You are not crazy. B2B is hard.
Another gated PDF, another webinar, another “personalized” sequence. You tried cold email, LinkedIn, maybe even Reddit or X, but most of the time you either get “not interested” or straightaway ghosting.
The truth is, you probably do not have a lead problem.
You have an offer, list quality, and deliverability problem.
If half your emails land in spam or hit the wrong people, the copy does not matter.
In many campaigns, the most replies show up on touches 3 to 5, not touch 1. If you are not following up religiously, you are already behind.
We have spoken to over 50 B2B lead generation agency owners to find out:
- The current state of the B2B market.
- The major challenges they have faced in generating qualified leads.
- The correct way to generate B2B sales leads.
- How to qualify leads with a multi-channel approach.
- How to build a system/pipeline that actually works.
Let’s start without further ado.
What’s not working in B2B sales lead generation and why?
A. Common pain points
1- Burnout from traditional methods:
Google “best ways to generate B2B leads,” and you get the same cookie-cutter playbook telling you to create valuable content, gate a PDF, and invite people to webinars. These methods might have worked in 2000, but it’s 2025, and most of the people sitting on the opposite (client) side of the call know what magic potion you are trying to sell them.
2- Low response rates:
There is a decline in response rates due to “tacky and cookie-cutter personalization (that reeks of robotic sequences).
3- Inconsistent results:
LinkedIn outreach and referrals work, but results feel inconsistent
4- Volume vs quality issues
Confusing “leads” or a simple “Yes” message with actual qualified opportunities.
B. Why traditional approaches fail
1- Missing feedback loop
Most companies just do sales outreach and, after getting a “no,” start looking for other outreach methods, or worse, double DM the prospect with the salesy pitches until they get blocked for spamming.
What they miss is this: not every “no” is a “never.” Open a Google Sheet and create columns for “Response Quality” and “Reason.” Every time a prospect says “no,” “not interested,” “we have a better option,” or “our pipeline is working,” write it down in the sheet. After 100 prospects, you’ll see exactly which touches work for your ICP and the reasons behind frequent negative responses.
This way you won’t have to guess the reasons. Keep the feedback loop, and never ignore the goldmine of insights from prospects who DO respond.
2- Targeting too broadly:
Most of the time, you are either trying to sell multiple offers or targeting too broadly.
If you want to get results from your outreach, create hyper-targeted outreach that speaks directly to your ICP’s pain points.
Always sell one offer, keep it hyper-targeted and warm, use a multi-channel approach, and include multiple touchpoints (valuable).
For example, if you are doing outreach via LinkedIn, focus on super-specific niches.
Instead of targeting “marketing managers,” target “marketing managers at 50- to 200-person SaaS companies who just raised Series A funding.”
3- Wrong problem focus
Your outreach falls flat when you either target too broadly or focus on the wrong problems.
For example, you are writing a post about “closing qualified leads” on LinkedIn and you send a 3-minute breakdown video on how to close qualified leads step by step in emails. But you are getting frequent “no’s” and cold/negative responses after putting in so much effort.
That’s because the problem is the stage: your prospect is still at the stage where they are struggling to get qualified leads, let alone close them. You are either targeting the wrong people, targeting too broadly, or didn’t even research to find the reason behind the feedback.
That’s how outreach focused on the wrong problem can limit your results and waste your time and money.
To conclude: “You don’t know WHY your messaging fails because you are not systematically recording feedback.”
4- System breakdown
It’s usually not the channel that’s broken; it’s the system behind it.
If, after doing half-baked outreach (sending 100 generic, non-personalized emails or LI DMs, making cold calls at the wrong hour, or targeting poorly), you get “no’s” and start believing that a certain channel is not working or that this method has become ineffective and outdated, it might just be the system you have built, or you might not have any system in the first place.
The spray-and-pray approach always falls flat, even if you are using a platform others are getting responses from.
Using different approaches to get leads here and there might work at the start, but once you start building rapport, you need a proper system and a pipeline to keep leads coming (SEO, content marketing).
B2B sales lead generation playbook (Coming from experienced lead generation experts)
Step 1: One clear offer, one real ICP, then micro segments
Write one clear offer. Only one.
What outcome do you deliver.
How fast.
With what proof.
Then define your ICP in a way that is actually useful.
Instead of doing mass outreach, create hyper-targeted lists in super-specific niches.
Not “marketing managers.” Make it “marketing managers at 50 to 200 person SaaS companies who just raised Series A.” That is a micro segment you can find and write for.
Where to get leads you can trust:
- Pre-verified lists or a data partner when accuracy matters. Even franchise complaint data can help for some niches.
- LinkedIn Sales Navigator for fresh filters and role-based search.
- Google Maps for geo-based segments where it makes sense.
- Enrichment tools (like clay or prospectdaddy) to pull details from websites and case studies so your messages feel honest, not fake personalized.
Good lists plus deliverability will beat clever copy every time.
Step 2: Timing beats volume. Use buying signals
Move from spray and pray to signal-based outreach. You want to talk when the door is already half open.
Signals that make replies more likely:
- New VP or key hire in your function
- Funding round announced
- Hiring for roles your product supports
- Tech stack changes or vendor switch
- Budget cycles and seasonal timing
Match each signal to a simple offer.
If most “no” replies say “wrong timing,” lead with planning language like “mapping next quarter’s budget” and reach out during planning windows.
In a case study, one SaaS company was stuck at a 2% reply rate doing “personalized” LinkedIn outreach.
But once they started systematically capturing why people said no and discovered that 70% mentioned “timing,” they were hitting prospects during budget-freeze season.
To tackle this, they shifted timing and messaging to focus on “planning for next year’s budget cycle” and doubled their qualified conversations.
Step 3: The channel stack that still works
Pick two or three channels.
Do them very well.
Do not try ten.
1) Cold email
Cold emails still work wonders if they are used as one of the tools in a multi-channel approach. But there are nuances to writing an email that doesn’t feel too cold.Enrich before you write.
Research like you are a stalking expert.
Pull one real insight from your prospect’s site, a case study, their stack, or a recent post.
Keep it short. One pain. One proof. One next step.
Make it highly personalized; don’t just stop after looking at their website.
Research where they get information, what impacts their decision-making, and then craft your final draft.
Read it out loud or let your colleagues read it for you. If it doesn’t make you type “Yes, tell me more,” give it another try.
Here is one of the hyper-personalized email examples #samsales shared;
Yes, that’s a cold email sent with the purpose of a direct sale. But remember, it’s not the first email that’s been sent to the prospect. Before that, there will be multiple touchpoints to understand whether the person is the right fit.
And remember, copy-pasting someone’s approach might work for a few, but if you want consistent leads, use your own data to build a system that feels authentic.
Instead of just sending one cold email, try building an outreach email sequence targeting your ICP.
Here are the top 10 tips for email templates by Samantha McKenna.
Deliverability basics
Warm your domains and inboxes before starting cold emailing.
Use verified data. Keep the first email light on links and HTML.
Track soft bounces and spam signals. Adjust volume.
2) LinkedIn social selling
People don’t want to be sold, People want to buy.
Yes, it might sound the same, but it isn’t.
On LinkedIn there are over 1 billion users and 67 million companies and between 89% and 94% of LI users use this platform for lead generation or selling. So you can smell the amount of sales messages or InMail’s a single LI user might receive on average.
Therefore, if you are just cold-selling your services by sending one generic cold message, there is a 99% chance you will get ignored. Or even if you personalize it using an LLM, there is still a 70% chance you get no response. The only right way is to:
- Make it hyper-personalized.
- Send it at the right time.
- Pinpoint their most urgent pain points.
- Don’t sound pitchy or salesy.
Engage for a week or two.
Leave genuine comments on posts (ICP + competitors + community) that showcase your expertise.
Start conversations with the ICP whenever you find the opportunity.
They accepted your request? They replied to your comment, or they commented on your competitor’s post about how they are struggling with the pain point?
All these are your opportunities to start a meaningful conversation.
Because it’s not always about who knows the most, but who puts in the effort to contact and provide value first. This is how you can beat your competitors, too (by grabbing the leads first).
Here’s how experts tell if their LI social selling efforts are working
Five-touch sequence
- Send a connection request (If you don’t have anything meaningful to say – Don’t add a note.
When to add a note:
A- If you are applying for a position
B- If you actually have something interesting to say
When not to add a note
When it’s painfully obvious that you had nothing meaningful to add. Don’t just write a note for the sake of writing or use an AI..
- Value first approach – Share a specific industry insight. A case study, blog, a personalized video, a Word doc telling how they can solve a specific pain point – But No pitch.
- Comment meaningfully on their posts – If they don’t post, try to use the first approach or research where they get info from.
- Soft pitch – Ask for 15 minutes to discuss their challenge.
- Do follow-ups – but again keep them short and meaningful
As Austin Becak also refined his outreach with the follow-ups
3) Cold Calls
Cold calls alone might feel like a hard nut to crack. But it’s one of the best differentiators to add to your multi-channel approach.
Almost nobody treats cold calls the way they should be treated. So if you are doing it right, you might stand out.
The best cold call opener?
It might hurt, but there is no cheat sheet available that will make you great at opening your cold call. Only your experience can. The more you talk with your prospects, the more you will start to see the pattern.
If you ask 100 people, 100 will tell you different openers. So the best practice is to develop your own.
Still, here I am sharing a few openers that cold callers shared in a Reddit community.
What I recommend is not to sound like the rest of the crowd. No one is interested in your name or the company you worked for until it’s something they are interested in.
Follow the simple approach
Hook (To grab attention) + Value + Reference (if needed) + Reason to stay
Timing is everything for a cold call
No matter how brilliant your script is, if you hit the dialer at the wrong hour, you might only get rejection and a few scolds.
4) Referrals
Ask every happy client for two intros to similar companies.
And put the ask in your delivery checklist.
Simple ask
“If you are happy with the result, who are two peers that would want the same outcome. A quick email intro would help.”
5) Partnerships
Find companies that sell to your ICP but are not competitors.
Propose cross referrals or a joint resource. This is easier than cold outreach from scratch.
6) Reddit SEO and social listening
Show up where buyers are already frustrated and searching.
Comment with one useful answer.
Link only when it fits.
You can use tools to find relevant conversations and add value in your reply, like surfkey.io or f5bot.com But if you don’t want to invest in a tool, simply use Reddit’s built-in search and filtering system; it works just as well.
7) Direct mail for high-value accounts
Just like the approaches we discussed earlier, it is one touchpoint in your multi-channel outreach approach.
Direct mail is a great way to build an instant connection, especially if you are following a value-first approach.
Build an email list of prospects who engaged with a post where you shared a lead magnet, or who responded to your DM about the resource you shared.
After building the list, warm these prospects by sending them weekly or biweekly emails that solve their pain points, share case studies, or include a video breakdown of your recent success.
Step 4: Run real cadences, not one-off blasts
Multichannel drips win because touches stack. Email + LinkedIn + calls + WhatsApp only if it is normal in your market.
Light 10 day cadence
- Day 1: Email 1
- Day 2: View profile, like or comment
- Day 3: Call 1
- Day 4: Email 2
- Day 6: LinkedIn DM with a case study
- Day 8: Call 2
- Day 10: Breakup email with a useful asset
Do not scale until one cadence works for one micro segment.
Step 5: Build the feedback loop most teams skip
Build your own data lab. Document every feedback.
Track everything and then dissect it weekly to find what’s working and what’s not.
Use a simple sheet:
- Prospect and segment
- Touch number and channel
- Response type: timing, budget, wrong contact, competitor, not a fit, soft yes
- Engagement level: ignored, skimmed, reply, meeting
- Notes in the prospect’s own words
Weekly review:
- What words do “no” replies use
- Which touch gets the most positive replies
- Which signals convert to meetings
- Where deliverability drops
Ship one improvement each week. Subject lines, offers, timing, and segment order. This way you won’t spray or pray, you will approach outreach with data-backed results..
Step 6: Qualification before pipeline
A single contact or “yes” with no context is not a pipeline.
Most of the time, the system companies create in the name of building a CRM with 10,000+ contacts actually turns out to be their biggest roadblock.
When you confuse “leads” with actual qualified opportunities, or a list of contacts with a pipeline, and dump raw contacts into a CRM, you are not building a system that creates a pipeline; you will just end up with cluttered CRMs and frustrated sales teams.
Define qualification early. Properly qualify leads first, then add them to a system to further nurture them.
Fast filter
- Real business pain
- Authority is in the loop
- Need ties to a project or goal
- Timeline is real
Mark “not now” with a review date. Nurture with one useful thing per month.
Step 7: Numbers to keep you honest
Use simple rules of thumb. Adjust for your niche.
- 50 focused calls can reach about 6 buyers
- Every 12 real conversations yield about 1 opportunity
- That is about 1 new opportunity every 2 days of consistent work
- Cold email reply rates of 5 to 12 percent still happen with tight lists and clean deliverability
- LinkedIn works when messages stay short and the list is truly targeted
Step 8: Two-week sprint plan
Week 1
- Pick one micro segment.
- 100 prospects.
- Verify and enrich.
- Write one tight offer.
- Launch the 10 day cadence.
- Start community listening and leave 10 thoughtful comments in real threads.
Week 2
- Daily rhythm: 30 calls, 30 emails, 10 LinkedIn touches, 3 useful comments.
- Track response types and engagement.
- On Friday, review the dashboard. Ship one change for next week.
- Repeat for a new micro segment after the first one works.
Step 9: Tooling where needed
Tools help you run the system. They do not fix a weak offer or a bad list. Use a sequencer to manage multichannel drips.
Use enrichment to write naturally.
Use a trusted data source for verified contacts.
Use social listening to find warm conversations. Keep the stack small. Keep it boring and reliable.
What the community recommends
A. Automation tools
- InstantlyAI: Cold email automation
- MeetAlfred: LinkedIn outreach (most “reliable” according to users)
- SmartReach.io: Multi-channel campaign management
- ContactLists: Verified lists + franchise complaint data
B. Data and research tools
- Clay: Data enrichment
- ProspectDaddy: Lead enrichment
- LinkedIn Sales Navigator: Fresh lead sourcing
- Amplemarket: Signal-based selling platform
C. Engagement tools
- Reddit monitoring tools: For social listening
- LinkedIn automation: Various platforms mentioned
- Email verification tools: For deliverability
FAQ
1- What is lead generation in B2B sales
It is a repeatable system that finds the right accounts and contacts, reaches them with a relevant offer at the right time, and turns responses into qualified opportunities your sales team can close.
2- What is the average cost of a B2B lead
It depends on your market and source. Track your own numbers. Cost per lead is total spend for a channel divided by qualified leads from that channel. Track cost per meeting and cost per opportunity as well. Those numbers guide real decisions.
3- How to find leads in B2B sales
Start with your best customer profile. Use LinkedIn filters, verified lists, Google Maps for local segments, funding and hiring signals, community threads, and partner lists. Build small accurate lists. Not huge spreadsheets.
4- What are the 4 types of B2B marketing
Inbound with content and SEO, outbound with email and LinkedIn and calls, partnerships and referrals, and focused account based plays for high value targets. Most winners use at least two.
