How Do I Generate Leads for a B2B Software Company?
Looking for ways to generate leads for a B2B software company? We’ve gathered twenty-five insightful strategies from CEOs, marketing managers, and other industry professionals. From utilizing intent signals for lead generation to capturing leads with compelling e-books, discover the diverse tactics these experts recommend.
- Utilize Intent Signals for Lead Generation
- Maximize Software Directories for Visibility
- Leverage Comparison Sites for Quality Leads
- Combine LinkedIn Outreach with Content Marketing
- Boost Visibility with an SEO Strategy
- Offer PDF Downloads for Lead Capture
- Host Interactive Webinars for Engagement
- Build Publicly on Social Media Platforms
- Form Strategic Collaborative Partnerships
- Use an Alternatives Page for Competitive Edge
- Target the Right Persona with Cold Emailing
- Provide Insight with White Papers and Research
- Focus on Bottom of Funnel Keywords
- Engage Visitors with AI-Driven Chatbots
- Illuminate Challenges with Interactive Quizzes
- Attract Clients with Content Marketing
- Demonstrate Software with High-Quality Videos
- Generate Subscribers through Cold Calling
- Feed Pipelines with Paid Search
- Educate Clients with Software Adoption Workshops
- Attract Leads with SEO or PPC
- Showcase Expertise with Thought-Leadership Content
- Prioritize High-Intent Keywords with Landing Pages
- Incentivize Sign-Ups with Exclusive Discounts
- Capture Leads with Compelling Ebooks
Utilize Intent Signals for Lead Generation
At Intentify Demand, we’ve discovered an effective approach to generating leads for B2B software companies: using intent signals. These signals represent the behaviors and actions of potential customers, indicating their readiness to engage with the product or service.
Understanding intent signals allows businesses to identify who is actively searching for a solution similar to what you offer. Then, it is easier to reach out with targeted marketing campaigns, giving you the best chance of generating quality leads.
Without intent signals, personalizing messaging and identifying pain points becomes a challenge, leading to resources being spent on leads that are just not ready to make a purchase.
Holly Jones, Marketing Manager, Intentify Demand
Maximize Software Directories for Visibility
This avenue for lead generation is stupid-simple, and it might sound obvious, but there are still businesses that might not be taking advantage of all the different directories available. I love to go after the low-hanging fruit in marketing first to generate results quickly.
There are many different B2B software directories on the web. These directories not only tend to have great organic visibility, but many of them are running ads to drive traffic to their directories. You can take advantage of this traffic and direct users to your software by making sure you list your company on as many software directories as possible. That was one of the first things we did when we started Mass Texting Service, and those directories got us some of our initial leads and customers.
We still regularly earn leads from these directories. Take some time and do an audit to find out which directories you’re listed on and which you need to get listed on.
David Kranker, Co-Founder and CMO, Mass Texting Service
Leverage Comparison Sites for Quality Leads
Comparison sites have emerged as a gold mine for sourcing high-quality leads, particularly for B2B software companies like ours. These platforms, where users actively compare products or services and/or request a quote, present a unique opportunity to connect with prospects who are ready to make informed purchasing decisions.
Our commitment to success on comparison sites doesn’t end with a simple listing. We adopt a proactive approach by closely monitoring our presence on these platforms. Regular audits ensure that our information is accurate, up-to-date, and competitive in the ever-evolving landscape of B2B software. By keeping our listings fresh and relevant, we enhance their visibility and effectiveness.
The speed of our response to leads garnered from comparison sites has not only increased conversion rates but has also established a positive rapport with potential clients. Our cost per lead makes this our highest-performing channel.
Blake Smith, Marketing Manager, ClockOn
Combine LinkedIn Outreach with Content Marketing
For B2B software companies, a potent lead-generation strategy is to combine content marketing with LinkedIn outreach. Start by pinpointing the challenges your software solves and develop insightful content like whitepapers and case studies.
On LinkedIn, optimize your company’s profile with relevant keywords and testimonials. Start by optimizing your company’s profile with compelling descriptions, testimonials, and relevant keywords. Then, identify decision-makers in your target industries. Instead of cold messaging them, first engage with their content by leaving thoughtful comments and sharing their posts.
After a few interactions, send them a personalized message. Instead of leading with a sales pitch, offer them your whitepaper or e-book for free, positioning it as a value addition. This can effectively guide leads through the sales funnel, converting them from interested prospects to loyal customers.
Powerful Content + Networking + Outreach = Optimal Lead Generation
Maheen Kanwal, HR Management Executive and B2B Tech SaaS Copywriter
Boost Visibility with an SEO Strategy
For generating leads for your B2B software company, I strongly recommend SEO. This digital marketing strategy aims to improve a site’s visibility by optimizing elements such as content and technical aspects. SEO is about creating content that matches your customers’ needs. This signals to Google that you are relevant, thus impacting your search engine ranking.
Begin commercial pages by explaining one or two important keywords. This enhances the visibility of the page and ensures that clients access informative content from the start of their engagement with your site.
For B2B companies, SEO is a powerful way to reach potential clients because decision-makers in the B2B world often rely on online searches to find the best company for their needs. Robust SEO ensures your products and services are easily discoverable. SEO drives organic traffic but also makes crucial inroads with lead generation. For B2B companies, it’s a vital part of their digital marketing toolkit.
Katie Moakler, SEO Expert, Indigoextra Ltd
Offer PDF Downloads for Lead Capture
Provide the option to download certain articles on your website as a PDF. This sounds like it wouldn’t work, but you’d be surprised how many leads we’ve seen come through from this technique—it’s in the thousands.
If you have a long article on your blog, over 2000 words, then try adding a form or a pop-up with the option to download it as a PDF. Try it for a dozen articles and do some extra promotion to direct traffic to those pages. Monitor the results to see if this technique works for you.
We’ve rolled this method out to a few of our clients (B2B tech companies) and they’re seeing results, too. It’s a low-effort, high-reward activity to generate leads.
Matthew Stibbe, CEO, Articulate Marketing
Host Interactive Webinars for Engagement
Hosting targeted and interactive webinars is one method that is always consistent in generating leads for B2B software.
Webinars that focus on educating the audience, as well as addressing current industry challenges and emerging trends, can be hugely effective in driving interest. It’s also important to make them interactive, so the audience can ask real live questions, allowing you to show your ability and showcase the value you can add.
You can start by identifying the pain points your software addresses and organizing a webinar that offers actionable insights—perhaps showcasing a real-world application or a live demo of your solution.
Promote your webinar across industry forums, LinkedIn groups, and through email campaigns. The magic is in offering genuine value—attendees should leave with newfound knowledge, even if they don’t immediately convert. This helps to position your brand as an industry thought leader and keeps your software front-of-mind.
Luke Perkins, Commercial Director, Gambit Partners
Build Publicly on Social Media Platforms
One big way to generate leads for a B2B software company is by building in public on social media platforms such as Twitter and LinkedIn. There is a massive trend for SaaS startups to connect with an audience and gain potential affiliates for their software solution. A great example would be the SaaS tool, Tweet Hunter, which all started by building in public.
Eddy Ballesteros, CEO, Balle Solutions LLC
Form Strategic Collaborative Partnerships
Collaborative partnerships have been a cornerstone in my B2B software lead-generation strategy. By aligning with complementary businesses or industry influencers for joint ventures or co-marketing activities, we tap into new audiences and gain credibility. These collaborations often result in mutual referrals, expanding our reach and bringing in warm leads primed for our software solutions.
Shoaib Mughal, CEO, Marketix
Use an Alternatives Page for Competitive Edge
One good way of generating leads for a B2B software company is by using an alternatives page. Many believe that leads will instead choose a competitor, but in most cases, they actually find your software while researching alternatives for a tool they already know or are not happy with.
To convince leads that you’re the best choice, build honest alternative pages where you compare your own tool with competitors. Highlight why you’re the better choice and use social proof (testimonials, reviews) to highlight your strengths.
Deian Isac, Head of Agency Success, Service Provider Pro
Target the Right Persona with Cold Emailing
Cold emailing is a powerful, yet often ignored, way to generate B2B leads. Even more impressive is its return-on-investment ratio when compared to other lead generation methods.
Professionals are accustomed to checking their inboxes regularly. Emails are the second-most personalized channel to reach them, just after phone calls. The key here is to target the right persona. Thankfully, there are tools to help with that.
For example, Apollo.io can find emails of business people interested in your product. It also offers in-built cold mail campaign features, which can automate the entire email marketing campaign.
Shivbhadrasinh Gohil, CMO and Co-Founder, Meetanshi
Provide Insight with White Papers and Research
By offering genuine insight based on meticulously curated data, you stand out from the cacophony of everyday content. It’s not about churning out volume; it’s about quality. It’s about offering something that’s not easily replicated. Something concrete, something tangible, rooted in the reality of numbers and analysis.
This era is saturated with sales pitches, advertisements, and overt brand promotions, leading many to become disillusioned and wary. But raw, unvarnished data? That’s a rarity. And in its rarity, it becomes a beacon. Potential leads recognize this. Savvy buyers, in particular, are on the hunt for authentic, clear, and impactful information. They don’t want fluff. They’re looking for the kind of content that aids decision-making.
When you become a purveyor of such information, you’re no longer just another business; you become a repository of knowledge. It’s like lighting a candle in a dark room—people are naturally drawn to it.
Pesach Lattin, Chief Rainmaker, ADOTAT.COM
Focus on Bottom of Funnel Keywords
One effective strategy for generating leads for a B2B software company is to focus on creating “bottom of the funnel” and “customer pain points” keywords. For example, if I have conversion-rate-optimization-related software, then my “bottom of the funnel” and “customer pain points” keywords are “the best conversion rate optimization tools” and “how to improve website conversion.”
By applying this strategy for the last 4 years, I have been able to increase the company’s revenue by 3x, just by driving only targeted traffic that helps me bring new customers to the table.
Anurag Pandey, Technical SEO Associate, BeatRoute
Engage Visitors with AI-Driven Chatbots
Harness the power of AI-driven chatbots to boost lead generation for your B2B software company. By embedding intelligent chatbots on your website, you can engage visitors in real-time conversations, understand and collect information on their specific needs, and provide instant solutions that don’t leave any clients waiting for human interaction.
These chatbots capture valuable contact information and qualify leads based on their interactions and behavior. With AI’s ability to personalize conversations and offer tailored content recommendations, you can ensure a unique and compelling experience for various segmented audiences, ultimately converting website visitors into highly targeted, pre-qualified leads ready to explore your software solutions.
Kevin Miller, Founder, kevinmiller.com
Illuminate Challenges with Interactive Quizzes
One of the best ways to generate leads for a B2B software company is by publishing interactive quizzes and assessments on the website. Leveraging interactive quizzes and assessments taps into a business’ desire for self-improvement. Such tools illuminate operational challenges or inefficiencies and help businesses determine areas for improvement. As participants navigate the quiz, they grow conscious of their shortcomings. At the end of the quiz, the software solution emerges as the remedy to the problems identified.
The method highlights the software’s relevance, facilitates the collection of leads for personalized follow-ups, and increases brand awareness. Based on statistical data, the conversion rate goes up to 35%, depending on factors like quiz design, the perceived value of the results, and how well the content is promoted.
Natasa Mezej, CEO, Promise WD
Attract Clients with Content Marketing
Content marketing is one of the most successful ways for a B2B software company to generate leads. The B2B industry is a limited-space industry; hence, the audience size is small. So, the marketing impact at an individual level is higher. Hence, having impactful content can attract and engage potential clients by providing high-quality, instructive material such as blog articles, whitepapers, case studies, and webinars that address pain points and difficulties.
I consider email marketing to be a powerful tool for B2B lead generation, however, it is important to note that its core is content. Using targeted content style for motion in industry-specific forums can be useful. Content resources related to the journey from problem to solution that a given software can do or has done for a company has been observed in recent times to have influence on solution-seeking individuals/companies.
Ajitesh Agarwal, Associate Director, Knowledge Excel
Demonstrate Software with High-Quality Videos
Often, the nature of B2B software is that your target customer potentially doesn’t even know they need your solution, never mind expecting them to research providers. You need to go directly to them and demonstrate your software to show the benefits and efficiencies it can offer.
Produce some high-quality demo videos and use them to run ads. You can ensure you’re targeting the right audience through both social media channels and YouTube. You should also direct an important part of your marketing budget to events and conferences.
George Cotter, SEO Consultant, Tall Marketing
Generate Subscribers through Cold Calling
Cold calling has been our number one channel for new software subscribers. While there are many in our industry who can utilize a “self-service” model to start using our service, most subscribers have questions and challenges that must be addressed before signing up.
Following up calls with in-depth, informative, and well-researched content that addresses specific pain points faced by our target audience helps us build our pipeline.
Dan Ketterick, Growth Manager, FleetNow
Feed Pipelines with Paid Search
B2B software is often a competitive landscape from a paid advertising perspective, but even with this in mind, paid search remains one of the most effective and fast-acting ways to generate quality leads and pipeline value for B2B software companies.
When strategies are executed effectively, paid search can feed pipelines and generate net new customers in profitable numbers for many B2B software organizations. In a competitive space, choosing the right stage in the buyer’s funnel, crafting the right content, and making the right offers, is essential to a positive ROI.
Max Desmarais, Director of Strategy, Vital Design
Educate Clients with Software Adoption Workshops
One effective strategy I’ve employed in the past, even in my sportswear business, is hosting software adoption workshops.
In a particular instance, we invited small fitness clubs and trainers to understand a new inventory management software we were considering. The event wasn’t just about our product; it became an educational experience, teaching them about the benefits of digital transformation.
This established our reputation as industry leaders, and many attendees expressed interest in potential collaborations. By offering value and insight, you naturally attract businesses seeking solutions.
Jay Barton, CEO and Founder, ASRV
Attract Leads with SEO or PPC
Many SaaS (Software as a Service) providers require business owners to visit their site in order to use their services. This makes promoting your site through SEO or PPC a logical way to attract leads.
Start by optimizing your page speed and creating a user-friendly site. Do A/B testing to trial different designs and layouts and see which converts best. Next, focus on creating helpful content. “Helpful Content” is the name of Google’s latest algorithm update and is ideal for B2B companies. Your software provides a solution, so provide guides on how to use it, while including enough useful information for the casual visitor who hasn’t yet subscribed to your service.
Start sales pages with a little helpful content by defining the core keyword, if it’s a technical term, or empathizing with the problems your visitors will be having. The days when SEO was all about keywords are long gone. Yes, you should include keywords, but place your focus on your users and Google will reward you.
Martin Woods, Senior SEO Consultant, MeasureMinds Group
Showcase Expertise with Thought-Leadership Content
Creating thought-leadership content has been a cornerstone of our lead-generation strategy in the B2B software industry. Through our experience, we’ve seen the power of crafting insightful materials such as whitepapers, webinars, and blog posts to showcase our expertise and offer solutions to industry challenges. This not only grabs the attention of decision-makers but also solidifies our brand’s position as a trusted authority in the field.
To maximize the impact, we consistently promote this content across multiple channels, including our website, social media, and industry publications. By presenting this content as a valuable resource and asking for prospects’ contact details in exchange, we not only attract potential clients but also build a valuable database of leads.
This approach has not only generated leads but also nurtured engagement, established trust, and fostered lasting relationships with individuals and businesses.
Nilesh Rakholia, Director, Abelini
Prioritize High-Intent Keywords with Landing Pages
One way to generate organic leads would be to create landing pages that target a high-intent keyword. This type of keyword should really be thought about from the perspective of who your searcher is. The first step would be to use a tool like Ahrefs to look at some ideas. The key here is to find a keyword that has a low difficulty score to capture in SERPs and any amount of traffic volume.
An example of what this looks like for an accounting software company, and what kinds of things their potential future clients are searching for. After taking it to Ahrefs, I found the keyword “automating accounting” has a monthly search volume of 100 and a difficulty of 12. If the landing page is created well, and backlinks are built to it, it is likely to climb into the top 10 of Google search results, because of its lower difficulty, which means there is less competitiveness for it. Your site gets in front of high-intent searchers, which are more likely to convert.
Lora Bovie, Sr. SEO Strategist, Revelo
Incentivize Sign-Ups with Exclusive Discounts
Incentivize customer sign-ups with an exclusive “welcome” discount. When people are rewarded for something, no matter how small the incentive, they will gladly go out of their way to do the task. A reward is a reward, after all.
For example, promising them a 5% discount coupon when they sign up will encourage more account registrations and, as a result, become an excellent source of leads. Some visitors like to lurk on websites with no intention of signing up or making a purchase but are enticed to sign up so they can get the discount and use it “for later.” This means your company earned a lead, plus a potential conversion when they make a purchase later on so they can use their discount.
It’s a win-win for both parties but a more significant win for the company.
Aktug Dogan, CEO, Refermate
Capture Leads with Compelling Ebooks
Create a compelling ebook addressing a specific problem for your target audience, or offer an up-to-date, comprehensive guide. Use a lead-capture form to collect contact info in exchange for the download.
Promote the ebook on social media, paid ads, and your website.
Leverage the ebook as a reason to initiate contact with prospects. Ask if they have any feedback on it, or request if they could participate in a survey on industry trends. During these interactions, you can gather valuable information about their company, such as what competitor software they use and if they have any pain points with it.
By building a relationship with prospects by providing them with useful content, you can create a base to continually engage with them, such as through monthly newsletters, even if they are not ready to buy now.
This approach provides value to prospects before asking for anything in return, allowing you to collect data about their needs to nurture them into paying customers over time.
Trendy Tan, Marketing Senior, Kepler Search
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