Key strategies for B2B Lead Generation: Trust, tech, and growth
In this interview, William Wells von matelso speaks with Björn Radde, former VP of Digital Marketing and Innovation at T-Systems International, about the current challenges and opportunities in B2B lead generation. Learn how companies can build trust, engage customers effectively, and drive sustainable growth through modern technologies like social selling and AI. Read the on and watch the video!
“In B2B, we’re no longer dealing with companies, but with people. Building trust is the key to successful lead generation, and it requires a human approach — focused on genuine relationships and understanding.”
– Björn Radde
The interview:
- Please give us a couple of insights about yourself and your work.
- What are the three most relevant challenges that B2B companies face currently in the area of lead generation?
- Can you sketch out strategies that you consider particularly effective in coping with these three challenges and that help B2B companies generate sustainable growth?
- What modern technologies can help companies reach their goals? Do you have some concrete examples or best practices that you can share with us?
- What are the coming trends and developments that marketers, and sales specialists, should especially keep an eye on in 2025?
Please give us a couple of insights about yourself and your work.
Björn Radde:
First of all, thanks for having me. It’s great to be here. I was, until last year, the VP of Digital Marketing and Innovation at a company called T-Systems for seven years. I was responsible for the whole global digital marketing strategy, including lead generation on the website and all digital channels. Now, I’m transitioning into my own business. I’ll be helping other companies improve how they generate leads on their websites and how they can use modern sales tools to generate leads.
What are the three most relevant challenges that B2B companies face currently in the area of lead generation?
Björn Radde:
In Germany, it’s a really challenging time for companies to generate leads because all companies are a little bit cautious. They don’t want to invest at the moment and are postponing projects and all that stuff. So I think the first challenge is the economic situation in general.
The second one is, when companies want to invest, whom do they choose? Especially now, B2B companies need to build trust with their staff and people. Trust is essential because, if we were to do business together, I need to trust that you will fulfill your offer. So, building trust is another big issue.
“Building trust is essential, not just between companies, but between people. In B2B, it’s no longer about company-to-company; it’s about human-to-human relationships.”
– Björn Radde
Can you sketch out strategies that you consider particularly effective in coping with these three challenges and that help B2B companies generate sustainable growth? Do you have some examples or some tips for us?
Björn Radde:
Some ideas for building trust with your staff — investing in corporate influencer programs or social selling programs. Train your people on how to act and be present on social media, how to post, and how to build trust in social environments. The leads themselves won’t come directly from social media but rather from offline interactions. Social media is a really good channel for generating trust, and I think a lot of companies could invest more in this area and trust their people to do well.
“Social media is really a good channel to generate trust, and there I think a lot of companies can invest more and do more and trust their people that they are really good also on social media.”
– Björn Radde
Björn Radde:
Regarding nurturing, it really makes sense to have a good marketing cloud or CRM system in place or a solid marketing automation system that can deliver the right information at the right time, via the right channel to the right customer. I believe AI will also improve this process next year. In the past, the bottleneck was creating and providing the right information. Now, AI can help companies generate that information and deliver it to customers. These were my two tips for what companies can do this year or next.
What modern technologies can help companies reach their goals? Do you have some concrete examples or best practices that you can share with us?
Björn Radde:
Maybe I’ll repeat myself, but the point of social selling is really effective right now. I mean, we all struggle with lead generation, and marketing automation can help, of course. But investing in social selling and building trust is a modern sales tool that companies need to take into consideration. The funny thing is that since I started my own business, I’ve received a lot of requests asking, “Hey, can you help us build up social selling programs?” We know we need to invest, but we don’t know how to do it or how to train our people. This is an area where we really need to invest time and effort. So, my clear advice would be to invest in social selling.
What are the coming trends and developments that marketers, and sales specialists, should especially keep an eye on in 2025?
“It’s necessary that everyone takes time to upskill in artificial intelligence. It’s a no-brainer.”
– Björn Radde
Björn Radde:
Yes, of course. Marketers need to focus on upskilling themselves and their teams. If I were a sales leader, I would train my team on how they can improve requests for proposals and offers using AI. For me, it’s really necessary that everyone takes time to upskill in artificial intelligence. It’s a no-brainer, so it’s not even up for discussion.
Thank you for your time and insights, Björn! It was a pleasure having you for this talk!
The expert: Björn Radde
Björn Radde (radde.de) is the former VP of Digital Marketing and Innovation at T-Systems. As such he was responsible for the global digital marketing strategy, including lead generation on the website and all digital channels. Currently Björn is transitioning into his own business where he will be helping other companies improve how they generate leads on their websites and how they can use modern sales tools to generate leads.
