10 B2B Lead Generation Tactics That Actually Work

As a founder, lead gen isn't just a marketing task—it's your startup's lifeline. But most advice is generic, outdated, or written for big companies with massive budgets. You're busy building a product and can't afford to waste time on fluff.

This isn't another high-level post. This is a founder-to-founder playbook on the B2B lead generation best practices that move the needle today. We'll cut through the noise and focus on what works, especially for scaling a SaaS with channels like X (formerly Twitter).

You'll get a clear breakdown of each tactic, from building a thought leadership presence that attracts high-intent prospects to automating your outreach so you can focus on closing deals. We'll even cover how to safely automate DMs on X with tools like DMpro, turning manual effort into a scalable pipeline.

Let's dive in.

1. Content Marketing & Thought Leadership

Instead of chasing leads, what if they came to you? That's the core idea behind content marketing. It's about creating and sharing valuable content that attracts your ideal customer. The goal is to establish yourself as a trusted authority, pulling in qualified prospects who are already looking for solutions.

When you consistently answer your ideal customer's biggest questions, you build trust long before they think about buying. This approach positions you as a helpful expert, not a salesperson.

Why It Works for B2B

B2B purchase decisions are complex and research-heavy. Buyers want to feel confident they're choosing the right partner. By educating them, you become part of their decision-making process, making your solution the logical next step.

Quick Implementation Tips:

• Solve, Don't Sell: Focus every piece of content on solving a specific pain point for your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP).
• Gate High-Value Assets: Offer your best resources (like ebooks) in exchange for an email to capture lead information.
• Repurpose Everything: Turn a webinar into blog posts, X threads, and an infographic. Maximize reach without reinventing the wheel.
• Use Clear CTAs: Every piece of content should guide the reader on what to do next, like scheduling a demo or reading another article.

Building a strong content foundation creates a powerful inbound engine. To explore more strategies on building your brand authority, you can find valuable insights about Content Marketing & Thought Leadership on the DMpro blog.

2. X (Twitter) & LinkedIn Outreach

With millions of founders, execs, and decision-makers, platforms like X and LinkedIn are goldmines for B2B leads. This tactic involves identifying, connecting with, and engaging ideal prospects through personalized outreach and strategic content sharing. The goal is to build genuine relationships that turn cold connections into warm conversations.

Instead of a hard sell, social selling focuses on providing value first. Share insights, engage with industry content, and position yourself as an expert. This establishes credibility and makes your eventual outreach feel less like an interruption and more like a helpful suggestion.

Why It Works for SaaS Founders

This strategy lets you be hyper-specific. B2B decisions are made by people, and X and LinkedIn give you direct access to them. By engaging thoughtfully, you build the trust needed to navigate complex sales cycles. The key is scaling this without spending all day sending DMs. This is where a tool like DMpro can automate the initial outreach, letting you focus on the warm conversations.

Quick Implementation Tips:

• Build Targeted Lists: Use tools to find your ICP based on company size, role, industry, and even what they're talking about online.
• Personalize Every Message: Never send a generic request. Reference a shared connection, a recent post, or a common interest to show you’ve done your homework.
• Engage Before You Pitch: Like and comment on a prospect’s content for a week or two before sending a direct message. This warms up the connection.
• Keep DMs Concise: Your initial message should be short, relevant, and focused on a potential benefit for them. Ask a question to start a conversation.

To effectively scale your outreach, you need clean, targeted lead lists. You can discover more about the tools and techniques for building these lists by exploring strategies for effective lead scraping on the DMpro blog.

3. Account-Based Marketing (ABM)

Instead of casting a wide net, what if you focused all your energy on landing a few whales? That's Account-Based Marketing (ABM). This tactic flips the traditional funnel, treating individual high-value companies as unique markets. It’s a hyper-targeted strategy where marketing and sales collaborate to pursue a specific list of target accounts.

You identify your dream customers and then create personalized campaigns to engage key decision-makers within those companies. The focus shifts from lead volume to account-level engagement and revenue.

Why It Works for B2B

ABM excels in B2B because it mirrors the reality of a complex sale, which often involves multiple stakeholders. By aligning marketing and sales efforts around the same accounts, you create a cohesive buyer experience that cuts through the noise. This wastes fewer resources and increases the odds of closing larger deals.

Quick Implementation Tips:

• Define Your Ideal Accounts: Work with sales to create a Target Account List (TAL) of 10-50 companies with the highest potential revenue.
• Map Key Stakeholders: Identify the decision-makers and influencers within each target account to understand their specific roles and pain points.
• Craft Personalized Campaigns: Develop account-specific messaging. This could include personalized landing pages, custom-tailored ads, or targeted outreach on platforms like X.
• Measure Account Engagement: Shift from individual lead scores to tracking engagement across the entire account.

4. Email Marketing & Nurture Sequences

Once you've captured a lead's email, what's next? This is where email marketing and nurture sequences come in. This involves sending a series of automated, targeted emails designed to guide prospects through the buying journey, building trust and maintaining engagement.

Instead of a single, generic blast, nurture sequences deliver the right content at the right time. For example, if someone downloads a whitepaper on "AI in Marketing," they get a follow-up with a related case study, an invitation to a webinar, and eventually, a message about your solution.

Why It Works for B2B

This is crucial because B2B sales cycles are long. Nurturing keeps your brand top-of-mind, educates prospects, and moves them closer to a purchase decision without aggressive sales pressure. It turns a cold lead into a warm, sales-ready opportunity.

Quick Implementation Tips:

• Segment Your Lists: Group leads by industry, job title, or a specific action they took. This ensures your messaging is relevant.
• Balance Value and Promotion: A good rule of thumb is 70/30. 70% of your emails should be helpful, while 30% can be promotional.
• Use Progressive Profiling: Don't ask for all their information at once. Use forms in later emails to gradually collect more data.
• Implement Lead Scoring: Assign points to leads based on their actions (opening an email, clicking a link). This helps sales identify the hottest prospects.

Effective email nurturing is a cornerstone of modern B2B marketing. To see how this can be automated, explore the possibilities of campaign automation on the DMpro blog.

5. Search Engine Marketing (SEM) & Paid Search Advertising

While content marketing attracts leads over time, SEM captures them the moment they express intent. This tactic involves running paid ads on search engines like Google. You bid on specific keywords your ideal customers are searching for, placing your solution right in front of them.

When a prospect searches for a high-intent phrase like "best CRM for small business," your ad appears at the top. A click leads them to a dedicated landing page designed to capture their information.

Why It Works for B2B

SEM is powerful because it targets users based on immediate, explicit intent. You're not guessing if someone is interested; their search query tells you they are. This makes it one of the most effective ways to drive high-quality, bottom-of-the-funnel leads.

Quick Implementation Tips:

• Target High Commercial Intent: Focus your budget on keywords that signal a desire to buy, such as "pricing," "alternative," or "software."
• Write Compelling Ad Copy: Your ad must highlight a strong value proposition and include a clear call-to-action (CTA) like "Request a Demo."
• Optimize Your Landing Pages: Send traffic to a dedicated, conversion-optimized landing page with a clear headline and a simple form.
• Use Ad Extensions: Add sitelinks and callouts to your ads. This makes them larger and improves your click-through rate.

6. Strategic Partnerships & Channel Relationships

Why build your audience from scratch when you can tap into an existing one? Strategic partnerships allow you to access new, relevant customer segments by collaborating with complementary businesses. This involves teaming up with companies that serve the same ICP but aren't direct competitors.

This is about creating mutual value through co-marketing, reseller programs, or integrations. Think of how HubSpot's partner ecosystem works. They gain thousands of qualified leads by leveraging the credibility of their partners, who in turn get a valuable new offering for their customers.

Why It Works for B2B

Partnerships are built on trust. A warm introduction from a trusted partner is far more powerful than a cold outreach message. This strategy provides an immediate injection of credibility and shortens the sales cycle.

Quick Implementation Tips:

• Identify Complementary Partners: Look for businesses whose products or services pair well with yours. If you sell marketing automation, partner with a CRM provider.
• Establish Clear Goals: Define what success looks like from the start. Set clear KPIs for lead referrals and revenue.
• Create Partner Enablement Materials: Arm your partners with everything they need to succeed, including training and marketing collateral.
• Run Joint Marketing Campaigns: Launch co-branded webinars or case studies to tap into each other's audiences.

7. Event Marketing & Webinars

In a digital world, face-to-face conversations (even virtual ones) build connections like nothing else. Event marketing and webinars create a direct line to your audience, allowing you to engage them in real-time, demonstrate expertise, and capture highly qualified leads.

From massive industry conferences to niche webinars, events provide a focused environment for learning and networking. By hosting or sponsoring these, you position your brand as a central figure in your industry, attracting prospects who are actively seeking solutions.

Why It Works for B2B

This approach excels because B2B buyers value expertise and direct interaction. A well-executed webinar allows you to demonstrate your product's value, answer complex questions, and build a sense of community. It compresses the sales cycle by gathering hundreds of potential customers in one place.

Quick Implementation Tips:

• Offer Tangible Value: Design every event around solving a specific problem for your audience. Avoid a pure sales pitch.
• Promote Across Channels: Use email, social platforms like X, and partners to promote your webinars.
• Follow Up Swiftly: The 24-48 hours after an event are critical. Send a personalized follow-up email to all attendees with resources and a clear CTA.
• Segment and Score Leads: Track attendee engagement, like questions asked. Use this data to score leads and tailor your follow-up.

8. Landing Page Optimization & Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO)

Driving traffic is only half the battle. If visitors arrive and don't take action, your efforts are wasted. This is where Landing Page Optimization and CRO come in. This practice involves systematically improving your landing pages to maximize the percentage of visitors who convert into leads.

The core idea is to remove friction and make it as easy as possible for a prospect to say "yes." By continuously testing and refining, you turn your web pages from static brochures into powerful lead generation machines.

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Why It Works for B2B

This is one of the highest-impact tactics because it directly improves the efficiency of all your other marketing. A 1% increase in your landing page conversion rate can mean thousands in additional pipeline value without spending an extra dollar on ads.

Quick Implementation Tips:

• One Page, One Goal: Every landing page should have a single, clear objective and one primary CTA. Remove distracting navigation.
• Benefit-Driven Headlines: Your headline should instantly answer "What's in it for me?" for the visitor.
• Keep Forms Short: For initial lead capture, ask for the bare minimum—usually just an email.
• Test One Element at a Time: To get clear results, only change one variable per test (e.g., the headline or the button color).
• Show, Don't Just Tell: Use social proof like customer logos and testimonials to build immediate credibility.

To effectively optimize, you must track your results. For more details on monitoring your conversion funnels, you can explore the insights on analytics and reporting with DMpro.

9. Referral Programs & Word-of-Mouth Marketing

What if your happiest customers became your most effective sales team? That’s the power of referral programs. This involves creating structured programs that encourage existing customers to recommend your solution to their network. It turns customer satisfaction into a predictable pipeline of high-quality leads.

A recommendation from a trusted peer is the most powerful form of marketing. Think about Dropbox, which achieved explosive growth by offering free storage to both the referrer and the new user, creating a viral loop.

Why It Works for B2B

This is exceptionally effective in B2B because trust is paramount. B2B buyers are risk-averse and rely heavily on peer recommendations. A referred lead enters the sales process with a high level of trust, often resulting in shorter sales cycles and higher conversion rates.

Quick Implementation Tips:

• Make It Frictionless: Design a simple, one-click sharing process.
• Offer Mutual Value: Reward both the referrer and the new customer with a discount, credit, or premium features.
• Promote Your Program: Don't just build it and hope they find it. Promote your program in emails and within your app.
• Track Everything: Use referral marketing software to monitor shares, clicks, and new leads.

By systematically encouraging word-of-mouth, you tap into the most authentic marketing channel available. For more ideas on leveraging your existing network, you can explore the insights on Referral Programs & Word-of-Mouth Marketing on the Referral Rock blog.

10. Retargeting & Behavioral Marketing

What happens to the 98% of website visitors who leave without converting? Retargeting brings them back. This tactic uses tracking tech to re-engage prospects who have shown interest, reminding them of your value and guiding them further down the funnel.

Imagine a prospect downloads your e-book but doesn't book a demo. With retargeting, you can show them ads on LinkedIn or Google featuring a relevant case study. This allows you to deliver specific messaging based on a user’s previous actions, significantly increasing the odds of conversion.

Why It Works for B2B

Retargeting is critical because B2B sales cycles are long and involve multiple touchpoints. It’s rare for a decision-maker to convert on their first visit. By re-engaging these visitors, you nurture their interest over time, ensuring your solution is top-of-mind when they are ready to buy.

Quick Implementation Tips:

• Segment Your Audiences: Create different retargeting lists. For example, segment visitors who viewed the pricing page separately from those who only read a blog post.
• Use Sequential Messaging: Guide your audience through the funnel with a series of ads—from awareness to consideration to conversion.
• Cap Ad Frequency: Avoid ad fatigue by limiting how often a user sees your ad.
• Exclude Converters: Make sure to remove users from campaigns once they have converted.

B2B Lead Generation: 10-Strategy Comparison

Turn Your Playbook into Pipeline

We've covered a full playbook of B2B lead generation tactics. The secret isn't just knowing these strategies—it's building a cohesive system where each part works together to deliver a consistent flow of qualified leads.

From Knowledge to Action: Your Next Steps

Reading about best practices is the first step; implementation is what drives revenue.

Here’s a simple framework to get started:

1. Pick One Channel to Master: Don't do everything at once. Choose one strategy that fits your ideal customer and your resources. If your audience is on X, focus your energy there.
2. Define Your Minimum Viable Test: What's the smallest experiment you can run to validate the channel? It could be one targeted webinar or a focused week of personalized outreach. The goal is learning, not perfection.
3. Measure and Double Down: Track your KPIs relentlessly. The data will tell you what's working. Once you find a winning formula, scale it.

The Power of Smart Automation

As a founder, your most valuable asset is time. Many of these tactics, especially direct outreach on platforms like X, require a balance of personalization and volume. Doing this manually is a recipe for burnout.

This is where intelligent automation is a game-changer. It's not about spamming people. It's about using tech to handle the repetitive tasks so you can focus on high-value conversations.

For instance, instead of spending hours searching X and sending one-off DMs, a tool like DMpro can automate discovery and initial outreach. It finds high-intent prospects and sends personalized messages for you. This lets you scale outreach without sacrificing quality, turning a manual grind into an automated lead machine.

Mastering these B2B lead generation best practices is about building a predictable system for growth. Start with a solid strategy, choose the right channels, and leverage smart tools to scale your efforts.

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