If you’re a B2B marketing manager in Australia, you don’t need another fluffy think piece, you need a clear plan to generate qualified leads that your Sales steam actually want. This guide distils what works across paid, organic, and outbound, plus how we run it at The Marketing Project so it scales without falling over the moment budgets or headcount shift.
Let’s get you a cleaner pipeline, faster close cycles, and fewer “where did this lead come from?” moments.
What is B2B lead generation?
B2B lead generation is the end-to-end process of attracting, qualifying, and progressing prospects who have a genuine problem your business can solve. In practice, that means connecting your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) with the right message, on the right channel, measured against the right commercial metrics.
A few quick definitions so we’re talking the same language:
- ICP (Ideal Customer Profile): The firms you should win defined by firmographics (industry, size, geography), technographics (tools used), and problem fit.
- MQL vs SQL: An MQL (Marketing Qualified Lead) has shown relevant interest (e.g., downloaded a guide, requested pricing). An SQL (Sales Qualified Lead) has been vetted for need, budget, authority, timing, and fit, and is ready for a sales conversation.
- Demand gen vs lead gen: Demand gen grows awareness and intent; lead gen captures that intent and qualifies it. You need both.
- Attribution reality: B2B journeys are multi-touch. Expect dark social, partner referrals, and offline conversations to influence deals. Your model should guide decisions, not settle debates.
Why this matters: when you align ICP, messaging, channels, and measurement, your cost per qualified opportunity drops and close rates climb. That’s the flywheel we’re after.
How to Find B2B Leads That Boost Your Business
There’s no silver bullet. But there is a repeatable stack that consistently drives qualified pipeline. Here’s how we build it, with notes on where to start if budgets or capacity are tight.
1) Nail the offer and the landing experience
Before you turn on ads or ramp outreach, tighten the value proposition and make the conversion path dead simple. A well-designed landing page often lifts conversion rates more than any new channel.
- Start with a clear, specific offer (e.g., “15-minute logistics workflow assessment” vs “Book a demo”).
- Use social proof that matches your ICP (logos, short quotes, outcomes).
- Keep forms short; add progressive profiling later.
- Make your thank-you experience do more work: instant calendar booking, “what to expect next,” and a relevant resource.
2) Capture high-intent demand with Search (Google/Bing)
When buyers are actively looking, you want to show up first with credibility. Search remains the highest-intent channel for net-new pipeline.
- Prioritise exact match and phrase match for “problem + solution” and “category + near me/industry” terms.
- Build dedicated pages for key solutions and industries; avoid dumping all traffic on a single generic demo page.
- Use ad extensions (callouts, structured snippets, sitelinks) to pre-qualify clicks.
- Protect brand terms (cheap wins), but don’t rely on them.
3) Create category demand on LinkedIn (with retargeting loops)
LinkedIn is where you educate the buying committee. Don’t optimise only for lead forms; optimise for quality engagement that fills your remarketing pools and primes future direct demos.
- Target by job function + seniority + industry for breadth, plus company lists for ABM precision.
- Run a creative mix: short problem-solution videos, carousels with outcomes, and testimonial cut-downs.
- Always retarget site visitors and video viewers with low-friction CTAs (pricing, case study, live demo calendar).
- Use Lead Gen Forms sparingly and route them into your CRM with a tight qualification workflow.
4) Publish content that earns citations and conversions
Content isn’t a blog for blog’s sake. It’s fuel for search visibility, sales enablement, and ad engagement.
- Anchor topics around customer pain and commercial keywords (e.g., “freight allocation rules engine,” “ground improvement contractor ROI”).
- Structure pages with clear H2s/H3s, short paragraphs, and quotable data points (stats, names, dates).
- Layer FAQ schema and How-To/Organisation schema where appropriate.
- Gate strategically: benchmark reports, calculators, and implementation checklists tend to justify forms; most thought leadership should remain ungated and retargeted.
5) Convert “window shoppers” with remarketing
Most visitors won’t book on first touch. Bring them back with context.
- Segment by intent (e.g., pricing page viewers get a discount-free reassurance ad; blog readers see a case study).
- Mix creative formats, short video clips, testimonials, before/after visuals.
- Cap frequency to avoid ad fatigue; quality beats volume.
6) Warm outbound with intent and relevance
Outbound works when it’s useful, not just persistent. Pair intent signals with personalised outreach.
- Build micro-lists by trigger (new funding, job posts, tech installs, expansion to ANZ).
- Use short, plain-text emails with one ask: “Worth a 12-minute call to review X and benchmark against Y?”
- Sequence no more than 5–6 touches across email and LinkedIn; stop if there’s no fit signal.
- Ensure compliance (Spam Act 2003) and clear opt-outs.
7) Partnerships, directories, and marketplaces
If your buyers rely on ecosystems, meet them there.
- Co-host webinars with complementary vendors.
- List on relevant marketplaces/directories your ICP actually uses.
- Swap case studies or co-create implementation guides.
8) Events and webinars that lead with value
Don’t run a thinly veiled sales pitch. Teach something buyers can use next week.
- Choose a practical theme and show the how, not just the why.
- Record, slice, and repurpose content for LinkedIn, email nurtures, and YouTube.
- Offer a post-event clinic or office hours to book directly with your team.
9) Email nurtures that move MQLs to SQLs
The goal isn’t to send more email, it’s to progress buying readiness.
- Build short, outcome-oriented nurtures around a single problem cluster.
- Insert soft CTAs (assessment, calculator, case study) and one hard CTA (book a call).
- Hand-raise signals (reply, pricing click, calendar views) trigger fast SDR follow-up.
10) Measurement that Sales trusts
Leads are only as good as the outcomes they create. Align the commercial model so Marketing and Sales are pulling in the same direction.
- Track CPL and CPSQL, but report pipeline value and win rate by channel and campaign.
- Enforce campaign naming conventions and UTM discipline (source/medium/campaign/adgroup/ad).
- Use GA4 + server-side tagging for reliability; unify with CRM (e.g., HubSpot, Zoho, Salesforce).
- Share a weekly one-pager: what we shipped, what changed, what’s next.
Why It Works
Three principles underpin high-performing B2B lead generation:
- Intent stacking beats channel hopping. When search, social, content, and outbound reference the same pain and outcomes, you earn recognition with the entire buying committee, not just the person who fills the form.
- Friction is the silent killer. Every extra field, step, or unclear message bleeds high-intent prospects. Smoothing the path from “interested” to “booked” compounds quickly.
- Feedback loops compound results. PPC search terms inform SEO topics; sales calls feed copy; product usage data informs case studies. Teams that operationalise these loops win on both efficiency and growth.
What You Get
If you’re weighing up doing this in-house versus partnering, here’s what we deliver at The Marketing Project to remove guesswork and lift velocity.
- ICP & offer design: We align buying triggers with a sharp, testable promise (assessments, ROI narratives, pricing architecture).
- Channel plan & build: Search, LinkedIn, and remarketing foundations, sequenced to match budget and goals.
- Conversion design & CRO: Landing pages, forms, calendars, and proof placement to reduce friction and boost CVR.
- Content engine: SEO briefs, thought leadership, short-form video, and sales enablement aligned to the funnel.
- Attribution & analytics: GA4, server-side tagging, CRM routing, dashboards, and weekly readouts Sales actually uses.
- Governance: Campaign naming, UTM frameworks, QA, and cadenced experimentation so results are repeatable.
The outcome: fewer unqualified leads, more booked meetings from the right accounts, and a clear line between marketing activity and revenue.
Ready to Partner with The Marketing Project and Supercharge Your Team?
If your pipeline relies on hero deals or one or two channels, you’re sitting on risk. We’ll help you de-risk growth with a lead generation framework that blends intent capture, demand creation, and sales-ready qualification, and we’ll run the operations so your team can focus on conversations that close.
Book a discovery call and we’ll map the three quickest wins for your current funnel, no obligation.
FAQs
A little clarity goes a long way. Here are the questions we hear most from Australian B2B marketing managers.
What’s the difference between B2B demand generation and lead generation?
Demand gen builds awareness and intent across the buying committee (think LinkedIn education, problem-solving content, events). Lead gen captures that intent and qualifies it (think high-intent search, retargeting, and conversion-ready offers). You need both to grow reliably.
How long until we see results?
High-intent search and conversion fixes can move the needle within 30–60 days. SEO, content, and brand programs compound over 3–6 months. We typically phase plans so you get quick wins while the longer-term engines warm up.
What’s a good cost per SQL in B2B?
It varies by deal size and niche. Instead of chasing a universal CPL, track cost per Sales Qualified Lead and pipeline value per channel. If a channel’s CPSQL is higher but delivers bigger, faster-closing deals, keep it.
Should we gate content?
Gate calculators, templates, and benchmark reports that offer immediate utility. Leave most thought leadership ungated and retarget those readers with contextual offers, you’ll often get more high-quality intent this way.
Which channels work best in Australia right now?
For most B2B segments: Google Search for capture, LinkedIn for education and retargeting, and email/sequenced outbound layered with triggers and firmographic filters. Industry marketplaces and partner ecosystems can be powerful accelerants.
How do we keep Sales happy with Marketing leads?
Agree on qualification criteria, create a rapid follow-up SLA, and run a weekly pipeline sync. Share call snippets with Marketing to sharpen copy and offers. Close the loop on every opportunity so you can invest where revenue actually comes from.
What tech stack do we really need?
Keep it lean: GA4 (preferably with server-side tagging), a CRM with reliable routing (HubSpot/Zoho/Salesforce), call/calendar booking, and a dashboard that reports pipeline by channel. Fancy is optional; consistent is non-negotiable.
Is cold emailing legal in Australia?
You must comply with the Spam Act 2003 include accurate sender details, a functional unsubscribe, and ensure messages are relevant to the recipient’s role/business context. Keep outreach helpful and targeted.
