Why Chasing More Leads Could Actually Be Killing Your Growth

In B2B, we have a tendency to obsess about lead volume. But optimizing the full-funnel sales process is the real key to growth. Through the power of the compound effect, improving 5 key metrics can TRIPLE your revenue—even with flat lead volume.

Chasing more leads isn’t always the solution to underperformance. In fact, adopting that mindset could be your biggest mistake.

Too many sales and marketing leaders over-focus on lead volume, assuming that more leads automatically translate into more revenue. But the reality is quite different. Lead volume is only one part of the equation and obsessing over it, at the expense of other critical factors, often masks inefficiencies in your sales funnel.

Real growth comes from optimizing the entire sales process. By focusing on five key metrics and leveraging the compound effect, you can transform your revenue even without increasing lead volume. Here’s how you can do it.

The 5 Key Metrics You Should Focus On

1. Lead Quality (ICP Fit)

Your sales efforts will never reach their full potential if you’re bringing in low-quality leads. Instead of pouring resources into sheer lead volume, focus on generating highly-targeted leads that closely match your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP). High-quality leads convert better at every stage of the funnel.

Improvement Suggestion:

Highly-targeted campaigns: Focus your marketing spend on channels and campaigns that consistently generate ICP-fit leads. Use data-driven targeting to reach prospects most likely to benefit from your solution, maximising the effectiveness of each campaign. Consider LinkedIn campaigns which are aligned to your customer personas and target industries, as well as sponsoring industry-specific events. Stop spending valuable time and budget on activities which generate non-ICP leads.

2. MQL to SQL Conversion Rate

Once you’ve attracted high-quality leads, the next step is converting them into sales-qualified leads (SQLs). If your MQL-to-SQL conversion rate is too low, it’s often due to slow or inadequate follow-up.

Improvement Suggestion:

Assign leads to the FIRST available rep: Rep availability is one of the most critical factors at this stage. Surveys indicate that every 1 minute delay in responding to an inbound lead reduces the chance of it converting. MQL leads should be assigned to the first available sales rep (caveat: assuming they are suitably trained and/or competent) – and qualified immediately.

3. SQL to Opportunity Conversion Rate

This is where deals are truly made. Moving SQLs into opportunities requires timely, personalised outreach and a well-organised sales process. Optimising this stage can have a dramatic effect on your pipeline.

Improvement Suggestion:

Assign leads to BEST sales rep: A Sales Qualified Lead should be assigned to the very best sales rep, the one who is best-suited to converting it. Make sure the hottest leads (i.e. highest lead score) get into the hands of your very best reps. If necessary, reassign lower quality leads to make room for the hot ones. Use skill-based lead assignment rules to find the perfect match.

4. Win Rate

Your win rate is the percentage of opportunities that convert into closed deals. It’s arguably the most important metric in the sales funnel because it directly determines how much revenue you generate from your pipeline.

Improvement Suggestion:

Personalized demos: Ensure that your product demos are highly tailored to each prospect’s specific needs and pain points. A well-executed, personalised demo helps prospects clearly understand how your solution solves their unique challenges, making it easier to close the deal.

5. Average Deal Size

Increasing the value of each deal is one of the most impactful ways to boost your revenue. By upselling, cross-selling or bundling services, you can increase the average deal size and get more value from each customer.

Improvement Suggestion:

Bundle-driven pricing: Offer bundled packages that combine products, features or services, making larger deals more attractive. Bundling increases the perceived value of your offering and helps customers justify higher spending.

The Compound Effect in Action

Let’s look at two hypothetical companies: Mediocre Inc. and Awesome Inc. Both companies start with the same lead volume—400 leads per month - but their outcomes are vastly different due to small improvements in key metrics.

• Mediocre Inc. has a 10% MQL-to-SQL conversion rate, 20% SQL-to-opportunity conversion rate, 25% win rate, and an average deal size of ￡10,000. This results in 2 closed deals per month, generating ￡20,000 in revenue.
• Awesome Inc., on the other hand, improves each of these metrics: a 15% MQL-to-SQL conversion rate, 25% SQL-to-opportunity conversion rate, 33% win rate and an average deal size of ￡12,500. Despite having the same lead volume, Awesome Inc. closes 5 deals per month, generating ￡61,875 in revenue—over 3 times more than Mediocre Inc.

This demonstrates the extraordinary power of the compound effect. By making small, manageable improvements at every stage of the funnel, Awesome Inc. has tripled its revenue without increasing lead volume.

Key Takeaway

Chasing lead volume alone is a dangerous distraction. Don't get me wrong, generating more leads is usually good news. But when the market is tight and lead generation is tricky, it makes sense to shine a spotlight on your sales process. Sustainable B2B growth comes from optimizing every stage of the sales funnel and improving the metrics that matter. The compound effect shows us that relatively small improvements in key metrics can yield exponential results.

If you want to see real growth, stop obsessing over lead volume and start fine-tuning your funnel. Focus on lead quality, conversion rates and increasing deal size—and watch your revenue grow.