B2B Lead Generation
Also called: B2B Leads, Lead Gen, Business Lead Generation
Definition
The process of identifying and attracting potential business buyers (leads) for a company's product or service — through outbound outreach, inbound content, or paid channels.
B2B lead generation is the starting point of every B2B sales process. It’s the work of finding companies and decision-makers who could benefit from your product or service, and getting them into a conversation with your sales team.
The two primary channels are outbound (cold email, LinkedIn, cold calling — you go to the prospect) and inbound (SEO, content, paid ads — the prospect comes to you). Most growing B2B companies need both: outbound for near-term pipeline control, inbound for long-term compounding.
Quality matters more than volume. A lead generation program that produces 50 well-qualified opportunities is worth more than one that generates 500 contacts who don’t match your ICP.
Key metrics in B2B lead generation
- Lead-to-meeting rate: What percentage of leads convert to a booked meeting?
- Meeting-to-opportunity rate: Of booked meetings, how many become active pipeline deals?
- Cost per lead (CPL): Total program cost divided by number of qualified leads produced.
- Cost per meeting (CPM): Total program cost divided by number of qualified meetings booked.
Related concepts
B2B lead generation is the function that feeds the top of the pipeline. SDRs execute it, RevOps measures it, and the ICP definition determines its accuracy.
Want help putting this into practice?
We build and run outbound systems for B2B companies — cold email, LinkedIn, and cold calling, engineered around your ICP.
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