Lead generation for marketing agencies: Strategies and tips

Even the most gifted strategists cannot grow an agency without a predictable pipeline of prospects. Yet “predictable” rarely feels easy. The average cost‑per‑lead across industries is $198, and half of all marketers list lead generation as their top priority, ahead of brand awareness or even revenue growth.

For agencies, the stakes are higher: acquisition costs eat away at profit margins, cycles stretch for months, and competitors bombard the same decision‑makers. In this guide, we break down the full process of lead generation, from sparking first‑click curiosity to converting qualified opportunities, so your team can generate, qualify, and close more quality leads this year.

Main takeaways from this article:

• Successful lead generation requires a strategic blend of inbound and outbound efforts, tailored to an agency’s target audience.
• Building a comprehensive lead generation funnel involves engaging prospects through valuable content and nurturing them meticulously through various funnel stages.
• Utilizing diverse lead generation strategies, like creating tailored offers, optimizing websites, and leveraging social media, enhances the quality and quantity of leads.
• Tracking, segmenting, and nurturing leads with tools and analytics ensures higher conversion rates and improved campaign performance.

What is B2B lead generation for marketing agencies?

B2B lead generation is the process of attracting individuals (leads) who have shown interest in a company’s products or services and converting them into paying customers. For marketing agencies, lead generation involves a series of strategies and tactics designed to identify, engage, and qualify prospects who are likely to need the agency’s services. 

According to Sopro.io, companies that implement effective lead-nurturing strategies experience a 50% increase in sales-qualified leads (SQLs) while achieving a 33% reduction in associated costs.

The unique lead generation challenges for marketing agencies

Marketing agencies face unique challenges when it comes to generating leads. These challenges include:

Saturated competition

The barrier to entry in the marketing agency world can be deceptively low, leading to a highly fragmented and crowded marketplace. Every day, new agencies, freelancers, and consultants emerge, all vying for the attention of the same pool of potential customers.

This intense competition makes it incredibly difficult for agencies to stand out from the noise and differentiate their expertise.

High lead acquisition costs

Given the competitive landscape and the need to educate prospects on the value of strategic marketing, the cost of acquiring qualified leads can be substantial for marketing agencies.

This is driven by the need for specialized targeting tactics like ABM, significant investment in creating high-value content to showcase expertise, longer sales cycles delaying the return on marketing investments, and the imperative for agencies to “show, not just tell” by investing in their own sophisticated marketing campaigns.

Time-to-close

The sales cycle for marketing agencies can be considerably longer compared to businesses selling products or simpler services. This is because clients are making high-stakes, strategic decisions when choosing an agency to entrust with their growth, necessitating a more thorough evaluation.

Navigating the multiple stakeholders frequently involved in the client’s decision-making process can also extend the timeline.

Lead quality

Generating a high volume of leads is not enough; their quality is what truly matters for agencies. Low-quality leads waste valuable time and resources as they are unlikely to become clients.

Agencies often struggle to attract their target audience due to their overly broad marketing, inability to connect with the actual decision-makers in organizations, and lack of efficient processes to thoroughly qualify a lead’s viability.

Inbound vs. outbound lead generation: Which works best for agencies?

Marketing agencies use two primary approaches to lead generation: inbound and outbound.

• Inbound lead generation: Inbound lead generation focuses on attracting leads through valuable content, SEO, email opt-ins, and other strategies that draw prospects in. It is often more sustainable and cost-effective in the long term. As reported by AgencyAnalytics, inbound marketing is 10 times more effective at converting leads than outbound marketing tactics.
• Outbound lead generation: Outbound lead generation leverages outreach methods such as cold emails, paid ads, and direct messaging. Although this technique yields quicker results, it may incur higher per-lead costs.

Most successful agencies use a blend of both inbound and outbound strategies, allowing them to tailor their approach to the stage of the buyer journey, available resources, and service offerings. This dynamic approach allows agencies to prioritize long-term engagement with inbound strategies while simultaneously utilizing outbound tactics for quicker lead generation. 

To measure the ROI of inbound and outbound marketing, it’s crucial to track the right metrics. Here are the key metrics that provide a comprehensive view of campaign success:

Source: AgencyAnalytics

Lead generation funnel stages

The lead generation funnel represents the journey from initial awareness to becoming a paying customer. It typically consists of three stages:

Top-of-funnel

At the top-of-funnel stage, the goal is to create awareness and attract a broad audience by leveraging strategic, informative content. This involves using engaging blog posts, videos, and social media content that speak to initial pain points or interests.

Implementing SEO best practices is crucial to ensure content appears prominently in search engine results, drawing organic traffic.

Mid-funnel

Moving into the mid-funnel, the focus shifts to nurturing the initial interest generated. This involves offering valuable lead magnets, such as e-books or templates, in exchange for contact information, which allows agencies to build an email list.

Through targeted email marketing, lead magnets deliver more specific content, addressing the evolving needs and questions of leads.

Bottom-of-funnel

Finally, at the bottom-of-funnel stage, the goal is to convert qualified leads into paying customers. This is achieved through compelling sales pages that articulate your services and their value proposition. Direct sales calls or consultations offer personalized interaction to address final questions and concerns.

In addition to sales calls, showcasing case studies and testimonials provides social proof and demonstrates your agency’s track record of success.

Source: Zendesk

Components of a lead generation marketing strategy

A successful lead generation marketing strategy for agencies includes the following key components:

Audience research and targeting

For marketing agencies, effective marketing starts from identifying the specific types of businesses that align with their service offerings and expertise.

This involves defining ideal customer profiles that detail best-fit clients, conducting market research to understand industry dynamics and client pain points, and segmenting the audience into focused groups to send custom messages and offers. According to Roketto, marketers who invest in quality-driven content marketing see eight times higher website traffic growth.

Compelling content offers

Content that addresses the target audience’s pain points captivates prospects by providing valuable insights, tools, or guides tailored to their needs. According to a report by Trustmary, companies that create impactful long-form content like blogs are 13 times more likely to see a positive ROI on their lead generation efforts than those who don’t.

Landing pages and conversion paths

Once potential leads have been attracted with compelling content, they are converted using dedicated landing pages designed to turn that initial interest into tangible leads. These landing pages have clear and concise headlines, copy that highlights benefits, visually appealing design, and optimized forms.

Optimized landing pages are a key conversion tool. Companies see a 55% increase in leads when increasing their number of landing pages from 10 to 15. Those that create an even higher number of landing pages (more than 40) can increase conversion rates by over 500%. 

Source: HubSpot

Lead capture mechanisms

Effective lead capture requires strategically placing various mechanisms throughout your digital footprint. This includes using forms on landing pages to gate valuable offers, embedding strategically timed pop-up forms for increased visibility, integrating forms in blog posts for easy access to related content, and running social media lead generation ads to capture interest directly on platforms.

Implementing these methods can substantially increase lead volume. For example, strategically used pop-up forms to collect emails have been shown to increase lead generation by up to 20%.

Traffic generation tactics

Driving traffic involves employing a multi-faceted approach for the greatest impact. This includes SEO to improve organic visibility, creating valuable content to attract and engage, running paid ads for targeted reach, leveraging social media for broader engagement, nurturing relationships through email marketing, and incentivizing word-of-mouth through referral programs.

Each traffic generation tactic has its own impact. For instance, leads generated by SEO tactics have a 14.6% close rate (percentage of leads that convert into paying customers).

Lead qualification and segmentation

Lead qualification is the process of determining if a lead is a good fit for your services based on their needs, budget, and authority. Segmentation then involves grouping these qualified leads based on shared characteristics for more personalized marketing efforts.

Effective lead qualification ensures that sales teams focus on high-intent prospects, improving efficiency and conversion rates. According to Forecastio, companies with well-defined lead qualification processes see a 43% higher sales win rate.

Lead nurturing workflows

Lead-nurturing workflows are automated sequences of communications designed to build relationships with leads over time. These workflows deliver relevant content and information to guide prospects through the buyer’s journey until they are ready to engage with sales. According to research, nurtured leads make 47% larger purchases than non-nurtured leads.

Source: Salesgenie

Conversion optimization and testing

Conversion optimization involves systematically improving website elements and user experience to increase the percentage of visitors who complete desired actions, such as form submissions or purchases, often through A/B testing different variations. Recent stats show that A/B testing can greatly boost conversion rates, with some studies indicating increases of up to 49%.

Campaign tracking and analytics

Campaign tracking and analytics involve monitoring key performance indicators (KPIs) across all marketing initiatives. This data-driven approach allows for evaluating campaign effectiveness, identifying areas for improvement, and demonstrating return on investment.

13 lead generation strategies for marketing agencies to generate high-quality leads

To effectively attract and convert high-quality leads, marketing agencies can leverage a variety of strategic approaches:

1. Create high-quality content that speaks to your target audience

By developing insightful blog posts, comprehensive guides, and engaging videos that address the specific challenges and interests of your ideal clients, you establish your agency as a knowledgeable resource and attract prospects actively seeking solutions you provide.

Source: fastercapital

2. Use landing pages tailored to service-specific offers

Designing dedicated landing pages that directly align with your service offerings ensures that when prospects click on a specific promotion, they arrive at a page highly relevant to their needs, increasing the likelihood of conversion.

Source: coolest-gadgets

3. Offer lead magnets with value and specificity

Providing valuable, downloadable resources like templates, checklists, or industry reports that solve a specific problem for your target audience incentivizes them to share their contact information, generating qualified leads interested in your area of expertise.

4. Implement multi-step lead generation forms

Breaking down lead capture forms into multiple, focused steps can improve completion rates by making the initial request less daunting and allowing you to gather more detailed information progressively.

Source: leadgenapp

5. Promote offers through social media marketing

Leveraging social media platforms to share valuable content, promote lead magnets, and run targeted ad campaigns can help you reach a wider audience of potential clients and drive traffic to your lead generation assets.

Source: 99firms

6. Host live or evergreen webinars

Conducting interactive webinars or offering on-demand recordings allows you to engage directly with potential clients, showcase your expertise in real-time, and capture leads from attendees interested in specific topics.

7. Launch referral and partnership programs

To tap into the power of your network, actively solicit referrals from satisfied clients by offering incentives for successful introductions. Simultaneously, identify complementary businesses (e.g., web developers, CRM providers) and establish mutually beneficial partnership agreements where you can cross-promote services and share leads.

Source: Kiflo

8. Run an SEO-driven blog

Consistently publishing high-quality blog content that targets the specific keywords your clients are searching for helps capture potential leads.

Optimize each blog post with relevant meta descriptions, title tags, and internal links. Promote your blog content across social media and email to maximize its reach and attract organic traffic that can be converted into leads.

9. Gate premium resources

This strategy effectively attracts genuinely interested prospects by providing valuable, exclusive content such as whitepapers or case studies in exchange for contact information. This approach helps qualify leads and grow your email list with individuals seeking specific solutions.

Source: zapier

Identify your best content, create dedicated landing pages with compelling descriptions, and use clear calls-to-action to encourage downloads. Ensure that follow-up communications are relevant to the gated content.

10. Use interactive tools

Interactive tools are helpful because they engage potential clients in a personalized way, providing immediate value and insights related to their specific situation.

Source: Fillout

Develop a quiz that helps prospects self-diagnose a marketing problem, offer a free website or SEO audit tool that provides actionable recommendations, or create an ROI calculator that demonstrates the benefits of your services.

11. Launch time-sensitive offers or challenges

Limited-time discounts and industry-focused challenges can create urgency, motivating prospects to act quickly and enhancing lead generation.

Design a compelling short-term offer or a marketing challenge with a clear deadline and valuable incentives. Promote these initiatives across marketing channels, highlighting the urgency in the call to action.

12. Optimize your website to rank for relevant searches

By improving your agency website’s visibility in search engine results, you consistently attract organic, high-intent traffic. Conduct keyword research to identify terms used by your target audience, and optimize your website content, meta tags, and technical SEO accordingly.

You can also create informative blog content that addresses industry-related questions and pain points to engage potential leads.

13. Get listed as a preferred vendor on industry directories

Industry-specific directories are valuable for businesses looking for specialized service providers. Being listed on these platforms increases your agency’s visibility and credibility among a targeted audience.

To leverage these platforms, identify relevant directories, create a strong profile showcasing your expertise and client testimonials, and actively seek reviews from satisfied clients to boost social proof and improve your ranking.

How to implement lead scoring and qualification

Lead scoring and qualification help agencies prioritize leads that are most likely to convert into customers. Here are five steps to implement these for your agency:

Define your ideal customer profile (ICP)

An Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) is a detailed description of the customers who would benefit most from your services and provide the greatest value to your agency.

To create a strong ICP, consider demographics (age, gender, job title), firmographics (industry, company size, revenue, location), psychographics (values, interests, challenges), and behavioral insights (previous interactions, purchase history, engagement levels). A thorough understanding of your ideal customers allows for more effective outreach strategies to attract and convert similar leads.

Identify key attributes and high-intent behaviors

After defining your ideal customer profile, pinpoint key attributes and high-intent behaviors that signal a strong likelihood of conversion.

These behaviors demonstrate a genuine interest in your agency’s offerings and a proactive approach to finding solutions, such as downloading in-depth resources, attending webinars to learn more, repeatedly visiting service-specific pages on your website, and actively engaging with the content provided in your email communications.

Assign point values to actions and traits

After identifying key attributes and behaviors, establish a point system to score leads based on their characteristics and actions. This scoring system should reflect the relative value of different behaviors and traits.

Example point system:

• Demographics:
  1. Matches ICP: +10 points
  2. Partially matches ICP: +5 points
• High-intent behaviors:
  1. Downloaded a resource: +15 points
  2. Attended a webinar: +20 points
  3. Scheduled a demo or consultation: +30 points
• Engagement:
  1. Opened an email: +3 points
  2. Clicked on a link in an email: +5 points

This point system allows you to quantify lead quality and create a score that reflects a lead’s overall readiness to convert.

Set thresholds and segment leads accordingly

With your scoring system established, the next step is to set thresholds for different lead segments. Determining what score qualifies a lead as “warm,” “hot,” or “cold” will help your sales team prioritize their outreach efforts effectively. You can create score ranges, as shown below:

• Cold leads: Score 0-20 points
• Warm leads: Score 21-50 points
• Hot leads: Score 51+ points

Leads can then be segmented into these categories, allowing for tailored outreach strategies.

Automate scoring with your CRM or marketing tool

To streamline the lead scoring process, leverage modern Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems or marketing automation tools with built-in lead scoring capabilities. These tools can automate the collection and analysis of data, providing real-time updates on lead scores based on interactions and behaviors.

How to segment and personalize outreach for qualified leads

Once leads are qualified, segmenting them further allows for more personalized and effective outreach. You can perform this segmentation based on:

Industry or company size

Segmenting qualified leads by industry or company size enables tailored messaging that addresses their specific challenges and opportunities. For instance, outreach to a small startup in the tech industry will differ from communication with a large enterprise in the manufacturing sector due to their varying scales, priorities, and industry-specific needs.

Budget or readiness

Understanding a qualified lead’s budget and interest in engaging is crucial for personalized outreach. Leads with a defined budget and an immediate need can be prioritized for direct sales conversations, while those still exploring options might benefit from further nurturing with relevant case studies and ROI-focused content.

Lead source

Knowing the original lead source provides valuable context for personalization. A lead who attended a webinar might appreciate follow-up content related to the webinar topic, while someone who downloaded a specific case study could receive outreach highlighting similar client successes. Tailoring the message based on the initial touchpoint increases engagement.

How to nurture qualified leads to conversion

Once you’ve identified qualified leads, nurturing them effectively is crucial to guide them through the final stages of the buyer’s journey and convert them into paying clients.

Welcome sequence

Immediately after a lead qualifies or expresses strong interest, a well-crafted welcome sequence sets the stage for a positive and informative relationship.

This series of initial emails should thank them for their engagement, reiterate the value proposition of your agency, and provide clear next steps or relevant introductory resources to keep them engaged.

Educational content

A key part of nurturing qualified leads is consistently providing valuable educational content that addresses their specific pain points and challenges.

Share insightful blog posts, webinars, guides, and case studies that demonstrate your agency’s expertise and help them understand how your services can solve their marketing needs. This builds trust and positions you as a knowledgeable partner.

Testimonials or proof

To build confidence and credibility, share compelling testimonials from satisfied clients and present concrete proof of your agency’s success.

Highlight specific results and ROI achieved for previous clients through case studies, performance reports, and client video testimonials. This social proof alleviates concerns and demonstrates your ability to deliver on your promises.

Offer/CTA

As you nurture qualified leads, strategically funnel tailored offers through clear calls to action that encourage them to take the next step toward becoming a client.

This could involve a consultation, a personalized proposal, a service audit, or an invitation to a more in-depth discussion about their marketing goals and how your agency can help.

Measuring lead quality and campaign performance: Key metrics

Tracking some key metrics helps agencies assess the effectiveness of their lead generation efforts. These include: 

• Cost per lead: This reveals how much you invest to acquire each lead. Understanding CPL helps in planning budgets and strategies.
• Conversion rate: Monitoring conversion rates helps to understand the effectiveness of individual aspects of your lead generation funnel.
• Lead-to-sale ratio: Analyzing the ratio of leads that convert to sales assists in evaluating the quality of your leads.
• Lifetime value (LTV): Understanding a customer’s LTV enables agencies to make informed decisions about how much to invest in acquiring leads.

Best lead generation tools for agencies

Agencies can leverage a variety of tools to streamline their lead generation efforts, such as:

GetResponse

GetResponse is an all-in-one marketing platform that provides email marketing, landing pages, and automation tools.

Agencies can use this platform to create targeted email campaigns, nurture leads through automated workflows, and track performance analytics. The landing page creator allows for easy A/B testing and optimization, helping to capture leads effectively.

Typeform

This intuitive tool helps users create custom surveys, forms, and quizzes that engage users interactively.

Agencies can use Typeform to gather information from potential leads in a delightful and user-friendly way. Its customizable templates and logic jumps make it easy to create tailored forms that can capture valuable insights, while the seamless integration with other tools helps streamline the lead capture process.

Calendly

Calendly simplifies the process of scheduling meetings with leads by allowing prospects to book time directly on your calendar. This eliminates the back-and-forth typically involved in scheduling calls or meetings.

Agencies can integrate Calendly with their CRM and other tools to streamline the booking process and convert leads into clients more easily.

Hotjar

Hotjar is a powerful tool for analyzing user behavior on your website. Using heatmaps, session recordings, and feedback polls, agencies can gain insights into how potential leads interact with their website.

This valuable data helps identify pain points in the user experience and optimize landing pages for better lead capture, ultimately improving conversion rates.

Clearbit

Clearbit is a data enrichment tool that provides detailed information about potential leads, including company size, industry, and job title.

Agencies can use Clearbit to enhance their lead lists with relevant data, allowing for more personalized outreach and effective segmentation. Clearbit’s integration capabilities also make it easy to connect with other CRM systems.

Google Ads + Meta Ads Manager

Both Google Ads and Meta Ads Manager (formerly Facebook Ads Manager) are essential for digital advertising and lead generation.

Agencies can use Google Ads to capture leads actively searching for specific services or products, while Meta Ads Manager allows for highly targeted social media advertising. The combination of both platforms enables agencies to reach a wider audience and generate leads across various channels.

Zapier

Zapier is an automation tool that connects different apps and services, allowing agencies to create automated workflows.

By integrating tools used for lead generation, CRM, and email marketing, agencies can automate repetitive tasks such as lead entry, follow-up emails, and notification alerts. This efficiency helps save time and ensures that no leads fall through the cracks.

LinkedIn Sales Navigator

This is a premium tool that helps agencies find and connect with potential leads on LinkedIn. It offers advanced search capabilities, lead recommendations, and insights into lead activity.

Agencies can use Sales Navigator to build relationships with decision-makers, engage with prospects through InMail, and develop targeted outreach strategies based on LinkedIn interactions.

Google Analytics 4 (GA4)

Google Analytics 4 provides in-depth insights into website performance and user behavior. Agencies can use GA4 to track how leads interact with their site, identify the most effective lead generation channels, and measure conversions.

The event-based tracking and automated insights features allow for improved data analysis, helping agencies refine their strategies based on real-time performance metrics.

Common lead generation mistakes to avoid

To maximize the effectiveness of lead generation efforts, it’s crucial to avoid the common pitfalls. These include:

Focusing on volume over quality

Prioritizing a high volume of leads without considering their relevance can lead to wasted resources on unqualified prospects. This approach often results in low conversion rates and inefficient use of sales and marketing teams’ time, ultimately hindering growth.

Not optimizing forms for conversion

Not optimizing lead capture forms, such as making them too long or asking for unnecessary information, can deter potential leads from completing them. A streamlined and user-friendly form improves the likelihood of capturing valuable contact details.

Not segmenting email lists

Neglecting to segment email lists means sending generic messages to a diverse audience, reducing engagement and relevance. Tailored content based on audience segments increases open rates, click-through rates, and overall campaign effectiveness.

Failing to follow up consistently

Inconsistent follow-up allows promising leads to go cold and explore competitors’ offerings. Timely and relevant communication keeps your agency top-of-mind and demonstrates a commitment to addressing the prospect’s needs.

Using generic CTAs and value props

Generic calls to action and value propositions fail to resonate with specific audience segments and their unique pain points. Tailoring these elements to address particular needs and offer clear benefits significantly improves engagement and conversion.

How GetResponse helps marketing agencies scale lead generation

GetResponse equips marketing agencies with a robust suite of tools designed to streamline and scale their lead generation processes.

Landing pages

GetResponse facilitates the creation of high-converting landing pages with intuitive drag-and-drop builders and customizable templates, enabling agencies to design targeted pages for specific campaigns and offers.

Lead generation forms and popups

The platform offers a variety of lead generation form options, including embedded forms, pop-up forms, and exit-intent forms, all customizable to capture valuable prospect information at key website touchpoints.

Email automation and segmentation

Built-in email automation features allow agencies to create sophisticated nurturing sequences, triggered by specific lead behaviors or attributes. Coupled with advanced segmentation capabilities, this ensures that the right message reaches the right lead at the right time.

Webinars and ecommerce tools

The platform supports the creation and hosting of webinars, a powerful tool for engaging prospects, demonstrating expertise, and generating qualified leads. Additionally, ecommerce tools enable agencies to integrate lead generation with online sales efforts.

AI-powered product recommendations and send-time optimization

GetResponse leverages AI to provide product recommendations, enhancing personalization, and optimizing email send times to maximize engagement and deliverability, ultimately improving lead conversion rates.

Power up your lead generation efforts with GetResponse

Lead generation is crucial for your agency to connect with potential clients and to maintain a consistent revenue stream. Without effective lead generation, your agency can run into issues keeping itself afloat financially.

GetResponse offers a robust suite of tools designed to help agencies streamline their lead generation efforts and maximize their potential. From creating stunning landing pages to automating email marketing campaigns, GetResponse provides everything you need to capture, nurture, and convert leads. So, are you ready to transform cold clicks into profitable contracts?

Try GetResponse’s tools for free.

FAQs

What makes agency lead generation different from other business types?

Agencies sell bespoke expertise, so prospects demand proof of results and cultural fit. The sales cycle is longer and typically involves multiple decision‑makers, making nurturing and education critical.

How much should you pay for lead generation?

Benchmarks range from <$50 for organic demo requests to >$500 for enterprise paid‑media leads. Calculate your ceiling by dividing projected customer lifetime value by a target acquisition cost ratio (often 3‑5 ×).

How do marketers generate leads?

The highest‑performing teams blend SEO‑fueled content, value‑driven lead magnets, paid retargeting, and personalized email workflows, and then refine each step through rigorous data analysis.