Chapter 10
Lead Generation and Conversion in B2B Markets
Learning Objectives:
By the time students complete this chapter they should be able to
• Define and explain the importance of a sales lead.
• Explain the difference between sales lead generation and demand generation.
Chapter Perspective
This chapter is new to the third edition, although it has strong roots in material from Roberts and
Berger, Direct Marketing Management. It clearly was needed, both for the conceptual material
The chapter begins by reminding students that, after several chapters on tools, many of which are
acquisition oriented, we are turning to the second major marketing strategy—conversion. The
“basic strategies” graphic from Chapter 4 introduced the chapter to reinforce that point.
What Is Lead Generation?
This section assumes that most students have little familiarity with the concepts and tools of lead
generation and management. It points to the roots in B2B direct marketing and the importance of
the long sales cycle and the need for good sales leads for the (expensive) field sales force. Figure
The Juan Eloqua case history makes a number of points about good B2B marketing, including
that it can be creative and interesting. Most of your students probably don’t remember the Juan
Valdez commercials for coffee produced in Columbia that was the creative inspiration for this
campaign but you can find it on YouTube if you want to play it. The Juan Eloqua video is more
to the point. It’s posted on Joe Chernov’s introductory blog post:
Interactive Exercise 10.1 is takes the student to the Eloqua site. It could be used as an out-of-
class assignment, but it is good material to use live in class.
The next section portrays the sales cycle, Figure 10.4. I find it important to stress the similarity
The Lead Generation and Management Process
The process itself is portrayed in Figure 10.5 and immediately moves on to a discussion of the
lead generation process. It is longer than the discussion of qualification, distribution and follow
up, but that should not be taken as representative of greater importance, and that is worth point
out to students. There is just a lot to say as the first step in the process is covered.
Figure 10.6 makes an important point about the number of channels that are available to
generate leads. Students understand that the strategic challenge is to decide which ones work
I also like to tell students that I can produce leads for any firm/any product if they’ll just give me
enough money. Who wouldn’t take an incentive of, say, a weekend at a luxury resort, but will
that produce quantity over quality? Almost undoubtedly.
the cost of inbound distinctly lower than outbound. HubSpot is a strong spokesperson for this
point of view with its own excellent content strategy, but it is definitely not the only marketing
services agency in the space. They illustrate traditional mass media channels (the hammer)
against inbound (the magnet), which are all Internet-based in Figure 10.8a. Then they go on to
identify three components which are essential for inbound. Content, propagated as widely as
possible around the web) is the first building block. Then SEO and social media can draw
attention to the content, and drive people to the website. Assuming this is part of a lead process
the marketer needs to offer an incentive—likely to be more content—to get the visitor to register
giving email address and other essential data to qualify her as a lead.
I’m fond of the paragraph that ends this section; it’s something that students have a surprisingly
hard time getting their arms around:
The question “how much does it cost?” is the one usually asked. However, the more important
issue would be what sales would cost without it. That issue was pretty much settled by the late
1980s when some large tech firms tried to limit customer access to their field sales forces
because it was costing so much. Sales lead programs are the only viable alternative, but that
The two case studies in this section are interesting, but perhaps not for the reason intended.
Cloud Marketing Labs, whose 2010 program was a rousing success by the metrics, seems to
have disappeared from the scene. Doyenz, which tried something innovative that didn’t appear to
specific clients. Most agencies do sales lead programs and there are some firms that specialize in
them.
Qualifying is the next step. The DAMN acronym is generally used to explain the process. In the
B2B market individuals are generally quite willing to answer these questions, on the phone or in
Lead scoring and distribution. Firms with even moderately sophisticated lead programs use a
scoring model. It has important variables specific to their product/situation, but generic variables
include:
• Online activity of the prospect
Give it a score (think credit score) that will show where it belongs in the distribution system.
Figure 10.13 shows a distribution system. It could have more “buckets” but it should not have
more than the firm has resources/strategies to handle. The EDGAROnline case history is a good
example of these activities in practice and how much they can increase performance.
Conversion. The steps that can be taken to improve (optimize) the conversion process itself
include:
• Identify goals (more precisely specific objectives) and KPIs for the system.
• Define the ideal customer profile.
The lead > conversion process offers many opportunities for testing alternative approaches and
improving them or adopting new ones. Figure 10.16 illustrates a landing page test. Would
anyone guess why the (b) landing page works better, although it makes perfect sense when
explained?
This is the time to talk about how to define conversion. It has to end in a sale to be considered
The text points out that there is no single definition that fits all organizational structures/ all
situations. There are likely to be multiple “conversion” points in the lead > sale process. Figure
10.14 illustrates the channels that can be used based on the readiness stage of the prospect.
Interactive Exercise 10.2 can be used to illustrate the importance of return on marketing
investment in generating and converting sales leads.
complaining that they get poor quality leads from marketing.
Lead Generation and Management Issues (Important Topics)
Customer Personas are one useful tool. Think of it as putting flesh on the bones of data profiles.
The subject is also taken up in Chapter 12 because personas are a useful tool in website
Purchasing scenarios are another useful tool that can apply in settings from developing
marketing communications to website development. They are scenarios, stories, in the strategic
Landing pages are key in any multiple step process. Even if you direct the click-through of a
new prospect to the correct product page you won’t get contact information unless you overlay a
landing page. That’s simply a waste of marketing dollar.
Conversion paths will also be discussed in the metrics chapter and illustrations given.
Discussion Questions
1. The chapter states that the discipline of sales lead generation and management was
developed by direct marketers and later adapted to the Internet. Why do you think
direct marketers, and not traditional advertisers, originated the practice of sales lead
generation and management?
It’s all about measurability. Traditional mass media don’t lend themselves to tracking, absent the
2. True or False: Sales lead generation and management is a discipline practiced only by
B2B marketers. Why or why not?
3. Why do you think B2B marketers consider producing an acceptable quantity of high
quality sales leads one of their most important challenges?
It’s because of my “I can produce sales leads for anyone” braggadocio. I then go on to point out
4. True or False: The B2B buy cycle has roughly the same steps as the consumer purchase
decision process, is carried out in much the same way, and takes about the same length
of time. Explain your answer.
Clearly a trick question. True, it has steps that are similar to the familiar consumer decision
5. What is your understanding of content marketing as a strategy? How does it differ
from the kind of marketing or marketing communications that you are accustomed to?
It seems to me that content marketing differs on most dimensions (understanding your target
6. Describe the four steps in the lead generation and management process.
• Lead generation—getting people to respond in a way that captures contact information.
information and transferring a sales-ready lead to sales.
7. Identify two or three online and two or three offline channels in which sales leads can
be generated. Which channels do you think are likely to be most effective in generating
leads? Which are likely to be the most expensive to use?
There is some element of “it depends on the audience” here but in general real-world events like
8. What are the basic criteria that are used to qualify a sales lead?
• Desire for the product
9. Explain what is meant by sales lead distribution and why it is important.
“Not all sales leads are created equal.” Some are low probability to ever purchase, but worth
10. What are some of the issues marketers should consider when trying to make the
conversion process on their websites as effective as possible? How can personas and
purchase scenarios be helpful?
Basically this is a usability issue, to be covered in Chapters 12 and 14. But the generic answer is
11. Why do you think it is hard to come up with a single, concise definition of conversion?
Can you give at least two examples of different definitions of conversion and explain
why the different definitions are needed?
Perhaps the most straightforward is that the job of the sales force is to make sales. Sales are the
12. What is the importance of the landing page in a marketing campaign?
The landing page can be used to mirror/expand upon the message of the ad that brought the
Internet Exercises
1. Internet Career Builder Exercise.
2. Using the four steps in the lead generation and management process, develop a scenario
that describes how a company of your choice might go about a lead development
marketing campaign.
The first thing to consider is whether the student has chosen a product that really lends itself to a
3. Go to the website, blog, or Facebook page of one of the companies you are following.
Think about how conversion might be defined on this platform. Then identify the steps
in a path that would lead from your entry point to the defined conversion activity. Can
you think of any ways to make the progress along this path more persuasive?
See the examples given in Discussion Question 11.
It would be good to ask students to actually click through and see what happens (if anything).
Key Terms
buy(ing) cycle process a customer goes through in deciding to make a purchase.
content marketing creating and distributing content across the web that users find valuable and
relevant, driving visitors to the website.
demand generation entire process of developing customer demand for a product or service.
landing page a web page designed to receive visitors who are coming to the site as a result of a
link from another site.
lead distribution dividing leads into categories based on their purchase readiness stage.
lead generation identifying sales prospects.
lead qualification determining whether a prospect has the characteristics necessary to make a
purchase.
QR (quick response) code a scanable matrix that links to a location on the web.