Lead Generation
What Is B2B Lead Generation, and Why Do It Wrong?
Lead generation starts sales conversations, not just email lists. Learn the difference between a lead, MQL, SQL, and opportunity.
By Roberto Monticelli Wydra, Founder & Industrial Marketing Strategist
Direct answer
B2B lead generation identifies and captures interest from potential customers so you can start a business relationship. The common mistake is treating everyone who downloads an ebook as a lead. They are just a contact. A qualified lead (MQL) fits your ICP and has shown interest. A sales-qualified opportunity (SQL) fits, has intent, and has asked to speak with sales. Build your strategy around SQL quality, not the number of email addresses in your database.
Lead magnets that earn a response
To get someone’s contact information, offer something useful in return. In B2B, skip the shallow ebook. Offer practical tools such as ROI calculators, maintenance checklists, standards comparison tables, free audits, or access to technical webinars.
Qualification: the filter you need
Do not send every contact to sales. Add qualifying questions to your forms, such as job title, company size, and purchase timeline. If someone does not answer or does not fit, put them into email nurture instead of sending them to a sales rep.
Nurture the buyers who are not ready yet
Only 3% of your market is ready to buy right now. The other 97% may buy in the coming months or years. Lead generation brings those prospects into your database, where you can stay in touch every two weeks until they are ready to buy.
Quick questions
Does buying an email list work?
No. It violates Brazil’s LGPD privacy law and performs poorly. You will land in spam folders and damage your company domain. Build your list organically.
What is a good cost per lead (CPL)?
It depends on your deal size. If you sell a BRL 1 million machine, BRL 500 for a qualified lead is inexpensive. If you sell a BRL 100 subscription, it is expensive. Focus on ROI.
How many leads do I need to make one sale?
Work backward. For example, if your final conversion rate is 1%, you need 100 leads to make one sale. Improve qualification so you need fewer leads.
Should I use a landing page or LinkedIn/Facebook lead form?
Native lead forms cost less and often capture more accurate data, but intent tends to be lower. Landing pages do a better job of filtering out casual browsers.
What should I do when a lead does not answer the phone?
Use a mix of channels. Call, send a WhatsApp message and an email, and connect on LinkedIn. After 5 to 8 attempts on different days, return the lead to marketing for nurture.
Next step
Recommended service
If this topic is a priority, the best conversion path is Google Ads for B2B.
View Google Ads for B2BRecognize the problem first: How to measure Google Ads lead quality
Direct invitation
Getting plenty of curious leads but few sales? Let’s build a real qualification process. Talk with us.