Top 9 Lead Generation Sources to Fuel Your Sales Funnel
Are you struggling to fill your pipeline? You're not alone. Let's work together to change that. This guide will explore the top 9 lead generation sources, tips on tracking your most effective channels, and examples from some of the biggest names in SaaS.
What Are Lead Generation Sources?
Lead sources are channels through which a potential customer initially learns about your business and its products. For example, if your last customer reached out to you after seeing a paid ad on social media, that social media platform is a lead source.
There are two primary categories of lead sources: inbound leads and outbound leads.
Types of Lead Sources
Inbound Leads
Inbound leads are potential customers who actively seek information about your product or service. Think: someone who searches for “massage chairs” on Google and lands up on your website.
These sales leads come to you rather than you going to them.
Outbound Leads
Outbound leads are generated through proactive outreach to potential customers by your business. Think: sending cold emails to a list of targeted prospects in your industry.
You reach out to these qualified leads instead of them coming to you.
What Is A Good Lead Generation Source?
You can identify good lead sources based on three factors: consistency, cost, and quality.
Consistency
Is the lead source reliably providing a steady stream of predictable potential leads over time?
A dependable lead source should:
- Remain stable despite market fluctuations.
- Enable the replication of successful lead generation strategies.
- Demonstrate reliability over an extended period.
Cost
What are your costs associated with acquiring leads from a specific source, especially in terms of ROI?
A good lead source should strike a balance between affordability and effectiveness by considering:
- Cost per Lead or CPL (cost incurred to acquire each lead)
- Scalability without increased costs
- Lifetime Value (LTV) of acquired leads from a lead source vs Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) to gauge profitability.
Quality
Do the leads match your target audience and display genuine interest in your offering?
High-quality leads contribute to business growth by:
- Matching the ideal customer profile.
- Displaying genuine interest or purchase intent.
- Leading to higher conversion rates and revenue generation.
Why Track Lead Sources?
Tracking lead sources helps you prioritize leads based on their stage in the sales funnel and accurately forecast sales. You can also pinpoint the exact moment when customers decide to engage with your brand and explore your offerings.
How Can You Use Lead Gen Sources for Marketing?
When choosing which lead sources to include in your marketing strategy, consider the following factors:
Customer Journey
Use data and analytics to map out the customer journey and identify areas where specific lead sources can drive engagement and conversions. Tailor content and experiences to align with audience preferences at each touchpoint.
Value of Lead Sources
Evaluate the effectiveness of each source in generating conversions and revenue. Then allocate resources to high-performing lead sources.
Customer Experience
Use insights to personalize the buyer's journey and address pain points. Additionally, optimize lead sources based on feedback and analytics.
Lead Conversion Process
Implement systems for tracking and managing leads. Also, use automation to streamline lead nurturing and conversion workflows.
9 Best Lead Generation Sources For Maximum Impact
1. Organic Search Traffic
Organic search or SEO involves attracting website visitors through search engine results.
When users look up information, products, or services on search engines (e.g., "appointment scheduling tool") like Google, Bing, or Yahoo, they see a list of search engine results pages (SERPs):
These search results appear organically based on the specific search engine's algorithm, without any payment.
2. Email Marketing
In email marketing, you build an email list of potential customers. Later, you send them tailored emails containing valuable content, offers, or updates related to your products or events—similar to this Salesforce email, for instance:
3. Social
Social lead generation involves using social media channels like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram to attract and engage potential customers. You:
- create and share content
- interact with users, and
- run paid ads
to generate leads and build relationships with their audience. Billshark often uses Facebook carousel ads to educate visitors on its product.
4. Referrals
A referral is when existing customers or contacts recommend your products or services to friends, family, or colleagues through word-of-mouth or online reviews.
With 49% of consumers trusting online reviews as much as personal recommendations from closed ones, you know referrals are a serious business.
5. Events and Webinars
Organizing or participating in trade shows, conferences, or webinars—in-person or virtual—lets you network with attendees and collect contact information from interested individuals. It also shows your expertise, helping you score more leads.
6. Podcasts
Podcasts are audio episodes users can listen to on various platforms.
Consider this lead source to share industry insights, interview experts, or discuss relevant topics, thereby attracting listeners who may later convert into paying customers.
7. Gated Content
Gated content refers to premium content—ebooks, whitepapers, or webinars—that users get in exchange for their contact information.
For instance, Klientboost offers visitors a free marketing plan on its landing page…
…but to access it, they must share their email.
A smart example of B2B lead generation right here, folks!
8. Paid Ads
Paid ads involve paying for ad placement on search engines, social media, or websites to reach and attract your targeted market. You can use Google Ads, Facebook Ads, or LinkedIn Ads to create and run these ads.
9) Partnerships
Partnership lead generation means teaming up with other businesses to reach a common audience and generate leads.
The idea is to collaborate with a complementary service provider and offer bundled solutions to both of your customer bases, generating leads through cross-promotion.
Best Practices For Managing Lead Sources
Wondering how to manage all your leads effectively, faster? Here are some proven tips based on my experience:
Get a CRM or Lead Management Tool
Use a CRM system like HubSpot to organize and track your leads, or look into software exclusively for lead management.
Store important details about your potential customers—track interactions, set follow-up reminders, and stay on top of your lead management process. Here are a few of my favorite tools for tracking leads:
Follow a Consistent Naming Convention
Assign a clear, simple name to each lead source. This simplifies organization and keeps data clean, helping you easily identify which sources are bringing in the most leads.
For example, you could use names like "Social Media Ads," "Email Campaigns," or "Referral Program" to categorize your lead sources.
Use UTMs (Urchin Tracking Modules)
UTMs are special tags you add to your website links to track where your visitors are coming from. You can accordingly focus your efforts on the most effective marketing channels and optimize your marketing strategy.
Here's an example from Buffer:
Experiment and Report on Top Performers
Experiment with different lead generation strategies and tactics to see what works best for your business. Moreover, regularly monitor and share your results with your department so you can all learn from each other and improve together.
Find Your Most Effective Lead Sources
Monitoring lead sources is a crucial step in shaping your marketing strategies.
Based on the collected insights, you can make data-driven decisions that enhance your marketing and sales initiatives, bringing you closer to realizing your business goals. And while the tracking process takes time, it's an effort worth it.
Looking for more RevOps content? Subscribe to The RevOps Team newsletter for expert advice, software reviews, and other resources to help you deliver predictable growth at scale.
FAQs
What is a lead generation source in marketing?
A lead generation source in marketing is the channel/method through which a new lead first comes into contact with a business.
What is an example of a lead source?
An example of a lead source is social platforms like Instagram, where brands engage with users and attract potential customers through sponsored content, organic posts, or paid ads.
What’s the best lead source?
There isn’t a single “best” lead source as it varies depending on the industry, target audience, and business objectives. You should analyze and test different lead sources to determine which ones generate the most high-quality leads for your business.
What’s the difference between lead sources and lead generation?
Lead sources refer to the channels through which potential leads are acquired. In contrast, lead generation is the whole process of attracting and converting potential customers into leads through various marketing efforts.