If I had a dollar for every time a founder told me “we just need more leads,” I’d probably have… well, enough to hire myself on retainer. 😄
I say that with love, because I get it. When revenue feels stuck or inconsistent, it’s easy to point at the front of the pipeline and think:
The problem must be volume.
If we had more leads, everything would be fine.
But after a few years supporting agencies, recruiters, and founder-led B2B teams, I’ve learned something else:
Most of the time, the real problem isn’t lead volume.
It’s follow-up, qualification, or pipeline clutter.
Let’s walk through what that actually looks like.
Symptom vs Root Cause
Here’s what I hear:
- “We need more leads.”
- “Our pipeline dried up.”
- “Outbound doesn’t work for us.”
Here’s what I usually find when I peek behind the scenes:
- Leads who never got a second or third touch
- Good-fit prospects lost in a messy CRM
- People booked a call and no one followed up after
- Discovery calls with people who were never qualified in the first place
Same sentence. Different problem.
Problem #1: Follow-Up That Fizzles Out
The story:
I once worked with a founder of a small B2B marketing agency who said, “Outbound just doesn’t work for us, we need better leads.”
So we looked at his inbox.
Here’s what we saw:
- Prospects replying “Sounds good, can you send more info?” with no response for 5–7 days
- People asking to reschedule calls and never getting a new link
- Positive replies (“we’re not ready right now, but maybe in Q2”) with no follow-up tagged or scheduled
He didn’t actually have a lead problem.
He had a follow-up system problem.
What fixed it:
We didn’t change his entire top-of-funnel. We:
- Created simple follow-up rules (24-hour response, 2–3 gentle reminders)
- Added tags for “Not Now / Q2 / Q3” and set reminders
- Used a simple weekly review of “warmish conversations”
Suddenly, deals that would’ve quietly died turned into:
- Booked calls
- Expansion opportunities
- Future “yes” responses
Lead volume stayed almost the same. Revenue didn’t.
Problem #2: Weak Qualification (You’re Talking to Everyone)
Another pattern: “We had a lot of discovery calls, but barely any closed. We need better leads.”
Sometimes, yes.
Often? It’s a qualification leak.
The story:
A recruiter reached out to me with a full calendar, burnt-out energy, and low close rates. She was talking to:
- Companies without budget
- Roles outside her sweet spot
- Prospects who weren’t actually ready to hire
So her brain concluded: “These leads are bad.”
But when we looked closely, she wasn’t qualifying before the call. She was doing all the work on the call.
What fixed it:
We added:
- 3–5 pre-qualifying questions (budget, timeline, role type, decision maker)
- Clear “no” criteria (who she would not get on Zoom with)
- A short pre-call message that set expectations and confirmed seriousness
Result:
- Fewer calls
- Better calls
- Higher close rate
- More energy
She didn’t get “more leads.” She got better-filtered leads—and used her time more wisely.
Problem #3: Pipeline Clutter (You Can’t See What’s Real)
Then there’s the pipeline that looks full… but isn’t.
You know the kind:
- Deals from 8 months ago still marked as “active”
- No clear stages beyond “Lead” and “Client”
- Old no-shows sitting next to warm decision-makers
- No notes, no next steps, no realistic close dates
It feels like there’s a lot going on.
But when you ask, “What’s likely to close in the next 30–60 days?”… silence.
The story:
A SaaS founder told me, “Our pipeline is packed, but nothing closes. We just need more top-of-funnel.”
We exported his deals and categorized them:
- Many had no activity in 60–90 days
- Some had no notes or clear owner
- Some were “polite no’s” hanging around as “maybe”
His real problem wasn’t lead generation. It was pipeline clutter.
What fixed it:
We:
- Cleaned the pipeline (archived stalled deals or moved them to “Nurture”)
- Added simple stages: New → Engaged → Call Booked → Proposal Sent → Verbal Yes → Closed Won/Lost
- Required “next step + date” on any active deal
- Did a weekly 20-minute “pipeline reality check”
Now, when he looked at his CRM, he could actually see:
- What was alive
- What was waiting
- What needed action
Clarity = better decisions.
And better decisions often bring more revenue than “more leads.”
How to Diagnose Your Real Problem
Instead of defaulting to “we need more leads,” try asking:
- Are we consistently following up with the leads we already have?
- How many people got 1 touch vs 3–5?
- How many warm replies went cold without a system?
- Are we talking to the right people in the first place?
- Do we have clear qualification criteria?
- Are we saying “no” to the wrong fits?
- Is our pipeline clean enough to trust?
- Can we point to “likely to close in 30–60 days”?
- Does every “active” deal have a next step?
If the answer to those is shaky, “more leads” will just multiply the chaos.
So When Is “More Leads” the Right Answer?
Sometimes, you really do need:
- Fresh audience
- More attempts
- A higher volume to test offers
But here’s the order I like:
- Fix follow-up leaks.
- Tighten qualification.
- Clear pipeline clutter.
- Then increase lead volume.
That way, when more leads come in, you’re actually ready to handle them.
A Gentle Reframe
Next time you hear yourself thinking, “We just need more leads,” pause and ask:
- “Am I fully honoring the leads we already have?”
- “Is this truly a volume issue, or a system issue?”
Because from what I’ve seen, you probably don’t have a “nobody wants what we sell” problem.
You likely have a “we’re humans trying to juggle too much without support, structure, or simple systems” problem.
And that’s fixable.
One follow-up, one clarified ICP, one cleaned-up pipeline at a time.
Joyful Narrative 