Lead Generation Techniques

Most brands spend a lot on media, but treat landing pages as an afterthought If you’re running ads and sending traffic to a homepage or a poorly built landing page, its almost criminal. Specially when gen AI has reduced the cost and time for content creation drastically Here’s how to get landing pages right. Consistently. 1. Match Intent, Not Just Aesthetics The #1 job of a landing page? Continue the conversation you started with your ad •If your ad says “energy efficient fans”, the landing page should show highlight this feature front and center •If your Google ad targets “Mixer Grinders under ₹5000,” don’t show ₹8000 models on the page. Message match > Visual design 2. Keep the Hero Section Clean & Focused Above-the-fold matters. You need to have •Clear headline – Say what the product is and why it’s special. •Key benefits – 3 crisp points max. •Visuals – High-quality product image or demo video. •CTA – One action. Not three. Buy Now,” “Book a Demo,” or “Know More”—but pick ONE 3. Product Benefits, Not Just Features Nobody cares that your mixer uses XYZ motor tech. I mean they do care but only if they care how it helps them They care a lot more that the mixer has a coarse mode which enables silbatta like texture resulting in great taste And that BLDC or intelligent motor tech enables it 4. Solve for Trust People are skeptical by default. Give them reasons to believe •Ratings & Reviews – Show real customer ratings (4.5 stars? Flaunt it). •Media Mentions – “As seen on The Hindu / NDTV” works. •Certifications – BEE 5-Star? BIS approved? Display badges. •Guarantees – Free returns? Warranty? Mention clearly 5. Speed & Mobile Optimization Today at least 80 percent of your traffic is mobile. If your landing page loads in 4 seconds, you’ve lost half. Aim for <2s load time. Avoid fancy animations that slow things down. Test your page on Mobile (3G/4G) and in all browsers Chrome, Safari etc 6. Minimize Distractions A landing page is not your website. •No top nav bars with 7 menu items. •No footer clutter. •No exit doors—except the CTA you want. Keep it focused. Keep them moving toward action 7. Strong CTA (Call to Action) •Make it obvious. One clear button. •Use actionable language: “Get My Free Sample,” “Book a Demo,” “Shop Now.” •Repeat CTA 2-3 times as they scroll, especially after key benefit sections. 8. A/B Test, but with caution: Gen AI makes it very easy to do so. Test •Headlines •CTA text and colors •Images vs Videos •Long-form vs Short-form copy But get the fundamentals of A/B testing right. You need statistically significant sample sizes for each test A good landing page doesn’t sell the product by itself. But It removes friction so the product has a better chance of selling And when done right, your CAC drops, your ROAS climbs, and your ads finally start working to their fullest potential

What it means to shift from 'spray-and-pray' marketing to a unified, account-based GTM aimed at your exact ICP ⤵ Last September I featured a story about how Parabola did all this (a) in under 30 days, (b) without a RevOps team, and (c) with a TON of 🔥 automation. Here’s the update: pipeline has grown by 717% since September. All with the same size marketing team 🤯 How they rapidly built a scaled ABX motion from scratch: 1️⃣ Identified - ICP-fit accounts & contacts are sourced using Clay, Sales Nav, Cargo 🧱 and ChatGPT - All data gets pushed to Salesforce 2️⃣ Aware - Accounts get warmed up with LinkedIn paid ads, scaled email, LinkedIn connections and referrals – in addition to other bespoke tactics and campaigns - They are flagged as aware if buyers start engaging via email (2+ contacts with 2+ email opens), accept LinkedIn connections, visit the website, or engage in the community - Tools: website tracking (Clearbit, HubSpot), email & LinkedIn automation (Apollo, Outreach, La Growth Machine), community (Slack) 3️⃣ Interested - Accounts progress as they demonstrate more meaningful engagement & intent - Key signals include visiting high-intent website pages (ex: pricing page), starting a free trial, attending an event, etc. - Tools: webinar (Sequel.io), trial (Redshift), website tracking, product usage data, ETL 4️⃣ Evaluating - All of the above is meant to generate high intent, ICP pipeline for sales - Accounts progress here by booking a meeting with sales or requesting a demo - This is where more manual, high-touch outreach comes into play (aimed at warm accounts) - Tools: meeting routing & booking (Calendly), marketing automation (HubSpot) The big learnings over the past 8 months:  - Content & offers are everything for getting a response  - Not all triggers are created equal when scoring account stages  - The data won’t be perfect, don’t let that stop you  - The best GTM plays involve both marketing & BDRs This is what a focused GTM looks like. Marketing, sales, CS, product and even ops all play a role in building pipeline with the right accounts. Huge shoutout to the Parabola team (Alex Yaseen, Ben Pollack, Adam Reisfield) for taking folks behind-the-scenes! PS, Parabola just launched a game-changer for anyone interested in automating workflows like ABX stages (think Cursor for Ops teams). You can check it out here: https://parabola.io/ #abx #marketing #automation

2026 planning starts now. If I was the CRO of a $50M business looking to grow 30% next year (i.e. add $15M of net new ARR to end the year at $65M) here’s exactly what I’d do: ASSUMPTIONS: - Selling into SMB and Mid-Market but with a small Enterprise sales effort. - 82% Gross Revenue Retention and 95% Net Revenue Retention (NRR). - A CS team that has renewal targets but expansion is handled by the AEs. - New business team is hitting quota in total but unevenly distributed. 1. Stress Test the Targets and the Revenue Model Look at 2025 growth and compare to total investments in sales and marketing focused on new business growth to understand CAC to ARR growth. Confirm the ratios map to the budget — e.g. you’re not being asked $15M in growth on the *same* CAC investment.    Assume CAC will degrade by 10% and ensure your fully weighted S&M investment is Pro-Rata + 10% to the growth. We’re looking for rough confirmation we’re not being asked to perform miracles. 2. Stress Test Pipeline Coverage and Marketing Performance Ensure we understand Lead to Closed Won Cycle and we have coverage. If we have a 3 month sales cycle and it’s mid-September, we’re on track. But if we wait much longer we’ll be drifting into Q1 and will immediately be behind. As usual, we’re looking for 3-5x pipeline coverage. 3. Understand Demand Generation Channels Word of mouth is not (really) a channel. It’s a “channel” if you can put $ behind it and the more you spend the more you get. If we have our basic framework in place, it’s time to get out the precision tools, modeling CAC, retention, and LTV by *investable channel*. At higher ACVs, we put muscle behind in-person travel, ABM, and targeted field marketing. At lower ACVs, we need investments in data and enrichment to enable effective paid acquisition and AI-enabled inside reps. 4. Review Gross and Net Revenue Retention targets If nothing changes with NRR, we are looking at $47.5M end of year run-rate. Let’s figure out if we can push NRR up to 105%, lowering the burden on new business. How? - Segment accounts by Red, Yellow, Green - Assign commercial support to CS to expand Green through more seats, new products, or deeper usage. Take one high performing AE and turn them into an Account Management expansion focused hunter whose sole job is converting upsells. 5. Drive Our AEs with Great Variable Comp and Route Our Best Leads to Our Best People Top sellers are 5-7x more productive than average sellers. And sellers with unlimited upside and generous accelerators, do better. I'd design our comp plans to pay for over-performance and route our leads to our best people. Target 80%+ quota attainment and be willing to part with the bottom 20%.  Get confidence every lead we send to the sales team closes at a higher rate with a higher deal value. The last step? Pop bottles because we hit our number 🍾 P.S. Want to learn how to do this as a scaleup CRO? Pavilion's CRO School starts 10/2. DM me to join.

Want to pitch someone on LinkedIn? Read this before you hit “send.” Every week, I get messages that go something like this: “Hi, I’m [Name]. I’ve built this incredible thing. It’s doing amazing work. Here’s why it matters. Can you help me/share it/connect me?” It’s not that I don’t care. I do. But these messages usually miss the mark and here’s why: They center the sender. Not the receiver. Here’s the truth: When you approach someone for the first time, you (and your project, product, or platform) are not the hero of the story. THEY are. If you want someone to care, start by showing that you care about what they do, what they stand for, what they’re building. Read their posts. Watch their interviews. Figure out what they’re trying to solve. Then ask yourself: how does what I’m doing help them win? Make your message less “I need,” and more “Here’s what I see in your work and how I can add value.” Additional tips: 💬 Keep it short. Long-winded intros are overwhelming. You’re not writing your bio, you’re opening a door! Three concise paragraphs is plenty (even less if you can). 🎯 Be specific. Instead of saying, “Let’s collaborate,” say: “I’d love to explore how we could align my youth platform with your mission to build stronger leadership pipelines.” People respond better when they know exactly what you’re asking. What’s your call to action? 🧠 Show you’ve done your homework. A thoughtful compliment goes a long way. “Your post on LinkedIn really made me think.” “I noticed you’ve been working on Y and I’m building something that could support that.” It shows you care enough to listen first. 🤝 Give before you ask. Share a helpful resource. Offer a useful intro. Tell them about an opportunity they might benefit from. Relationships are built on generosity. 📆 Respect their time. Instead of jumping into a call request, consider asking: “Would it be okay if I shared a 1-pager for you to skim in your own time?” People are more open when they don’t feel pressured. Please don’t immediately ask for a call. 💡 Think of it as planting, not picking. Your goal isn’t to “get” something, it’s to begin something. Not all outreach will lead to a project right away, but if done well, it can spark long-term relationships, ideas, and even unexpected opportunities. ✨ Bonus hack: I often ask my clients to count how many times they say “I” vs. “you” when they write to, present to or speak to their stakeholders. If the “I”s win, revise. It’s not listener-centric enough. Connection starts with empathy, not ego. Lead with curiosity. Offer service. That’s how collaborations are born. If these tips are helpful, check out Storytelling and Leadership for more. #Storytelling #AuthenticConnections #LinkedInTips #Leadership #PurposefulWork

In the last 10 days via Instantly.ai: ✅ 18 appointments booked ✅ 9 leads generated in a single day from 1 campaign ✅ First clinic partnership secured for a client Here’s what actually made the difference beyond just “personalization”: I didn't even use Clay. 🔹 Tight ICP filtering – Instead of targeting everyone in our target industry, we narrowed to decision-makers at mid-size companies that recently posted hiring signals, and confirmed their ability to take on additional work. Fewer contacts, higher hit rate. 🔹 Problem-first messaging – Instead of opening with “who we are / what we do,” every sequence started with the cost of their current status quo (missed appointments, staffing gaps, wasted pipeline). That framed the outreach as relevant instead of salesy. Trigger events > endless pitches. 🔹 Structured follow-up cadence – Most replies didn’t come from Email 1. They came from emails 3–4, where we shifted tone: lighter, more conversational, sometimes even with a short one-liner but always built urgency and displayed the ROI of the offer to the prospect. Consistency > cleverness. Outbound isn’t about “sending more.” It’s about sending smarter. If you’re only relying on referrals or inbound, you’re betting on luck. Cold email gives you control over pipeline. 👉 I’ll keep sharing breakdowns like this—so if you’re building outbound, follow along. #coldemail #instantlyai #outbound #GTM

I've helped over 400 businesses with marketing. Most of them face THIS situation: They lack clarity about their marketing problems. As a result, they treat symptoms but not root problems. - Try new tactics while the target audience is undefined - Write new headlines with unclear messaging - Blame tools, tactics, and channels - Never assess the positioning They focus on surface-level problems while deeper ones are hurting badly the business. They are changing the color of the wallpaper while the house is built on a ravine. Sometimes, they even blame external factors: - "Let's fire the agency, they send poor leads" - "Our CRM doesn't have the right features" - "This channel is bad, let's try a new one" But deeper marketing problems are still here. And the causes are often the same: - Too product-centric → "Our product is the best" - The sunk cost fallacy → "We can't change this now" - Not enough market-oriented → "The market will adapt" As a result, product and strategic problems are silently killing the business. Here's the perfect scenario to move on: Founder: I did a 2-week meditation retreat in the mountains, my ego has vanished - what should I do now? Me: Let's analyze the 4 layers of marketing problems: 1. Surface-level Problems You need to change your copy, channels, tactics, or tools to get more conversions. The criticality level is low, install a backlog and experiment changes. 2. Structural Problems You need to plan structural changes with a 3-month roadmap. Audit your systems, teams, KPIs, and budget to revamp your marketing system. 3. Strategic Problems You need to align your business and the market now. Work on your ICP, positioning, offer, and messaging. Each day that passes without addressing this issue, you accumulate marketing debt and diminish the perceived value. 4. Product Problems You need to rethink your product capability for your target audience. It might be time to focus on a more specific use case or pivot your efforts to solve a stronger PUR problem (painful, urgent, recognized). Follow me Pierre Herubel for daily marketing tips.

I just deleted 147 cold emails without reading them. Here’s what they all got wrong: Every morning, my inbox looks the same. A flood of pitches from people trying to sell me something. Most days, I just mass delete them. But this morning, I decided to actually read through them first. Within 5 minutes, I spotted a pattern. Everyone was making the exact same mistake. They were all trying to close the deal. ALL IN THE FIRST MESSAGE 🥵 Let me show you what I mean (with two small examples): APPROACH A: "The Wall of Text" Send 100 cold emails with full pitch, calendar link, and case studies. • 3 people open • 0 responses • 0 intros This looks exactly like the 147 emails I just deleted "Hi [Name], I noticed your company is scaling fast! We help companies like yours optimize their marketing stack through our proprietary AI technology. Our clients see 300% ROI within 90 days. Here's my Calendly link to book a 15-min chat: [LINK]. Looking forward to connecting! Best, [Name]" BORING!!! APPROACH B: "Micro Conversations" Same 100 prospects, broken down into micro-convo's. Email 1: "Do you know [mutual connection]?" • Send 100 • ~40 open • ~20 respond Email 2: "They mentioned you're scaling your marketing team. I'd love to connect about [specific thing]." • Send to 20 who responded • ~15 continue engaging Email 3: "Would you mind if they made an intro?" • Ask 15 engaged prospects • ~10 intros Final score: • Approach A: No intros • Approach B: 10 intros How to Apply These Lessons (Tactical Summary): 1. Focus on Micro-Conversations: Break your cold outreach into smaller, manageable steps. Build rapport before making any asks. 2. Personalize Everything: Reference mutual connections, specific company milestones, or shared interests in every message. 3. Play the Long Game: Aim for replies in the first message.. not conversions. If you’ve been struggling with cold outreach, you might just need a new approach. Give this one a try and lmk how it goes.

Most AEs fail on the phone for one simple reason: They’re cold calling people who’ve never heard of them. In 2025, that’s just lazy. Here’s how I would book executive meetings without sounding like a desperate sales rep: I used to teach cold calling techniques. Tonality. Pacing. Objection handling. And while that still matters... It’s not the reason I consistently get meetings with C-level buyers. The secret? I never cold call anymore. I warm call. Here’s how I do it: Step 1: Start with a personalized, relevant email. Do some quick research. Make it about them. For example, if I’m reaching out to a CRO, I’ll highlight a drop in quota attainment from RepVue and explain how I can help upskill their team in tough times. Step 2: That same day—a few hours later—I call their cell phone. (ZoomInfo or LinkedIn can get you that. No excuses.) DO NOT call the office. DO NOT waste time dialing assistants. If you can’t get a cell, send a LinkedIn connection request with a DM or video message. Step 3: When I call, I say: “Hi, this is Ian Koniak—did you happen to see the email I sent this morning?” If they say no: “No problem. I sent it because I saw your team’s quota attainment is down since 2022. I think I can help based on what I’ve done with other clients. Do you have a couple minutes now, or should we find time to connect on Zoom?” It’s not a pitch. It’s a reference to something you already sent that’s about them. That’s what makes it warm. Step 4: If they don’t respond, wait 2–3 days. Then reply to the original thread with more context: – Mention the training or workshops you offer – Share real results (e.g., 20% increase in quota attainment) – Ask: “Is this something you’d be open to learning more about?” Always lead with interest, not a hard ask for time. Step 5+: Stack 6–8 touchpoints total. Each one builds on the last—adding more insight, examples, testimonials. Mix in: – LinkedIn videos – Client stories – Relevant frameworks Each message = more value. That’s how you break through. It can take 8-12 touchpoints to get a meeting. Most reps quit after 1-3 touchpoints. Or worse—just send the same “following up” message. No value. No relevance. No shot. This process works. It’s not magic. It’s just real sales effort with a real strategy.

There's an AE on my team that consistently hits 200% of quota or more. How? She asks the hard questions: 1. “You mentioned [X date] as a goal—what’s driving that timeline, and is that date firm?” Verifies whether the timeline is real or aspirational. 2. "Based on what you’ve seen so far, is there anything that’s giving you pause about moving forward with us?” Invites honest feedback to surface objections early. 3. “How does our solution compare to others you’re evaluating?” Tests competitive positioning and whether you're the frontrunner. 4.“Who else on your team needs to feel good about this before a decision is made?” Pushes beyond your main contact to build a map of the buying committee. 5. “If [insert key stakeholder] were here, what concerns would they raise?” Forces your champion to think on behalf of other decision-makers. 6. “Have you ever purchased something like this before? What did that process look like internally?” Surfaces potential red tape or hidden decision criteria. 7. “What needs to happen between now and [target close date] for this to actually happen?” Pushes them to co-create the buying journey and surface risk. What's your favorite hard question to ask? - Mike G 👉 Check out my newsletter (it's free!): https://lnkd.in/gGyqJquj

My client fired their entire SDR team on Tuesday By Friday, their pipeline had grown by 60% This sounds impossible It's not After auditing 50 B2B sales organizations over 10 years, I've uncovered the most expensive myth in modern selling: → The belief that MORE activity at the TOP of your funnel will fix conversion problems at the BOTTOM Let me share what actually happened: This mid-market software company was spending $350,000 annually on their 4-person SDR team - 100+ cold calls per rep daily - 17 meetings booked weekly - "Incredible metrics" according to leadership - But their close rate? A devastating 1.2% The VP of Sales was convinced they needed MORE outreach, MORE automation, MORE top-of-funnel I suggested something different: pause all prospecting for 7 days Instead, we had their account executives do something radical - engage with the 215 prospects already in their pipeline who'd gone cold after initial meetings Using a framework we developed: - 65 prospects responded within 24 hours - 41 booked follow-up meetings - 23 re-entered active buying cycles - 6 closed within 14 days (total value: $212K) The shocking revelation? - Their pipeline wasn't empty - It was overflowing with neglected opportunity. This company didn't have a lead generation problem. They had a lead nurturing catastrophe. By reallocating resources from mindless prospecting to strategic engagement, they've now: - Reduced CAC by 60% - Shortened sales cycles by 30% - 2x their close rate The counterintuitive truth: Sometimes the fastest path to growth is to stop chasing new opportunities and start converting the ones you've already earned. What percentage of your marketing and sales budget is focused on prospects who've already shown interest vs those who haven't? That ratio reveals everything about your future growth trajectory P.S. If you need help with your sales, send me a message