Hubspot's example: optimizing your marketing tools to generate qualified leads effectively

Qualified lead: Definition and challenges for your lead generation strategy

A qualified lead is a hot lead, i.e. a potential customer with a high conversion potential. Unlike an unqualified lead, they meet specific criteria that indicate that they are ready to move forward in the buying process. Lead qualification is essential to differentiate a simple prospect from a contact who is really interested in your offers. This is where lead scoring comes in, a method that assigns a score to prospects based on their engagement and fit with your ideal customer.

In a lead generation strategy, using effective qualification techniques is paramount to optimizing your conversion rate. Among these techniques, marketing automation, lead nurturing, and optimized landing pages play a key role in generating qualified leads and supporting them throughout the sales process. The marketing strategy implemented must be based on a structured lead process, combining sales prospecting, sales contact and precise monitoring of customer interactions.

The importance of qualified leads lies in their direct impact on customer relations and the profitability of companies. Some companies choose to buy leads through database providers, but before considering where to buy qualified leads, it is crucial to analyze the best suppliers and ensure that the lead purchase meets strict quality criteria. A good qualification method is often based on the BANT (Budget, Authority, Need, Timing) score, an effective framework for qualifying a lead and maximizing its commercial potential.

Optimize your website to generate qualified leads

Your website is much more than a showcase. It is a strategic tool that must be designed to attract and convert qualified leads. It all starts with optimized landing pages, where every element – from the message to the call to action (CTA) – is designed to meet your audience's expectations.

Let's take the example of an SME specializing in B2B software. If they're targeting small businesses, they'll need to use a simple tone and real-world examples to show how their solutions solve common problems. Conversely, for a more technical audience such as manufacturers, it will have to adopt a detailed and analytical style, with supporting figures. At the same time, tools such as Clarity or Google Analytics make it possible to analyze visitor behavior, while UTMs precisely track the origin of clicks. This data is essential for refining your strategy and maximizing your chances of conversion.

Leverage LinkedIn to attract qualified B2B leads

LinkedIn is a must for generating qualified leads, especially in a B2B context. This platform allows you to directly target decision-makers through tools like Sales Navigator. Many companies also use Lead Gen Forms, built-in forms that collect information without the user leaving LinkedIn. This reduces friction and increases conversion rates.

A relevant example: a digital transformation consulting firm used LinkedIn to promote a white paper on technology trends. Through a targeted campaign, she not only collected 300 qualified leads, but also strengthened her brand image as an industry expert. This success is based on a global strategy aligning branding, storytelling and educational content.

Lead scoring: the necessary filter

Lead scoring is a strategic approach that helps identify prospects who are most likely to convert into customers. It is based on a scoring system that assigns points to leads based on their behavior, characteristics, and engagement with the company.

To set up effective lead scoring, it is essential to start by defining precise criteria. On the one hand, demographic and firmographic criteria make it possible to assess whether the prospect corresponds to the profile of the ideal customer, taking into account his age, his sector of activity, his position or the size of his company.

On the other hand, behavioral criteria measure the degree of interest of the lead through their interactions with the website, email campaigns, downloaded content or their activity on social networks. Finally, the maturity of the lead, often assessed using the BANT (Budget, Authority, Need, Timing) framework, determines whether they are ready to enter a buying process or if they still need support before being contacted by a sales representative.

The next step is to award points based on the actions taken by the prospect. The more an action reflects an advanced interest, the higher its score. Thus, simply visiting a blog page will carry little weight, while downloading a white paper, attending a webinar or requesting an online demo will be strong indicators of business maturity.

On LinkedIn, engagement with posts, opening a private message, or registering for an event play a similar role. The goal is to classify leads according to their score: cold leads still require nurturing via informative content and automated emails, lukewarm leads show increasing interest and deserve more personalized follow-up, while hot leads, having reached a defined threshold, are forwarded to sales teams for direct contact.

Once this methodology is in place, automation becomes an essential lever to ensure effective monitoring. Thanks to marketing automation tools and powerful CRMs such as HubSpot, Salesforce or Brevo, it is possible to integrate dynamic lead scoring that evolves in real time according to the actions of prospects.

For example, HubSpot analyzes visitor behavior and adjusts their score automatically: a lead who downloads several guides on a specific topic sees their score gradually increase, while a prospect who has been inactive for several weeks sees their score decrease, signaling a decrease in interest. This approach aligns marketing and sales teams with common goals and optimizes conversion rates by focusing efforts on prospects with the highest conversion potential.

Finally, lead scoring is not a fixed system. It must be continuously adjusted based on performance and feedback from sales teams.

If too many qualified leads don't convert into customers, the threshold is too low and certain criteria need to be re-evaluated. Conversely, if sales reps receive too few qualified leads, it may mean that the eligibility score is too demanding.

By combining rigorous data analysis, continuous adjustment of scoring criteria and seamless integration with a CRM, lead scoring becomes a real optimization lever for any lead generation strategy. Whether via a website or on LinkedIn, it allows you to target prospects more effectively, adapt communication according to their level of maturity and maximize the chances of conversion by prioritizing the most promising leads.

The different lead strategies and their costs

The cost and time invested in lead generation strategies varies greatly between B2B and B2C, depending on the channels used, the sales cycle, and the qualification level of the leads. According to a study by First Page Sage published in January 2025, the average cost per lead (CPL) in the B2B SaaS sector is $237, while in B2C e-commerce, it is significantly lower, around $91 (First Page Sage, 2025). This difference is due to the complexity of B2B sales cycles, which require extensive lead nurturing and advanced qualification techniques before a prospect becomes a customer.

However, this approach is not new. As early as the Industrial Revolution, companies sought to capture prospects through strategies such as direct mail, which made it possible to reach potential customers directly through personalized offers sent by mail (Aspiration Marketing, 2024). The improvement of postal systems and the rise of literacy have fostered this method, which can be seen as the ancestor of modern lead nurturing, where the follow-up of a prospect is done via email campaigns and targeted content.

In B2B, lead generation is mainly based on strategies such as content marketing, search engine optimization (SEO), webinars, professional networking and cold emailing.

The cost of these strategies is significant: content marketing can represent a budget ranging from $2,000 to $50,000 per month, depending on the quality and frequency of the publications (WebFX, 2024). A LinkedIn Ads campaign to generate qualified leads can cost anywhere from $50 to $150 per lead, depending on the targeting and industry.

In addition, the time it takes to convert a lead into a customer in B2B is often long: between 3 and 9 months on average, because purchasing decisions involve several interlocutors and complex validation cycles (Times, 2024). It is for this reason that methods such as lead scoring, developed from advances in data marketing in the 2000s, have become essential tools for sales and marketing teams.

This approach assigns a score to prospects based on their engagement and fit with the ideal customer profile, allowing them to be prioritized in the sales funnel (Adobe Business, 2024).

In B2C, lead generation strategies are more direct and focused on more impulsive buying decisions.

They rely heavily on paid advertising (SEA), influencer marketing, social media, as well as e-mailing and retargeting campaigns. The cost per click (CPC) is generally lower than in B2B: a Facebook Ads or Google Ads ad in B2C can cost between $0.50 and $2 per click, while in B2B, this cost usually varies between $3 and $10, or even more for highly competitive industries (Dolead, 2024). The time it takes to turn a lead into a customer is also shorter in B2C, often between a few minutes and a few days, depending on the product and channel used. This evolution of digital marketing has been accelerated by the generalization of e-commerce and the rise of social networks, which now allow for ultra-personalization of campaigns and refined audience segmentation.

It is crucial for companies to optimize their lead generation budget according to their industry and target. In B2B, the focus should be on inbound marketing and lead qualification, with regular follow-up to maximize the conversion rate.

In B2C, strategies need to be more focused on speed and visual impact, with targeted advertising campaigns and effective marketing automation.

In both cases, accurate tracking of cost per lead (CPL), return on investment (ROI), and conversion rate is essential to effectively allocate resources and reduce the cost of customer acquisition. These strategies, which have evolved over time, now rely on powerful tracking, analytics, and automation tools, making lead management more effective than ever.

How Facebook and Instagram seduce with emotion

Unlike LinkedIn, where logic and numbers dominate, Facebook and Instagram rely on emotion and aesthetics to capture attention. These platforms make it possible to tell a strong brand story, especially through impactful visual content.

Let's take the example of an eco-responsible cosmetics brand. With a series of videos on Instagram featuring testimonials from satisfied customers, she generated more than 500 qualified leads in one month. Each video linked to a page optimized with UTMs, allowing performance to be precisely measured. This engaging storytelling, combined with well-targeted campaigns, has also boosted consumer loyalty.

The importance of tracking keywords and KPIs to attract qualified leads

The success of a qualified lead generation strategy depends in large part on your ability to measure and adjust your actions. This is where Search Console plays a pivotal role. This free tool from Google allows you to accurately track the keywords your site is visible for and understand how users arrive at your pages. By analyzing this data, you can identify which queries are driving the most clicks or conversions, but also which ones are underutilized. For example, if you notice that the keyword "qualified lead" is generating impressions but few clicks, it might be relevant to optimize your titles, descriptions, or content to better meet the search intent.

Search Console doesn't work in a vacuum. It should be combined with tools like Clarity for deeper behavioral analysis. Clarity allows you to see exactly how your visitors interact with your site: which sections catch their eye, where they click, and when they leave the page. For example, if you find that your visitors often leave your form page without completing it, you can test a simplified version or modify your CTA to make it more compelling.

At the same time, B2B Facebook groups can be a gold mine for reaching specific audiences and attracting qualified leads. Let's take the case of groups dedicated to HR directors or senior executives in France. These spaces allow you to share targeted content, such as white papers or webinars, while interacting directly with potential decision-makers. By actively participating in discussions, you build credibility and drive qualified traffic to your site. For example, a company offering talent management solutions could share an article on HR trends 2025 in a dedicated B2B group, with a trackable link to track clicks and their impact.

Case Study: HubSpot, a Leader in Qualified Lead Generation

HubSpot is the perfect example of a company that has mastered the art of generating qualified leads thanks to a global strategy perfectly aligned with its branding. Positioned as a company dedicated to educating and empowering marketing and sales professionals, HubSpot relies on storytelling centered on support and growth.

To attract qualified leads, HubSpot offers a wide range of free resources: white papers, blogs, online courses, and webinars. This content responds to the specific problems of their targets and is accessible in exchange for contact information, thus allowing the company to capture qualified leads while demonstrating its expertise. For example, a free course on SEO offered through HubSpot Academy attracts thousands of professionals every month, boosting the company's credibility and positioning as a leader in its field.

HubSpot then uses its own CRM to track and manage these leads. By analyzing the behavior of prospects – pages visited, content viewed – they personalize their nurturing campaigns. If a lead downloads an automation whitepaper, they then receive a series of emails tailored to their needs. The result: a significant increase in the conversion rate and a turnover reaching $883 million in 2020. This example shows how a well-thought-out strategy can turn qualified leads into loyal customers while strengthening the company's branding.