Inbound vs. outbound lead generation, which is better?
There have been various debates about which works best to bring in new leads.
Some feel that outbound is outdated, and others feel that inbound is the only way to go, but good marketers plan on using both inbound and outbound.
Why? Inbound takes time, but once it’s set up, it can bring you leads on autopilot.
So while you’re waiting for inbound leads to start coming in, that’s where outbound can help. Outbound can work immediately because you’re going directly to your target audience.
That’s why inbound and outbound work well together.
This article will dive into all you need to know about the differences between the two outreach methods and how you can use each for prospecting success.
(Interested in seeing what outbound lead gen can do for your company? Hop on a free 15-minute strategy session with the CEO of SalesBread, Jack Reamer. We would love to help you find those high quality leads that convert to sales.)
What are the key differences between inbound and outbound?
Inbound and outbound lead generation are two different ways of finding prospects for your business.
Inbound is more about drawing people in; think blog posts, social media, and SEO.
Leads come to you because they’re already interested.
Outbound, on the other hand, is when you reach out to people directly, like through cold emails, calls, LinkedIn outreach, or ads.
With inbound, you’re building trust over time, while outbound is more proactive and can get faster results, but sometimes feels more intrusive, if done incorrectly.
Both can work well, it just depends on your goals and resources.
What is Inbound lead generation?
Inbound marketing, simply put, brings leads to you.
So, for example, things such as social media marketing, content marketing (such as blogging ), your website, SEO, online adverts (like Google Ads), podcasts, and webinars are all inbound methods to generate leads.
With inbound marketing, you would use digital platforms to create brand awareness about your business for leads to find you.
The methodology behind inbound lead gen is to attract potential leads with videos, blogs, social media content, specific keywords, and hashtags.
The trick with inbound marketing is to keep your audience engaged.
You can also close inbound sales with calls to action and by finding the right target audience.
Some social media platforms, such as Facebook and Instagram, allow you to add in filters that will help you find the right people for your product or service.
You can choose the exact demographic that you’re after, and an advert of your choice will be shown to your target audience.
See an example of Facebook filters below
Inbound lead generation tactics
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Social media marketing
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Content marketing ( blogging )
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Pop-ups
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Webinars
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Search engine optimization
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PPC
Does inbound marketing work?
What do the stats show? Yes, many marketers have said that inbound marketing has a positive ROI. Check out some of these stats below:
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79% of businesses that have a blog report a positive ROI for their inbound marketing methods.
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82% of marketers who blog daily found a new customer using their blog, as opposed to 57% of marketers who blog monthly.
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Content marketing costs 62% less than traditional advertising
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After 5 months of consistent inbound marketing, the average cost per lead drops by 80%
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On average, brands that publish 15 blog posts per month convert 1,200 new leads per month. ( HubSpot )
The stats above show that inbound marketing is an effective way of generating leads. Some businesses prefer inbound marketing methods, as it is less aggressive; prospects find you instead of the other way around.
How much does inbound marketing cost?
Inbound marketing can cost anything between $2000 – $25,000 a month, depending on the needs of your business.
Most marketing agencies will offer you different packages to suit your needs and budgets. Some campaigns might run for a few months, and others for over a year.
These inbound strategies could include a variety of things, such as making use of:
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Content writers
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Social media experts
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SEO experts
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PPC
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Multimedia content (such as YouTube videos, graphics, and design)
What are the pros and cons of inbound lead generation?
Pros
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It generates leads organically for your business (Take a look at the infographic below.)
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If you use inbound marketing, such as blogs, your company can become an expert leader in a specific niche.
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It can be budget-friendly
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Inbound marketing aligns with current customer behavior and trends, meaning that prospects search for what they need, when they need it, and will be ready to purchase your item when they are ready.
What are the cons of inbound lead generation?
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It can take a really long time before you see any ROI. The latest stats show that, on average, it can take up to 7 months before you see any ROI with inbound marketing.
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For inbound lead gen, you would need a variety of team members specializing in different fields, or you would need to be able to do everything yourself, which can take time.
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You need to produce new, engaging, and valuable content every day to stand out from the masses for good engagement. If you don’t have a clear marketing strategy, this can be challenging to do.
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Measuring the number of leads that you receive for inbound can be pretty tricky. You might be able to see how much traffic you receive on your web page, but other times, you would need to use more sophisticated tools to measure the number of leads you’re getting in.
All you need to know about outbound lead generation
Image Credit: DataMatics Business Solutions
What is outbound lead generation exactly?
Most people think of it as cold calling or email marketing, but there is quite a bit more to it than just that.
You could also view outbound marketing as a more traditional advertising method, but there should be a science behind outbound tactics.
And if sales reps can get it right, then they can fill their clients’ pipelines with qualified leads.
Another form of outbound lead generation is social selling on LinkedIn.
This is also one of the biggest ways that B2B marketers generate leads, and they do this by nurturing prospects on LinkedIn.
This would include:
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Connecting with new leads
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Sending them well thought out messages, and then follow-up consistently.
Some companies might use LinkedIn automation tools that spam potential prospects, but SalesBread believes in a completely different approach.
We do not believe in sending high volume, but rather sending a few well thought out, personalized messages to a very specific target audience.
Outbound marketing methods:
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Direct mail/cold emailing
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Cold calling
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Social selling
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Flyers
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Billboards
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LinkedIn Lead Generation
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Corporate events
Do outbound lead generation strategies work?
There has been speculation that outbound sales are a thing of the past. But this is not the case, as stats have shown. Outbound lead generation is still very much alive, and it still works really well for fast results.
Check out some of the most recent stats about outbound marketing.
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Roughly 80% of email marketers have noticed an increase in engagement within the last 12 months.
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Email marketing has the highest return on investment for small businesses.
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53% of marketers say email has been the most effective channel for early-stage lead generation.
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78% of salespeople engaged in social selling are outselling their peers who are not. ( LinkedIn, 2020)
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63.4 percent of sales reps engaged in social selling report an increase in their company’s revenue (compared to just 41.2 percent of non-social sellers).
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At SalesBread, we are seeing a 45 % Connection request acceptance rate, 19.98% Reply Rate to LinkedIn Messages, and 48.14% Positive Reply Ratio (These replies were either meeting requests or qualified sales inquiries on their product or service.)
These stats show that there is still a need for outbound marketing campaigns. Small businesses, especially, can use these lead generation strategies, as they will be able to see immediate results.
How much does outbound marketing cost?
The cost of outsourcing an outbound sales team would initially be more cost-effective for small businesses. Over time, once the start-up has gained some traction, SalesBread always encourages them to set up their own in-house outbound team.
Why start off with outsourcing services?
When you start with outsourcing lead gen, you have an experienced sales team that knows how to get you qualified prospects.
You will also be saving money on salaries, bonuses, and other costs.
Did you know that the average salary of a BDR in America is $59,559 per year.
You will also save money on office furniture rentals, data costs, and lead generation tools.
The outbound marketing company will take care of all these extra costs for you.
So to answer your question:
The average cost of outsourcing an outbound lead generation team could cost you between $2000 – $8000 a month, depending on your needs. Whereas if you had to bring an outbound team in-house, it would cost you so much more.
SalesBread charges $3k per month, plus a one time setup fee.
What are the pros and cons of outbound lead generation?
Pros
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You will get immediate qualified leads
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Outbound lead generation is easier to implement for small businesses, as they won’t need as many resources as inbound marketing. It can be more challenging for startups to invest in the time required to create an online presence.
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You can be very target-specific with outbound lead gen. For example, with LinkedIn lead generation, you can filter your prospects by title, business, geographics, and even groups.
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Increased awareness of your brand to a specific audience
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Cost-effective for smaller businesses
Cons
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Depending on what form of outbound you choose, it can be hard to measure your ROI. For example, if you have a billboard or hand out flyers, you will never know your exact conversion rates from these ads.
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Outbound lead gen, like cold calls, can be quite aggressive, and some people might find it intrusive.
Some outbound companies might get you unqualified leads because their marketing tactics include blasting out hundreds of emails, messages, or phone calls to many different people, and not your ideal customers.
Which form of marketing works best?
As you can see, both inbound and outbound can have great results. The best option would be to make use of both forms of marketing.
By using inbound, you can build an organic following over time, and with outbound, you can get immediate results in reaching potential customers.
Frequently asked questions about inbound and outbound
Is digital marketing inbound or outbound?
Digital marketing can play both roles.
If you’re using inbound tactics like SEO, blogs, or email newsletters to attract people to your content, that’s inbound.
But if you’re running outbound strategies like cold emails or display ads to reach people who haven’t interacted with you before, that’s outbound.
The key is knowing which approach best fits your audience and where they are in the marketing funnel.
Are paid ads inbound or outbound?
Paid ads can be a mix.
Search ads (like Google) often act as inbound marketing tactics because they show up when someone is actively searching, and there’s already demand. But display or social media ads that interrupt someone’s scroll?
Those can be outbound marketing examples. So it depends on how you’re using them and where your audience is in their journey.
Which is more cost-effective, inbound or outbound lead generation?
Inbound can be more cost-effective in the long run. Once your content is out there, blogs, guides, videos… It keeps working for you. It brings in quality leads who already have some level of demand.
Outbound efforts, like cold calling or paid ads, can bring faster results and may need more follow-up from your sales and marketing teams. So it depends on your budget and goals.
How long does it take to see results from inbound lead generation efforts?
Inbound lead gen is more of a slow-burn journey. You’re building trust through consistent content, SEO, and inbound marketing activities.
It can take a few months to see real traction, especially if you’re new to content or not ranking on search engines yet. But the leads you get tend to be warmer and easier to nurture through the marketing funnel.
How long does it take to see results from outbound lead generation?
Outbound is usually faster. Once you start with outbound strategies, like cold emails or LinkedIn DMs, you can see responses in days or even hours. At SalesBread, our clients see their first lead within 48 hours after campaign launch.
You still need a good approach, follow-up sequences, and strong messaging. It can be an aggressive lead gen tactic, but when done the right way, with the right agency, you’re going to see incredible results.
Which type of lead generation is better for long-term success?
Combining both methods, using inbound lead generation and outbound efforts, often gives the best of both worlds. The right methods will align with your product, audience, and overall marketing strategies.
How can I decide which lead generation strategy is best for my business?
Ask yourself:
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What’s your budget and timeline?
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Do you need results fast, or are you playing the long game?
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Do you have a sales team ready to follow up on cold leads?
If you want faster outreach, explore outbound marketing examples. If you want long term slow burning results and brand awareness, lean into inbound tactics.
Your decision should also consider your market trends, your audience’s behavior, and how your marketing teams and sales teams work together. A hybrid approach often gives you the most flexibility and resilience.
Looking for some lead gen advice?
Hop on a free 15-minute strategy session with the CEO of SalesBread, Jack Reamer. We would love to help you find those high quality leads that convert to sales.
