Baby, Where the Heck Are My Leads? Tips Before You Start Lead Generation
Seeing Raye at the Greek Theatre this year was one of the year’s musical highlights so far. I’m not surprised “Where Is My Husband!” has over a billion Spotify views alone. I'm genuinely happy to see an independent artist achieve critical and commercial success.
The success of that song makes me wonder what else needs to show up for people. Based on many conversations I’ve had, many can swap “husband” for “new business” as the soundtrack for the last quarter of the year.
“We need more leads.” It’s the brief I hear more than any other. Startups say it. Established brands say it. However, no matter the industry or vertical, before you go all out on driving new business, you need to address a few home truths first.
Why isn’t “more lead generation” the answer?
I know that volume feels like the easy fix for revenue woes. But you need some fundamental foundations in place before your new business arrives.
Worst-case scenario – A mix of random customers arrive. They land on a page that is unclear and doesn’t convert, or end up in an inbox nobody owns. The good ones get the same slow follow-up as the bad ones. The data is muddy. A few months later, the budget is gone, and the conclusion is “that channel doesn’t work for us.”
The channel is rarely the problem. The house isn’t ready for guests. Let’s fix that!
The Starting Point - who exactly are we trying to reach?
This is the main foundation. Who is the customer you want to attract? I’m not talking “SMBs” or “women aged 25 to 54”. I mean a specific person, with a specific problem, who spends their time in specific places to solve it.
Get that right, and it decides two things.
Firstly, it locks in your focus: which channels, events, communities deserve your time, and which don’t.
Secondly, it defines your messaging: it helps clarify the words your customer uses for their problem, rather than the words you use to peddle your product.
Precision feels like limiting yourself. In practice, it’s the opposite. When you know exactly who you’re talking to, every other decision gets easier to create the right lead generation foundation.
Audience all set? Here’s what’s next – the universal laws
Once your audience and messaging are set, there are other fundamentals to put in place. I’ve yet to find a business that the following won’t apply to.
Have a plan and an operating system. This means locking down who owns what, what happens each week, and how decisions get made. Most businesses I walk into have plenty of activity and no plan. A one-page summary, agreement on roles, and a weekly rhythm beat a beautiful strategy deck nobody opens.
Track it. If you can’t say where a quality customer or lead came from and what happened to it, you can’t tell good spend from bad. This doesn’t need to be complicated. It does need to be set up before the money goes out, not after.
Lock in lead capture. Every channel points somewhere, from a website to a landing page or a product page. If that page is slow, vague, or asks for too much, every dollar spent upstream is wasted. Spend the time getting this page right, and test whenever possible for data on what works over opinions.
Decide how customers or leads are handled. What makes a lead worth a sales call? Who follows up, and how fast? A simple scoring model and a named owner stop hot leads going cold in a shared inbox. Have a plan for those not ready to buy today, so they are recontacted in the future and not forgotten.
Tidy the house. Old, outdated web pages, broken links, out-of-date pricing, and a LinkedIn page last touched three years ago are red flags. Buyers research and check. They notice, then leave for your more buttoned-up competition.
Show proof. Testimonials, case studies, client logos, and short videos of real customers talking help build trust. Proof does the selling when you’re not in the room.
Publish helpful content and use FAQ. Answer the questions your customers actually ask. It builds trust, and it’s increasingly how you get found. In G2’s 2026 survey of B2B software buyers, 51 percent now start their research in an AI chatbot rather than a search engine. Those tools can only recommend businesses that have clearly explained what they do and who they help.
Get onboarding right. Winning a customer isn’t the finish line; it’s the start. If the first few weeks are confusing, they leave early, they don’t refer anyone, and you’re back to needing more leads. Retention starts on day one with the right care and attention in welcome and nurture plans.
Then grow with intent. Now switch channels on. One or two at a time, chosen because your customer spends their time there, and measured against a clear goal.
How do you know if you’re ready?
Here are questions I often ask new clients. Be honest with the answers.
Could everyone on your team describe your ideal customer with the same sentence?
Can you name the 50 companies, or the one tight segment, you most want to win?
Do you know which channel your best ten customers came from? Do you know them by name?
If a lead filled in your form right now, who would contact them, and when?
Is your website and CRM set up to report reliable data that enables decisions?
Does your website show real proof from real customers?
Would a new customer’s first week make them want to tell someone about you?
So what’s working for you?
There is no one-size-fits-all to this. I’d genuinely like to know what’s working, and let’s share the knowledge. If you’ve found something that works, or tried something that didn’t, tell me in the comments or drop me a note. In the meantime, I’m curating my Raye playlist. It’s Worth It.