How to Reach $1M ARR with B2B SaaS Lead Generation

If you’ve ever built a SaaS product, you’ve likely had the “if we build it, they will come” mindset. And while a well-developed, innovative product will attract and retain customers, it's not enough on its own. To scale your B2B SaaS business, you need a lead generation plan that brings the right people to your site and turns them into customers. 

The good news is there are plenty of ways to draw in new leads without hiring a full sales or marketing team. We’ve met countless bootstrapped founders who have grown their SaaS to $1M ARR using smart, resourceful tactics. Over the years, we've acquired more than 40 businesses and spoken with thousands of bootstrappers, so we know what it takes to build an efficient lead generation strategy. 

To assist founders and their teams, we've created this guide on B2B SaaS lead generation to help you attract high-quality leads, convert them into paying customers, and grow your SaaS business sustainably.

Table of Contents

• The different types of SaaS lead generation
• Determining which SaaS lead generation tactics are best for your company
• 5 tips for optimizing your B2B lead generation efforts
• Examples of successful SaaS lead generation campaigns
• How to measure and improve your lead generation efforts

The different types of SaaS lead generation

Lead generation is a broad term, so there's no need to panic if you don’t know where to begin. In the SaaS world, lead generation might mean:

• Using different marketing tactics to persuade people to sign up for a free trial or “freemium” plan.
• Hosting a free webinar to educate your target audience and capture their contact information.
• Giving away a free template or spreadsheet in exchange for an email address.
• Adding a live chatbot and/or a contact form on your website.
• Publishing valuable, search-engine-optimized content on your site with a call to action (CTA) to sign up for your product.

We’ll cover all of those and more in this article, but here’s the main thing to remember: finding the right channels and strategies takes time, testing, and iteration. Failing fast is key. In fact, many of our founders grew their businesses this way, and at SureSwift, we take the same approach to scaling SaaS businesses after acquisition.

Let's begin with a look at some of the most reliable lead generation methods:

Social Media

Cracking the social media code in the SaaS industry can be tricky, particularly because the platforms you invest in depend on your target audience and where they spend their time. If you operate an ed-tech SaaS for teachers, platforms like Facebook or Instagram might preform the best. If your product serves professional traders, you may see greater opportunities on Twitter and Reddit.

The nature of social media makes it an outstanding lead and demand generation tool, regardless of where you invest your time. You can engage your audience through direct messages, comments, giveaways, surveys, or live Q&A sessions. Paid ads are also available on most platforms if you want to expand your reach (more on that shortly).

GrowthHero kept it simple with their Twitter giveaway, offering free access to an eCommerce event in exchange for a follow and retweet. It’s a simple way to boost visibility, grow your audience, and bring in potential leads without needing a huge budget or complex setup.

Another social media strategy to consider is affiliate marketing. This involves the process of recruiting affiliate marketers to promote your product or service. It’s also one of the best ways to earn a passive income. Here’s how it typically works:

1. You provide a code or link to your affiliates.
2. They share that code on their social media account to their audience.
3. When someone clicks the link or uses the code upon checkout, your affiliate earns a commission, and you not only earn the sale, but also build your customer base.

The more users who visit your site, the more traffic you receive, which also generates more leads for your business.

To get started with affiliate marketing, check out LeadDyno, an affiliate software built for SaaS companies. It features an intuitive dashboard with helpful information like lead geography and affiliate analytics. LeadDyno offers seamless integration with over 25+ platforms, so you can get set up and start tracking your efforts immediately. 

It’s best to focus on one or two platforms your audience frequents rather than trying to master them all.  

Pro tip: No one likes seeing promotional content on their feeds. Instead, share interesting, educational, and entertaining content. Earn the right to promote your product by delivering value to your followers first.

Content Marketing/SEO

Content marketing and SEO can turn your website into the biggest, and most reliable source of leads. By posting high-quality, educational content content, you attract people who are looking to solve problems, learn, or grow their own businesses.

You can reach customers at any point in the purchasing process with a mixture of bottom-, middle-, and top-of-funnel content. A top-of-funnel post, like an industry trend blog post, may not directly convert visitors into clients, but they position you as a subject-matter expert. You might also offer free downloads to gather email addresses, or use retargeting ads on these pages to stay in front of visitors.

Bottom-of-funnel content is for customers who have been actively searching for a product and are ready to buy. This is your chance to showcase the value of your product, educate your clients, and use enticing CTAs for free trials or sign-ups. 

Regardless of what content you publish, always follow SEO best practices.

Have older content that isn’t pulling in leads? Check out our guide to content maximizing to help give your existing posts a boost.

Webinars & Demos

Not only are webinars a cost-effective way to reach a large audience, but they can also be highly effective in generating leads. Here are three pointers to help you increase the effectiveness of your SaaS lead generation webinars:

1. Promote the event through your existing marketing channels. Use your email lists, social media, and paid advertising to get sign-ups. If your customers don’t know, they can’t go!
2. Deliver value, not a sales pitch. Your goal is to educate and inform your audience, not sell them on your product or service. Valuable content builds trust and credibility with potential leads.
3. ‍Follow up with participants after the webinar. This is critical for converting leads into customers. Send a thank-you email, offer exclusive discounts or free trials, and keep the conversation going through thoughtful follow-ups.

Live demos are another effective method of B2B SaaS lead generation. You can quickly peak their attention and trust by providing customers with demonstrations of your product or service. They also offer a great opportunity to collect contact information from interested leads. Once you collect this information, follow up with personalized emails or offers to move them further down the funnel.

Not every lead will be a fit, so be thoughtful with your outreach and lead generation efforts. Demos can generate high-quality leads but should be one part of a broader B2B SaaS marketing strategy.

Free Trials

One of the most effective ways B2B SaaS businesses can build interest and awareness is by offering a free trial. It gives potential customers a chance to explore your product’s features and benefits firsthand before committing. 

Free trials also offer valuable data to improve your product and marketing strategies. Seeing how users engage with your product during the trial period can reveal what’s working, what’s not, and where to make adjustments for better conversions and customer retention.

However, free trials do come with risks. Make sure your offer is compelling enough to convert leads, but not so generous that it devalues your product. When done right, free trials can be a powerful tool to generate leads and expand your enterprise.

Free Tools/Content Upgrades

There is no shortage of free tools and resources online. The trick is to knowing where to look.

eBooks, white papers, and templates can be powerful lead generation tools when they are well-written and helpful. They provide value to your audience up front, which is one of the top reasons people decide to sign up. With a little time and effort, you can create content that can quickly and consistently generate leads for your business.

To make yours stand out, keep a few things in mind:

1. Focus on solving a real problem your audience cares about.
2. Add a clear CTA so readers know what to do next.
3. Run your content through tools like Grammarly or Hemingway App to keep it error-free.

Templates are especially effective. Start with a topic related to your industry that you’re knowledgeable on, then create a template based on that subject that can be easily downloaded and applied right away.

One example of this comes from Asana, a project management platform that offers useful resources you can only access after filling out a lead form. It’s a simple but effective way to generate qualified leads while showing real product value.

Once you’ve received key lead information like an email address, you can set up an email marketing campaign with those customers. That way, you can continue showing them the value of your product until they convert into paying customers.

Partner Integrations and Promotions

Partner integrations and cross-promotions are a smart way to generate leads for your B2B SaaS. They expand your reach by tapping into your partner's audience, exposing more people to your brand. These partnerships can also build trust and credibility. When two organizations endorse each other's products, it signifies that both companies are worthy of doing business with. And because your partner’s audience is often aligned with yours, the leads tend to be higher quality are more likely to convert into paying customers. 

If someone hears about your product from a reputable source, they’re way more likely to give it a try. Here are some common methods for partnering to create demand generation through complementary products:

• Co-host a webinar or podcast
• Send out a cross-promotional email campaign
• Publish a guest post on each others’ websites
• Develop a product integration

Email Marketing

The success of a SaaS business depends on recurring revenue. Email marketing is an effective method for continuously capturing leads and keeping clients engaged. To do this, SaaS lead generation email marketing campaigns must offer value. For example, companies might send updates about new features or case studies showing how other businesses utilize the software. By providing value-packed content, companies can establish trust and loyalty with their customers, setting the stage for long-term success.

Paid Advertising

SaaS businesses can significantly boost demand generation by using paid advertising. Placing ads in suitable locations and using terms that appeal to your target clientele can quickly bring potential B2B leads to your website or signup page. 

In addition, you can track how many SaaS leads are generated from each campaign with paid advertising. While paid ads are often expensive, they can be an excellent way to expand your SaaS company.

Contact Forms & Live Chat Bots

There’s growing interest in live chatbot technology because it can be used to engage with visitors instantly, generating leads in real-time. Chatbots are also highly adaptable, making it easy to tailor them to fit your company's needs. If you want to generate leads quickly and efficiently, chatbots are a good option.

In addition, a contact form is a critical element of a lead generation strategy. By allowing visitors to contact your company, you increase the chances of a conversion. Furthermore, you can use key lead data like their name, email address, and phone number to create target marketing campaigns and to track the success of your lead generation marketing efforts.

Determining which SaaS lead generation tactics are best for your company

Understand your target market

Pinpointing where you should concentrate on generating leads can depend heavily on your target audience. To identify them, you must determine where they spend their time.

For example, if you're targeting young professionals, tactics like LinkedIn Advertising or Sponsored InMail might be more effective than traditional methods like print advertising.

However, if you're targeting a more general audience, a mix of tactics may be necessary to reach your goals.

You can also learn by asking your customers directly. This can be done through email surveys, customer interviews, and polling on social media.

Continually refine your approach by experimenting and tracking your results. By taking the time to understand your target market, you'll be in a much better position to generate the leads that will help grow your business.

Experiment, experiment, experiment

What works for one SaaS probably won’t work for another. The best lead generation tactics for your SaaS company will depend on numerous factors, including your:

• Industry
• Target market
• Budget

Blogging, social media marketing, pay-per-click advertising, and email marketing are common B2B lead generation methods.

You can use A/B testing to determine the success of your lead generation campaigns. For example, you might create two versions of a Google ad and test which one works best with your target audience.

Another approach is to track the quantity of leads generated by each channel over time. In the long run, this method is most successful. You can also assess the quality of leads generated by evaluating conversion rates and customer lifetime value.

By testing the effectiveness of different strategies, you can determine the most effective tactics for your SaaS company.

5 tips for optimizing your B2B lead generation efforts 

While it may seem obvious, it’s easy to fall into the trap of wanting to check all the boxes. But if you let the data do the talking, you’ll know what’s worth your time. Here are 5 tactics to help boost your lead generation efforts over time:

1. Define your ideal SaaS lead and segment your data by it

The first step to optimizing your SaaS lead generation efforts is determining what characteristics define your ideal lead.

Use tools like HubSpot or Salesforce’s lead scoring system to help determine where along the sales cycle your leads are. By segmenting your data based on the location of your B2B leads, you can optimize your efforts.

Create segments that include the following information:

• Lead origin (i.e. social media, search engines, etc)
• Company size (if they have one)
• Job title
• Location
• Contact information

2. Use lead scoring to identify the most qualified leads

Once you identify the leads most worth your time, focus the bulk of your marketing efforts on them.

Identify qualified leads by running a lead scoring analysis that tells you where each lead is along the sales cycle. 

Remember that a low score doesn’t mean a lead is unqualified. Instead, it can mean you need to nurture that lead longer before you try to close the deal.

3. Measure everything you can

Measuring your lead generation efforts is essential to understanding what works and what doesn’t.

There are two ways to measure lead generation efforts from each channel:

1. Measure how many leads are coming in and where they’re coming from.
2. Measure how long each lead takes to move to the next stage in the sales cycle.

If you’re using more than one marketing channel, you can use HubSpot to track where your leads come from, when a lead is created, when a sales rep contacts the lead, and when the lead converts.

4. Create a path of least resistance for leads.

Salespeople aren’t the only ones who need to follow up with leads. Whether you’re a SaaS marketer, owner, or acquirer, you must nurture qualified leads so sales can close them.

On your website, create a path of least resistance to help leads to move through the sales funnel quickly.

For example, display prominent “Contact Us” buttons so your potential customer can reach out easily.

Find out where your leads come from and what they’re doing on your website.

If they’re not moving through your funnel, they might be stuck on a page that doesn’t contain ideal lead gen content.

Remove obstacles to forge a pathway for leads to follow.

5. Only pay for quality traffic with ROI (return on investment)

Lastly, only pay for quality traffic. You can accomplish this by:

• Ensuring that the right people see your ads
• Choosing the right partners for your paid campaigns 
• Finding the proper channels for your budget

By following these five tips, you can optimize your lead generation efforts, growing your business more efficiently and effectively over time.

Examples of successful SaaS lead generation campaigns

SEO & CRO Lead Generation - Docparser

If your B2B SaaS website has been around for a while, chances are a handful of your pages produce the most traffic and conversions. In fact, according to many SEO experts, it’s common for 20% of your content to drive 80% of your traffic and conversions. In most cases, these are blogs or landing pages that have been on your site since you launched your SaaS business. But did you know, there’s a simple and effective way to boost those pages and access even more leads from them?

Here’s how to maximize your top-performing pages:

1. Identify your highest-traffic content in Google Analytics.
2. Determine which keyword(s) the post is currently ranking for.
3. Perform SEO updates, like adding targeted keywords and finding ways to earn backlinks.
4. Optimize the page for conversions by adding engaging CTA boxes, free downloads, or pop-ups.

This strategy is one of the biggest levers for growth within the SureSwift portfolio. We’ve seen traffic and conversion rates double and even triple from simple SEO and CRO updates. 

On Docparser’s blog, the SEO team optimized a high-converting post originally published in 2017. The updates led to a 72% increase in conversions!

The same approach was applied across 10 of the site’s highest converting pages, refining on-page content, improving keyword targeting, and tightening conversion elements. As a result, they saw an 18% increase in organic new users, a 19% boost in organic free trial sign-ups, and some individual pages saw 100%+ increases across both metrics.

With a few optimizations, you can see impressive results.

Paid Advertising Lead Generation - LeadDyno

When it comes to paid advertising, testing and optimizing is key. Experimenting with different ad platforms will quickly provide data on what’s working and what’s not. If your cost per acquisition (CPA) is higher than you’d like, try narrowing your targeting by device, location, or demographics. If all your leads are coming from mobile and not desktop - listen to the data!

When LeadDyno launched Facebook ads targeting Shopify store owners, their CPA started out really high. But after testing different target audiences, reworking their ad creative and copy, and improving CTAs, they saw a big decrease in the cost per new trial, and a consistent flow of leads coming from the ads.

Free Trial Lead Generation - Docparser

As mentioned earlier, offering a free trial is one of the most impactful ways to get new leads. Letting potential customers try your product for free gives them a chance to fully immerse themselves, ask questions, and determine whether or not it’s the right fit. 

However, it’s fairly common for SaaS companies to give too much away for free. This often happens with freemium plans, where customers are able to use a limited version of the app indefinitely, at no cost. The goal would be for the freemium user to eventually realize that they need full access to the product, but if the free plan offers too many of the product’s features and benefits, this strategy can fall flat.

Docparser recently took a closer look at their pricing plans and discovered some of the same premium features intended for their enterprise customers were also being offered on free and lower tier plans. Their solution? Eliminating the freemium plan altogether. Instead, users can now try Docparser free for 21 days.

This change opens the door to other experiments. Instead of defaulting to a standard free trial, consider a money-back guarantee. This way, you can collect payments upfront while still giving customers a sense of security. It also confirms they’re willing (and able) to pay.

Another experiment to test is whether or not to ask for credit card information immediately. While it may reduce the number of free trials gathered, it can save time and resources, especially for businesses that involve manual onboarding or hands-on support.

While changing or eliminating an entire pricing plan can be nerve-wracking, it can also have a massive impact on your bottom line long term. For Docparser, eliminating the freemium plan not only made their marketing efforts easier and more effective (they now know within 21 days if their leads were solid or not), but they also experienced a significant increase in sign ups for the product.

How to measure and improve your lead generation efforts

Any good business knows that generating leads is essential to success. However, only generating leads is not enough; it’s also necessary to ensure that those leads are high-quality and likely to convert into customers. So, how can you measure and improve the success of your B2B SaaS lead generation efforts? There are a few key indicators to measure.

Track the metrics that matter

Start by keeping tabs on a few core metrics:

• Lead volume over time – Are your efforts consistently bringing in new leads?
• Conversion rate – What percentage of leads actually turn into paying customers?
• Customer lifetime value (CLTV) – How much revenue does each customer bring in over time?

By monitoring these indicators, you will be able to gauge the effectiveness of your B2B SaaS lead generation strategy.

Refine your strategy regularly

Lead generation strategies aren’t static; you must continuously improve your strategy to be most effective. Buyer behavior, the competitive landscape, and even tech trends are always shifting. What worked last quarter might not hit this one.

Keep an eye on what’s changing in your market. Test new channels. Refresh your messaging. The more proactive you are, the better your chances of staying ahead and staying effective.

Have questions about B2B SaaS lead generation or selling your bootstrapped business? Reach out by email or connect with us on LinkedIn. We’re always happy to chat with founders.