list
• Sales funnel
• Buyer journey

It’s important to know outbound marketing terms and definitions if you want to run a successful B2B appointment setting program.

Outbound Marketing Team—The process is important, but you can’t forget about the team. You can’t run a B2B lead generation program without the right team members in place. A B2B appointment setting program involves several important team members, each of which plays an important role in the activities and processes that need to be in place.

Here are the essential team members that every successful outbound lead generation program should have:

• B2B Sales Representative
• Sales Development Rep (SDR)
• Operations Specialist (for prospecting and list building)
• Data Analyst (to look at results, KPIs, audit and data, and forecast)
• Implementation Project Manager
• Sales Manager
• Copywriter
• Graphic Designer

Learning the essential job functions of team members in an outbound marketing program is key to ensuring you have the right people on your team. This will help you build a solid B2B lead generation program.

Outbound Marketing Tools—Outbound marketing tools are the software and tools used to run an effective outbound marketing program. For a B2B appointment setting program, this means prospecting tools, a CRM, conference call software, and so on. The tools needed for your program are entirely dependent on your goals and needs as an organization, but most B2B appointment setting programs require the following tools:

• A customer relationship management (CRM) software such as Salesforce
• Prospecting tools such as Data.com, D&B Hoovers, and Salesgenie
• Conference call tools such as CloudCall and Zoom
• AI software (Balto – helps with pitching and appointments)
• Playbook software (helps with content)
• Communication tools like Outlook and Microsoft Teams (for internal and external communication)

Knowing the necessary tools for an outbound marketing program is key to running a successful B2B appointment setting programs and generating leads the outbound way.

Inbound marketing efforts are intended to attract customers to a business. This is done through the creation of content and branding materials as well as through social media marketing, search engine optimization, and video production. Essentially, inbound lead generation brings customers to you through marketing efforts. These are potential customers who are already interested in your products or services and they initiate the first conversation with your business.

Inbound Marketing Process—An inbound marketing process is defined as all of the processes and activities involved in running an inbound marketing program. Generating leads the inbound way can mean building an SEO-optimized website, focusing on your social media marketing efforts, producing videos, or, it can be a combination of all of these things.

There are numerous terms that any B2B marketer running an inbound marketing program should know, but here are some of the most common ones you should familiarize yourself with:

• Website
  • Bounce rate
  • Internal linking
  • External linking
  • Traffic
  • User experience
• SEO
  • Keywords
• Graphic design
  • Style guide
  • Website Design
  • WordPress
  • Marketing Collateral
• Content Marketing
  • Blogging
  • Thought leader
• Social Media Marketing
  • Pay-per-click (PPC) ads
  • Click-through-rate (CTR)
  • Retargeting
  • Facebook pixel
  • Engagement
• Conversion rate
• Landing page

Inbound Marketing Team—Your inbound marketing team members are the people responsible for various aspects of your inbound marketing program. From account managers who handle client relationships to designers and copywriters who create compelling marketing materials, each team member plays a critical role in helping you generate inbound leads.

Depending on the products and services you offer, you may need various team members to run an inbound marketing program. Here are a few of the most common team members that are part of an inbound program:

• Account Manager
• Copywriter
• Graphic Designer
• Social Media Strategist
• Project Manager
• Web Designer
• Web Developer
• Digital Strategist
• Editor

Once you understand how each team member will play a role in your inbound marketing efforts, you can build a successful program and generate inbound leads.

Inbound Marketing Tools—Without industry-leading software and tools, you can’t possibly generate inbound leads. Yes, the team is important, but if they don’t have cutting-edge tools to do their job, your program won’t be successful. From search engine optimization to graphic design, each component of an inbound marketing program requires an investment in top tools.

Here are some of the tools you may need to run an inbound marketing program:

• Project management tool such as Salesforce or Trello
• SEO tools such as SEMrush, ScreamingFrog, and Google Analytics
• Website design tool such as WordPress
• Scheduling tools for social media such as Sendible
• Communication tools (for internal and external communication, such as Outlook and Microsoft Teams)
• Adobe Creative Suite
• Social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter)
• Conference call tools such as Zoom
• Google Docs to write content that is backed up in the cloud and easily shareable amongst team members

Having a full suite of inbound marketing tools will help you successfully run different marketing campaigns and generate leads the inbound way.

Having a full suite of inbound marketing tools will help you successfully run different marketing campaigns and generate leads the inbound way.

Looking for more insight into some of these topics? In the coming weeks, we’ll be adding more blogs to this series to elaborate on the outbound marketing process, inbound marketing process, and the team and tools for each. We will expand on each topic and define more key terms that you should know as a B2B marketer.

If you have any questions or want to start your own outsourced lead generation program, contact our team of experts today.