Lead generation 2025: Why conventional methods will soon no longer work

The change in lead generation

Sales has changed massively in recent years. Traditional methods, such as cold calling, are slowly but surely reaching their limits. Customers expect fast, personalized and, above all, digital experiences. It is no longer important to send as many offers as possible in as short a time as possible. In a world where there is an abundance of products and AI sends robotic-sounding texts to every user, personal communication is needed more than ever. 

Are your lead strategies still up to date? And what are the trends in marketing and sales?

Why traditional lead generation is reaching its limits

1. cold calling is becoming increasingly inefficient

Cold calling is notorious in the sales world. And is becoming increasingly difficult to implement. Customers block calls and ignore emails that are obviously trying to sell a product. In many cases, cold calling comes across as dubious and annoying. In addition, increasingly strict data protection regulations are making outreach more difficult, which means that cold calling is increasingly falling off the grid.

2. forms & landing pages are no longer sufficient

Long forms are often an obstacle in the sales funnel and can - if poorly implemented - cause the conversion rate to plummet. Landing pages should also be designed with this in mind. There must be a balance between information, call-to-action and appropriate length. After all, no potential customer wants to read through an almost endless page of text.

One way around this should therefore be to offer the customer immediate contact. This allows the customer to book themselves into the appointment calendar and thus have a direct route to the sales team. This is also reflected in the conversion rate, as a skillful salesperson can convert customers much better than a website or a form.

3. Trade fairs & events alone do not generate enough ROI

Collecting business cards may be a nice way to pass the time at a trade fair, but it's a real pain when it comes to digitizing them. Manual follow-up takes up an enormous amount of time, is repetitive and devours costs. Especially as this lengthy process is inefficient, because by the time all the data has ended up in the CRM, the customer may have lost interest again. 

Smart solutions, such as automatic trade fair scanners, automatically recognize all business cards, trade fair badges and LinkedIn QR codes, digitize them and prepare them for immediate export to your CRM. Best of all, all contacts are enriched with AI. What does that mean? You always have complete data, emails, telephone and company data before your competitors even think about follow-up.

4. lack of a real-time approach

Salespeople react too late to signals because they lack the right tools. Time is perhaps the most important factor when it comes to sales. Nowadays, companies are so overloaded with offers and other stimuli that it is becoming increasingly important to make the right impression in the shortest possible time. That's why there should always be a strategy for convincing a future customer directly of your product. 

The future of lead generation: AI, automation & smart data

Everyone is talking about artificial intelligence in the B2B sector. It is therefore hardly surprising that it is seen as the future of lead generation in the digital age - and probably for many other sectors of the economy.

Inbound marketing

Inbound marketing has become a central strategy in lead generation. The creation and promotion of content is used to generate targeted interest in a company. This method is crucial as it provides valuable information to potential customers in a non-intrusive way, increasing the likelihood of gaining qualified leads. At a time when traditional methods are losing their effectiveness, inbound marketing enables a sustainable and effective approach to prospective customers.

Data-driven optimization of sales

If used correctly, AI can still bring great added value to your lead generation. AI can evaluate interactions and provide recommendations for action for sales. If you rely on artificial intelligence here, you can save yourself a lot of manual work.

Important: The data basis is crucial. AI is very good at processing a lot of data, but struggles with incomplete data. You should therefore always make sure that you optimize your tracking first before you want to automate a process with AI. 

Building personal relationships is becoming increasingly important

But it's not just technology that has found its way into lead generation. Storytelling has also become an essential part of a successful strategy. Customers today expect not just a product or service, but a story that they can identify with. Through targeted storytelling and the creation of experiences, the potential customer is emotionally involved and a deeper connection to the brand is created.

Another trend that will intensify in 2025 is targeted community building. Brands that know how to build a loyal and committed community benefit from long-term trust and continuous lead generation that goes far beyond the first contact.

A personal approach is the be-all and end-all

Dynamic content and personal approaches significantly increase the conversion rate. Strategies such as account-based marketing (ABM) are becoming increasingly popular. This is due to the incredible flood of information in the digital age. It is easy to get lost among the countless advertisements and commercials. This makes a personalized advertising message aimed directly at the target group all the more effective. This creates a feeling of personal exchange, which has recently become very rare, not only due to the excessive use of AI. Take advantage of these circumstances for your lead strategy and focus on some personality!

Outbound marketing

In combination with inbound marketing, outbound methods can still be used to take advantage of targeted opportunities and approach leads. Examples include emails, events and advertising. These methods make it possible to target potential customers and generate broad awareness, which is important in an increasingly digital and competitive market.

Real-time lead scoring & intelligent contacting

AI is able to automatically recognize interested parties before they actively contact us. For this purpose, they are prioritized, classified and can then be contacted in a targeted manner. It is even possible to leave the contacting process entirely to the AI - with individually generated messages. This allows you to guarantee that you are already warming up the customer before they contact you.

However, you should always check the messages before you send them. Although AI is good at generating messages from the given context, it is not (yet) 100% error-free. This applies to all activities that you carry out with the help of AI. However, artificial intelligence can already provide a great template, which greatly reduces the workload. 

Seamless funnels ensure better data

A fully digital and networked process ensures that all data is transported from one touchpoint to the next. This is important because it is the only way to track how a system behaves and develops. And as you have learned in the sections above, the data basis is an extremely important component for lead management.

There are many ways in which analogue processes can be digitized:

1. Lead forms -> Digital lead form
   Instead of relying on paper lead forms, simply use digital lead forms. This allows the contact data to flow directly into the CRM or marketing tool. 

2. Cold call -> LinkedIn outreach
   As already mentioned, cold calling is not serious. Especially if you call without context or information. Instead, you can run targeted outreach campaigns, for example on LinkedIn. These can be personalized, which significantly increases credibility. The success of the measures can also be tracked in this way.

3. Printed flyers or brochures -> content gates
   Printed information material is still frequently seen. However, you have no information about who is reading your material. You can change this with content gates. Offer white papers, e-books or other valuable material that the user receives when they register with you via a lead form - for example for your newsletter. This gives your customer tangible added value and allows them to get an idea of your expertise - while you have received a contact.

Characteristics of a valuable lead

A good lead is no longer just an email address or a telephone number, but a person who shows genuine interest in a company's products or services. The characteristics of a good lead have changed considerably in the course of the digital transformation. In the past, a lead was often evaluated by its demographic characteristics and its position in the sales funnel. Today, on the other hand, it is all about how well the lead interacts with the brand and how strong their need is in relation to the solutions on offer.

A good lead shows interest and is active

An important characteristic of a good lead is its willingness to interact. It is no longer enough for a potential customer to simply click on an ad or fill out a form. A valuable lead shows interest through continuous interaction, be it by commenting on blog articles, sharing content or subscribing to newsletters. The more engagement a lead shows, the more likely it is that they can actually be converted into a paying customer. In addition, the needs of the lead are of central importance. A genuine prospect has a clear idea of how the company's offering can solve their challenges and shows a genuine interest in the solution. This can be done by visiting product pages, requesting demos or reviewing case studies.

A good lead has needs that the company can satisfy

It is also crucial how well the lead fits into the company's target group strategy. A good lead is not only interested, but also an ideal customer who actually needs the solution and also has the resources to buy it. Today, the quality of a lead is not only determined by simple demographic data, but rather by the exact fit with the company's specific needs. This requires precise analysis and a deep understanding of the target group. Understanding these characteristics of a good lead and incorporating them into your lead generation strategy will ensure that you are targeting the right prospects and achieving long-term success.

What are the most important lead generation figures?

The following lead generation metrics are widely used:

• Time-to-conversion measures the time it takes to convert a lead into a paying customer.

• The click-through rate (CTR) is a percentage resulting from the number of clicks divided by the number of page views. This rate evaluates the success of a call to action.

• The return on investment (ROI) shows the financial gains in relation to the total costs of a campaign.

Conclusion: companies need to rethink now

The fact is: those who continue to refuse to accept new methods will lose out in the long or short term. When used correctly, AI-supported solutions enable more efficient, faster and more successful lead generation.

While human-to-human contact should still have a personal touch, you can confidently leave the data evaluation to artificial intelligence. However, this only works if your processes are digitized and can be tracked seamlessly.

At Lemontaps, we have opted for a smart use of AI. We want to take away as much of the repetitive and manual work as possible so that you and your team can focus on building valuable customer relationships.

If you want to experience how lead generation works in 2025, you can now test our centrally manageable solution for sales.