B2Bs Have Been Lied To About Lead Gen

You Don't Simply Need More Leads.

You need to find a way to double the value of your leads.

B2Bs have been misled by marketing agencies for years (yes, I'm guilty of this too).

Fred looked me dead in the eye, and after a long, awkward silence he said...

"I don't believe you."

My proud marketing-man heart skipped a nervous beat.
And then it sank.
Actually, it crashed.

I had just presented him with an impressive and hopeful forecast of the number of leads and subsequent sales (the real number he cared about) that he could expect for $5,000/mo in ad spend.

It had taken me a week to put together.

But Fred was a seasoned CEO. He wasn't buying my marketing speak.

And, you know what?

I wasn't truly buying it either.

No, I wasn't lying to him.
No, I wasn't trying to make a quick sale from him.

I was just doing what all good-intentioned marketers do...

....giving him my best lead gen assessment. One which I had curated using the latest tools and the most up-to-date forecasting algorithms.

But, in spite of my 8 years of digital marketing experience at the time, even I wasn't positive it would work.

Deep down I knew that

even with the best due diligence,
even if I got him the number of leads he was asking for, and
even if it was at the cost he needed them to land at...

Most of those leads would get (at best):

• a follow up a call, or two
• A couple of, "I saw you filled out our form. Let's talk!" emails
• and then they'd settle into the archives of the CRM to get cold and die

Now, 8 years later, and after many failed attempts to discover the real answer...

I finally know WHY simply throwing more "leads" at the problem of sales...is just plain bull$**t!

For years, B2B companies have been told the same story:

"Your problem is lead volume."

"If revenue is flat, you need more traffic.
If pipeline is light, you need more MQLs.
If sales are slow, you need more campaigns."

So you listened.

You launched paid search. You boosted LinkedIn posts. You gated whitepapers. You built landing pages and optimized forms. The dashboards lit up and leads started flowing into your CRM.

And then the leads stalled.

They stopped replying. They didn’t book meetings. They told sales, “We’re just looking.” A few months later, everyone decided the real issue was simple: not enough leads.

That’s the lie.

You don’t simply need more leads.

You need more from your leads.

And, in long B2B sales cycles (3-12+ months) the only way to predictably get more from your leads is with...

...a relationship growth system.

All This Time You’ve Been Chasing Leads Instead of Building Relationships

B2B buying is not like buying expensive shoes online.

It’s slower, riskier, and filled with more people at the table. Budgets need approval. Internal politics matter. Timing matters. Risk feels heavy.

Only 5% of your market is ready to buy right now.

The other 95% are researching, comparing, learning, and waiting for the right moment. And some of them aren't even waiting. They simply need to be guided and nudged to make a decision sooner.

That means most of your leads aren’t “bad.” They’re just too early.

But what happens to early-stage leads inside most companies? They get a thank-you email, maybe a sales call, and then a generic newsletter. After that, silence.

Eventually—and it doesn't take that long—your "hot leads" forget you.

Your leads aren’t the problem.

The problem is that your "lead system" is incomplete.

You built a lead generator in your organization...

...but you didn’t build a relationship generator.

And in B2B, it's not an impulse buy. Relationships are what convert.

In our book, Building Your Digital Utopia, Frank explains that modern growth is no longer about closing deals. It’s about creating and elevating relationships. When you miss that shift, you end up pouring money into ads that create attention but don't create connection.

The Real Reason Leads Go Cold

Let’s walk through what usually happens.

• Someone clicks an ad.
• They land on your site and download a guide.
• They’re curious and mildly interested.
• Now they’re in your database.

What do you send them?

A “Book a demo!” or "Let's talk!" email.

Maybe another reminder.

Then you sign them up (likely without their actual consent) to a newsletter filled with product updates and company news.

From your side, it feels logical.

But to them, it feels rushed and completely irrelevant.

They’re still learning.
They’re still unsure.
They’re still trying to understand the problem and what a good solution even looks like.

They don’t need pressure. They need guidance.

B2B sales happen at the speed of...TRUST.

Trust doesn’t grow from random emails or self-promotional updates.

It grows from helpful content, consistent presence, and logical next steps that match where the buyer actually is in their journey.

You don’t just need nurturing.

You need lifecycle-aligned nurturing paired with retargeting ads to keep the conversation going. You need a system that meets people at each stage and moves them forward intentionally.

You don't just want this.
You need this.

You want to scale your B2B? It’s time you build this...

The Relationship Growth Engine

We Call It the Lead Doubler™ System.

Not simply because it doubles your leads (yes, it DOES do that), but because it doubles the value of your leads.

It doesn’t magically create demand out of thin air. Instead, it systematically increases the value of the demand you already generate. It takes all your traffic, all your leads, and all your ad dollars and turns them into more sales conversations.

It does this by moving buyers through defined relationship levels.

As taught in our Digital Utopia Methodology® every prospect progresses through seven relationship levels:

• Strangers
• Visitors
• Leads
• Qualifieds
• Opportunities
• Customers
• Fans

True demand generation creates entry points and logical next steps for each level.

Your job is not simply to “convert the lead.”
Your job is to elevate the relationship.

Let’s walk through how that actually works.

How the Lead Doubler™ Moves Buyers Step by Step

This is not a collection of random tactics. It’s a structured ladder of content and offers, wrapped in a retargeting and email nurturing algorithm.

It's a purpose-built system to elevate people one level at a time.

1. Cornerstone Content

EDUCATE Strangers to create Visitors

At the top of the system is education.

Cornerstone Content addresses one specific pain point for one specific persona. It is long-form, clear, and genuinely helpful.

It's what you're reading right now ;-)

Instead of talking about your product features, you teach. You explain the problem. You outline the stakes. You introduce a smarter way of thinking about the issue.

Cold search ads and SEO don’t send traffic straight to a demo page. They send traffic to educational content. This respects where strangers are mentally and emotionally.

Strangers don’t book demos or hop on free consult calls.

But, educated visitors do.

2. Lead Magnet

EMPOWER Visitors to create Leads

After someone consumes your educational content, they’re thinking, “What’s the next step?” This is where the Lead Magnet comes in.

A strong Lead Magnet is not more reading. It’s a tool. A checklist, calculator, assessment, template, or audit worksheet that helps them act on what they just learned.

It empowers them to take a small step forward. In exchange, they give you their contact information.

Now they’re a lead, but they’re not ready to buy. And that’s okay. The system doesn’t rush them. It guides them.

3. Deep Dive Content

INSPIRE Leads to create Qualifieds

Most B2Bs try to jump from download to demo request.

The Lead Doubler™ inserts a critical middle step: deeper education and proof.

Deep Dive Content includes webinars, case studies, detailed guides, or workshops. This is where you show how someone like them achieved real transformation. It’s not hype it’s proof.

At this stage, buyers are asking, “Will this work for a company like mine?” Your job is to answer that clearly and confidently.

As they engage with this deeper content, they signal intent. They click, attend, watch, and respond. That’s when they move from passive leads to active qualified prospects.

They become Qualifieds because they lean in, not because you force them in.

4. Foot-in-the-Door Offer

ENGAGE Qualifieds to create Opportunities

Once trust and belief are built, you invite them into something small but meaningful. This might be a strategy session, audit, trial, diagnostic, or consultation.

It’s low risk and high value. It bridges marketing and sales without feeling like a hard close.

By the time they accept this offer, they already understand the problem and your approach. Sales conversations become collaborative instead of combative.

Now they’re not just a name in a CRM. They’re an Opportunity.

5. Core Offer

TRANSFORM Opportunities to create Customers

This is where your main product or service comes in. But by now, the conversation is different.

The buyer understands their pain.
The buyer has seen proof.
The buyer has experienced value.
The buyer actually trusts your brand.

Your Core Offer no longer feels like a pitch. It feels like the logical next step in a journey that’s been unfolding for weeks or months.

Close rates improve.
Sales cycles shorten.
Revenue becomes more predictable.

Not because you pushed harder, but because you nurtured smarter.

6. Customer Delight

ELEVATE Customers to create Fans

The system doesn’t stop at the sale. In fact, this is where long-term growth compounds.

Customer Delight includes exclusive education, private communities, advanced workshops, or special access. It might be customer perks or discounts for additional products and services. It helps customers continue their transformation beyond the initial purchase and rewards them for being loyal.

When customers feel supported and elevated, they renew. They expand. They refer others.

This is how marketing stops being a cost center and becomes a flywheel.

Where Ads Finally Make Sense

In the old lead gen model...

A cold search ad sends traffic straight to a product page.

Most visitors bounce.

A tiny fraction converts.

The rest disappear.

In the new Lead Doubler™ relationship-building model...

Ads are part of a relationship system.

Cold traffic is sent to Cornerstone Content.

Retargeting introduces the Lead Magnet.

Additional retargeting and email nurture guide prospects toward Deep Dive Content.

Eventually, the Foot-in-the-Door offer creates a qualified sales conversations for you.

The ad dollars don’t change. The architecture does.

Instead of chasing quick wins, you build layered trust.

Instead of demanding action immediately, you guide buyers step-by-step.

Same traffic.

More touchpoints.
More trust.
More revenue.

Now, You Have a Choice to Make

You can keep running cold ads to service pages and hoping for better conversion rates.

You can keep blaming “lead quality” and freeing up more budget for ads and agency help.

Or, you can build the system behind the scenes that catches, nurtures, retargets, educates, inspires, and engages your prospects until they are ready.

The math is simple. If only 5% of buyers are in market at any given moment...

...your growth actually depends on what you choose to do with the other 95%.

If nurturing increases readiness and trust increases close rates, even modest improvements in conversion at each stage dramatically impact revenue.

You don’t simply need double the traffic.

You need double the effectiveness.

That comes from installing a system built on service mindset, hyper-specificity, and consistent execution. It comes from focusing on one persona, one pain point, and one coherent journey instead of scattering efforts across tactics.

It’s Time to Install a Relationship Growth System in Your Organization

If your CRM is full of leads who never moved forward, the problem isn’t volume.

The problem is the lack of a structured path that elevates the relationship.

The Lead Doubler™ System aligns SEO, paid media, retargeting, email nurturing, lifecycle stages, and sales activation around a single purpose: move every prospect to the next relationship level.

Not randomly. Systematically.

From Stranger to Fan.

If you’re ready to stop chasing leads and start doubling the sales from the ones you already have, it’s time to build your relationship growth system.

When You Install a Lead Doubler™...

Not only do you have double the leads, you have double the value from your leads.

Creating double the value from every dollar you put into the machine is the only way to SCALE your organization.

How To Get Started Building Your Own Lead Doubler™

The Digital Utopia Blueprint® is the instruction manual and playbook for designing your own Lead Doubler™. Fill out the form below to download it.

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