‘Dangerous illusion’: B2B marketers on taking lead gen from quantity to quality

As pressure intensifies on B2B marketers to deliver more leads, new data from Marketing Week’s State of B2B Marketing survey reveals a system many describe as “broken”.

Some 71% of B2B marketers say lead generation has grown in importance over the past three years. Yet more than a third believe their current approach is not fit for purpose, with many describing frustration, misalignment and rising short-term pressure.

In the latest edition of Marketing Week’s webinar series The Lowdown (19 November), deputy managing editor Charlotte Rogers was joined by Barney O’Kelly, head of solutions and product marketing at AlixPartners, Ifeoma Jibunoh, CMO of Cassava Technologies and Cherry Tian, head of marketing at Workspace Group.

The marketing leaders discussed misalignment around lead generation, cultural blockers and the shift towards more emotionally resonant, value-driven content

Here are some of the key takeaways.

Misalignment is real

For O’Kelly, the tension marketers are feeling around lead generation is unsurprising.

“At least a lead has some commercial viability,” he said. “But if the system’s broken, it’s our job as marketers to help fix it, not just observe that it’s broken.”

Structural silos remain the biggest barrier, he suggested.

“Sales and marketing exist on a continuum, but remain siloed. They’re incentivised differently. If I had a pound for every time someone mentioned the tension between sales and marketing, I’d have many pounds,” O’Kelly added.

Turn up with a point of view. Provoke a reaction. Don’t just ask what people need from marketing — show them.

Barney O’Kelly, Alix Partners

Jibunoh sees the same cultural friction and noted a perception challenge about the role of marketing.

“Yes, there’s pressure on short-term metrics, but our role is broader. Demand creation, brand building, education,” she explained.

Marketers often don’t grab that internal challenge, Jibunoh argued, urging her peers to “galvanise” the organisation around what marketing can and should be.

Indeed, more than half of B2B marketers say senior leadership does not understand marketing’s potential beyond lead gen, while two-fifths say leaders misunderstand the length and complexity of the B2B buying cycle.

For O’Kelly, the industry has not helped itself.

“We turn up with the data we can get, not the data the business understands,” he argued. “Marketers complain the business doesn’t ‘get’ marketing, but do we really understand the business?”

He believes marketers must earn their place at the table through insight and commercial fluency. Crucially, O’Kelly encouraged his peers to turn up to work with a point of view.

“Provoke a reaction. Don’t just ask what people need from marketing – show them,” he argued.

Time for a change

Two-thirds of B2B marketers say their lead generation tactics are changing, with content and social driving the biggest shifts. Thought leadership, podcasts, social media and employee advocacy are growing in popularity, according to the State of B2B Marketing research.

For Jibunoh, the shift reflects a fundamental change in buying behaviour.

“In many organisations, the funnel is broken. We’re in a world of context collapse. Customer behaviour has shifted. Content must build trust, drive momentum and be pervasive across channels influenced by AI,” she argued.

If you focus on volume, not quality, you create distraction and noise. Sales waste time chasing leads that won’t convert. That creates a vicious circle.

Cherry Tian, Workspace

Tian believes the best B2B marketers are borrowing more from B2C.

“Ultimately, you’re marketing to human beings,” she explained. “For SMEs, our channels look more like B2C – TikTok, Instagram, emotional storytelling. It resonates because choosing a workspace is an emotional journey for founders.”

B2B brands often default to rational messaging, but O’Kelly argued this overlooks what actually engages people.

“Storytelling has been devalued as a term, but the concept still works because people respond to stories,” he said. “Emotion matters, even in so-called ‘boring’ categories.”

Quantity or quality?

Almost two-fifths of marketers say their organisation demands marketing qualified leads regardless of quality. At Workspace, Tian’s team analysed historic data to challenge the assumption.

“There wasn’t a linear relationship between lead quantity and revenue. In months with huge surges in leads, we didn’t see increased sales. That forced the business to question its assumptions,” she explained.

By aligning marketing and sales around shared conversion metrics, her team has shifted the culture. Now, there is no longer a focus on leads in isolation as conversion has become the shared measure of success.

She warned a fixation on lead quantity creates a “dangerous illusion” for boards seeking certainty.

In many organisations, the funnel is broken. We’re in a world of context collapse. Customer behaviour has shifted.

Ifeoma Jibunoh, Cassava Technologies

“If you focus on volume, not quality, you create distraction and noise. Sales waste time chasing leads that won’t convert. That creates a vicious circle,” said Tian.

At Workspace, connected TV has helped improve lead intent rather than volume.

“People came to us more warmed up, with higher purchase intention,” Tian explained. “It improved quality, not just quantity.”

For Jibunoh, when it comes to making the case for better lead generation resilience is essential.

“Quality and quantity matter at different moments. The pressure is real, but long-term value creation must sit alongside short-term performance. It takes patience and thick skin,” she added.

Internal influencing

Education emerged as the unglamorous, but essential remedy to improve the approach to lead generation.

“We’re [marketers in general] not good at educating internally,” says Jibunoh. “But you must be the champion of marketing. Share insights, case studies, external benchmarks. Give marketing a share of voice inside the organisation.”

Tian noted how boards increasingly want quantifiable commercial proof, meaning “soft metrics” like awareness aren’t enough.

“Econometrics allows us to show exactly how brand activity contributes to revenue. That changes the internal conversation,” she explained.

For O’Kelly, the point is broader.

“Everything in the organisation is a marketing event. Every interaction shapes reputation. Most organisations don’t realise that. Helping them understand it is part of our job,” he argued.

When asked how to communicate brand building success to hiring managers focused solely on lead volume, Jibunoh advised her B2B marketing peers to frame everything in commercial terms.

“Talk about value. Talk about revenue, profit, customer impact. Show how insights and data drove outcomes,” she said.

Tian echoed this sentiment, urging marketers not to list activities, but to demonstrate impact and the link between their work, and what the business has achieved.

O’Kelly proposed a pragmatic solution: “Do what you need to do to get through the door and once you’re inside, do the job properly.”

Marketing Week will continue reporting from our State of B2B Marketing series over the coming weeks.