Lead Sourcing: Strategies And Tools For Sales And Marketing Teams

Lead sourcing is the backbone of lead generation. Even the best sales team will struggle to close deals without qualified prospects.

But where do you find these leads, and how do you ensure they’re the right fit?

Here are the best lead sources, tips, and tools to build your sales pipeline.

AI highlights

• Lead sourcing is the process of identifying and collecting potential customers rather than waiting for them to come to you.

• A strong lead-sourcing strategy fills your pipeline with qualified prospects, accelerates conversions, enhances personalization, and boosts revenue predictability.

• A lead source is the channel through which prospects find your business. A mix of inbound and outbound prospecting strategies is needed for a balanced lead flow.

• Sales reps should use multiple lead sources, such as social media, lead magnets, and SEO, to ensure a healthy pipeline of high-quality leads.

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What is lead sourcing?

Lead sourcing involves finding potential customers with the interest and intent to become paying customers.

Instead of waiting for leads to come to you, lead sourcing helps you proactively identify and engage with the right people.

Why lead sourcing matters for your sales team

An effective lead sourcing strategy ensures your sales team isn’t wasting time on unqualified prospects.

Here’s why lead sourcing is crucial for the sales process:

• Fill your pipeline with quality leads: More high-intent prospects mean more sales opportunities.

• Reduce reliance on inbound leads: You don’t have to wait for leads to find you.

• Speed up your sales pipeline: Engaging with leads at the right time leads to faster conversions and improved pipeline velocity.

• Improve personalization: Targeted outreach ensures better engagement and response rates.

• Boost revenue predictability: A steady stream of leads creates more reliable sales forecasts.

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What are the main types of lead sources?

A lead source is the specific channel through which a prospect discovers your business.

Some sources generate inbound leads (they come to you), while others require outbound prospecting (you reach out to them). A mix of both ensures a well-balanced lead flow.

Let’s break down the most effective lead sources with practical strategies and some "in action" examples to make the most of them.

Social media

Social media is a powerful lead-generation channel, offering access to millions of potential customers.

Social media platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter/ X, and Instagram allow you to generate leads organically or through paid ads.

Here are a few lead-sourcing tips:

• Make your profiles stand out: Your social media bio should explain what you do and who you help.

• Start a conversation: Comment on industry social media posts and participate in relevant discussions to increase your visibility.

• Leverage LinkedIn Sales Navigator: This platform will connect you with key decision-makers.

• Push lead magnets: Create posts offering free resources, such as templates or infographics, in exchange for contact details.

• Consider social ads: Promoted content on social media channels could help you to reach your target audience more effectively.

For example, the influencer Neil Patel has noted in his LinkedIn post that LinkedIn and X are the top drivers of blog traffic. Leverage those platforms to get traffic to your blog, then use chatbots to engage website visitors and qualify them through the sales cycle.

LinkedIn post - Which social sites drive the most blog traffic? | Neil Patel

Lead databases

Lead databases such as Apollo or ZoomInfo provide pre-verified prospect lists, making finding and reaching out to the right people easier.

These databases compile information like names, job titles, email addresses, and phone numbers from various sources.

Here's how to make the most of it:

• Filter leads by industry, job title, and company size: Focus on prospects matching your ICP to avoid wasting time on irrelevant contacts.

• Prioritize data enrichment: Verify emails and add insights about the lead’s company.

• Personalize your outreach: Refer to recent company news, job changes, or their LinkedIn activity.

• Avoid mass emailing: Focus on quality over quantity to improve response rates.

Email marketing

Marketing emails share valuable content about your brand, industry, and expertise.

When done right, email marketing efforts are known to have a particularly high ROI. They build an ongoing relationship with your audience and establish you as an expert in your field.

We recommend following these tips:

• Segment your lists: Group your leads based on their industry, company size, or interest level.

• Personalize subject lines and intros: Generic newsletters often get ignored. For example, reference the subscriber's company, role, or pain points.

• Include a call-to-action (CTA): Make sure every newsletter has a link for people to contact your sales team.

👀 As an inspiration, look at PhantomBuster's newsletter, which shares valuable lead generation and prospecting insights for salespeople.

SEO

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a long-term inbound lead generation strategy that helps your business rank higher on Google for relevant searches.

With the right strategy, SEO brings in high-intent leads without requiring ongoing ad spend.

Here are a few tips:

• Create content that answers buyer questions: Blog posts, case studies, and landing pages should directly address customer pain points.

• Optimize for keywords with commercial intent: Focus on terms like “best CRM software for startups” instead of just “CRM software.”

• Invest in local SEO: Optimize Google My Business and collect reviews if applicable.

💡 To kick things off, zero in on the keywords your target audience is searching for. Use tools like Google Keyword Planner or Ahrefs to discover terms that fit their needs.

Ahrefs report for the keyword "SEO strategy"

Paid ads

Paid advertising accelerates lead sourcing by targeting specific audiences across platforms like Google Ads, LinkedIn Ads, and Meta Ads.

Unlike SEO, which takes time, targeted online advertising can provide immediate visibility.

Follow these tips to get started:

• Use lookalike audiences: Target users similar to your best customers.

• A/B test your ads: Try different headlines, images, and CTAs to see what resonates.

• Choose relevant platforms: Run ads in online spaces where your potential leads are most active.

💡 If you're a B2B company, we recommend using LinkedIn Ads to share sponsored, valuable content with your potential customers.

Content marketing

Content marketing is all about attracting potential customers.

Quality content attracts and nurtures leads by providing valuable insights that resonate. This includes blogs, whitepapers, case studies, and videos that educate potential customers.

Try out these tips:

• Write in-depth, problem-solving content: Use AI tools to detect topic trends and common pain points in LinkedIn posts or discussion forums, then address those in your content.

• Use lead magnets: Offer exclusive reports or templates in exchange for contact details.

• Repurpose content: Turn blogs into LinkedIn posts, videos, or infographics to increase your reach.

• Distribute content strategically: Share it in relevant industry communities and newsletters.

Events

Networking at industry events, webinars, and trade shows is a direct way to source leads and build relationships. Face-to-face interactions often lead to faster trust-building.

Here are some event lead-sourcing tips:

• Host your own webinar: Position your company as a thought leader and address your ICP's pain points and needs to build trust.

• Attend and speak at conferences: Establish authority and connect with potential buyers.

• Use QR codes: Make it easy for attendees to access your website or book a call.

Best lead sourcing strategies

Finding leads is one thing—finding the right leads is another. The best lead-sourcing strategies help you focus on high-intent prospects while saving time and effort.

Automate lead extraction from social media platforms

Social media is bursting with potential leads. But manually finding them and contacting them is a time drain.

A better approach is to define your ICP and use automation tools to extract lead data from social media, which will save you hours of work.

For example, instead of trawling LinkedIn for hours to find potential customers, you can use the LinkedIn Search Export automation to extract and process the results of a LinkedIn search without all the manual work.

Leverage intent data to find high-potential leads

Not all potential customers are ready to buy, but intent data helps you find the ones who are.

By tracking buying signals like website visits or content engagement, you can identify prospects actively looking for a solution. You can then time your outreach perfectly—before your competitors do!

For instance, you can use the LinkedIn Post Commenter and Liker Scraper to export profiles that have interacted with an industry-related post and might, therefore, be interested in your niche.

Turn website visitors into leads

Many potential customers visit your website but leave without taking action.

We recommend using tools like Bombora to track visitor intent data, revealing which companies are researching topics related to your business.

You can follow up with relevant content or direct outreach by identifying these anonymous visitors, turning passive interest into active conversations.

Attend industry events and engage with participants

Whether in-person or virtual, industry events are one of the best ways to connect with decision-makers. Instead of just showing up, actively participate in panels, ask questions, and network strategically.

The key? Follow up quickly. For example, you can use the LinkedIn Event Guests Export automation to get a list of profiles who have attended a LinkedIn event. From there, you can nurture them accordingly.

Use relevant lead magnets

Content marketing isn’t just about brand awareness. It’s also a lead-sourcing tool.

Offering valuable resources in exchange for contact details helps you attract leads who are genuinely interested in your expertise. The more relevant your lead magnet, the better your prospect list, and the higher the conversion rate.

For example, take a look at Pocus's landing page. It shares a sales eBook in exchange for an email address, instantly funneling high-quality leads into the company's sales pipeline.

Pocus lead magnet example

Implement Account-Based Marketing (ABM)

Focus on lead quality, not lead quantity. Instead of casting a wide net, ABM focuses on high-value accounts that best fit your product or service.

Targeting decision-makers within specific companies creates a personalized, high-impact approach to your lead-sourcing process.

For instance, LinkedIn offers advanced account targeting services directly on its platform.

Leverage social selling

People buy from people they trust, and social selling is all about building that trust on platforms like LinkedIn through content sharing, engagement, and personalized conversations.

The goal isn’t just to sell. It’s to create meaningful conversations that naturally lead to sales opportunities.

For example, you could use the LinkedIn Auto Liker automation to like a list of LinkedIn posts.

From there, we recommend creating a sales cadence, for example, by following those prospects, then commenting on their posts, and finally sending a connection request.

Automate the lead qualification process

Not every lead is worth pursuing, so lead qualification is critical.

Instead of manually sorting through prospects, automation tools can score and filter leads based on criteria like engagement level, company size, or buying intent. This ensures you focus your sales efforts on the most qualified leads.

PhantomBuster's AI LinkedIn Profile Enricher can analyze and interpret your LinkedIn data to help you spot the highest-quality leads.

Best lead sourcing tools

The right sales tools can make lead sourcing faster, smarter, and more efficient. Here are the best platforms on the market to boost your lead-sourcing efforts.

PhantomBuster

PhantomBuster is a lead-sourcing tool that automates lead generation, outreach, and engagement across platforms like LinkedIn and Sales Navigator.

By scraping data and handling repetitive sales tasks, PhantomBuster helps sales teams scale their efforts and increase their productivity.

It's particularly beneficial for lead sourcing because instead of relying on a contact database, it scrapes real-time data, making it even easier to source qualified leads relevant to your brand.

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Here are some of its best features:

• Generate high-quality leads from intent data: Find out who's engaging with LinkedIn posts, groups, and events. These buying signals could turn into valuable leads.

• Qualify your leads: Use the AI LinkedIn Profile Enricher to boost your lead enrichment process.

• Harness social selling: Automate LinkedIn profile visits, connection requests, and follows to warm up potential leads.

• Automate your outreach efforts: Run LinkedIn outreach sequences and use the AI LinkedIn Message Writer to automatically create messages that resonate.

LinkedIn Sales Navigator

As LinkedIn’s premium prospecting tool, Sales Navigator helps sales professionals connect with decision-makers faster.

With advanced search filters and real-time engagement tracking, LinkedIn Sales Navigator facilitates the lead-sourcing process at scale.

Here are the tool's key features to boost your lead-sourcing efforts:

• Run advanced searches: Use filters to narrow down prospects by industry, job title, and company size.

• Stay in sync with your CRM: Coordinate your lead-sourcing data with platforms like Salesforce and HubSpot.

• Send direct InMail campaigns: Contact decision-makers immediately, even if you aren't connected yet.

• Track your leads instantly: Get live updates on your lead activity, including profile visits, job changes, and engagement with your content.

Apollo.io

Apollo is a lead-sourcing platform designed for B2B lead generation, combining an extensive contact database with automation tools.

Ultimately, Apollo is a great fit for teams who want to access sales intelligence tools, CRM integrations, data enrichment, and outreach functionality in one platform.

With an Apollo account, you can:

• Access an extensive B2B database: Search verified emails and direct dials to connect with qualified leads.

• Track interactions: Monitor email open rates, click-throughs, and responses to refine and optimize your lead sources.

• Use advanced filters: Fine-tune your B2B lead sourcing with filters like job title, company size, location, and more.

• Run automated outreach: Create email sequences, follow-ups, and multi-touch sales cadence workflows to connect with your new leads.

UpLead

UpLead is a real-time B2B data platform that helps businesses find and connect with verified leads.

With over 50 search filters and intent data, it allows sales teams to build highly targeted prospect lists and sync them directly with their CRM or outreach tools.

With UpLead, you can:

• Get real-time verified leads: Access clean, accurate B2B emails and mobile numbers to ensure high deliverability.

• Use advanced search filters: Narrow down qualified leads by over 50 criteria, helping you to generate quality leads.

• Bulk lead enrichment: Pull from 40+ data points for thousands of leads simultaneously, then export them to your CRM.

• Use intent-based lead sourcing: Identify and engage with prospects actively looking for solutions like yours.

Lead sourcing FAQ

What's the difference between lead sourcing and lead generation?

Lead sourcing is the process of finding and collecting potential leads from different sources, such as social media platforms, databases, or events.

On the other hand, lead generation refers to the overall process of attracting and converting potential customers into leads through sales and marketing efforts.

What are the main challenges in lead sourcing?

Lead sourcing is an essential part of any lead generation strategy. But it can raise some challenges, including:

• Finding accurate and up-to-date contact information.

• Identifying high-intent leads who are ready to buy.

• Avoiding spam filters and improving response rates.

• Scaling outreach without losing personalization.

• Managing and organizing lead intelligence effectively.

How to measure success in lead sourcing?

Key performance indicators (KPIs) for lead sourcing success include:

• Lead volume: Number of leads sourced.

• Lead quality: Percentage of leads that match your ICP.

• Conversion rate: Leads that turn into sales opportunities or customers.

• Response rate: Percentage of leads who engage with outreach.

• Cost per lead (CPL): How much you spend to acquire a lead.

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