How Smart CEOs Are Rethinking B2B Lead Generation in 2025
Let’s be honest. The way most companies approach B2B lead generation is outdated. Buyers today are overwhelmed, skeptical, and more selective than ever. Getting the conversation started is harder than it’s ever been. What used to work simply doesn’t anymore.
To understand what does work, we hosted a roundtable with CEOs and asked them to bring real examples of strategies that are driving results. What follows are their insights, which you can adapt to your company—regardless of whether you're doing founder-led sales or managing a full team.
The Common Thread:
Everything starts with trust. Buyers want relevance, real relationships, and value—before any sale is even discussed.
What These CEOs Are Doing That Works
Alice Heiman, Sales Strategist & Founder, Alice Heiman, LLC
Roundtables are one of the best lead generation strategies today. Invite ideal customers, facilitate meaningful conversations, and follow up by being helpful—not salesy.
Brandon Lee, Founder, Fist Bump
Outreach fails when it sounds like a pitch. We lead with valuable content, especially live shows, to build relationships. Those relationships turn into conversations with real buyers.
Amir Reiter, CEO, B2B Marketplace
If your deal size is $50K or more, you need to pick up the phone. Cold calling works when the call is made by someone with real expertise—not an entry-level rep.
Joe Hill, Host, The Dr. Joe Show
Podcasts build relationships. Roundtables build communities. It’s the best way I’ve found to create authentic conversations that turn into revenue.
Yvonne Lines, Presentation Strategist
Referrals still drive the most business, but only if you make it easy. Be specific about who you help and how. Personal touch matters when everyone else is automating.
Cristina Flaschen, CEO, Pandium
Paid referral programs can work, but doing great work is often enough. People want to help companies they trust. Be human. Be helpful.
Clark Souers, Founder, Expert Effect
Referrals are not just for your sales team. Train your whole company to spot opportunities. Everyone can contribute.
Maury Rogow, CEO, Rip Media Group
Return to your Dream 100. Deliver value with no ask. Also, live events are underrated. Five people around a table beats 50 in a ballroom.
Nick Gismondi, CEO, Tenova
You don’t need to build your own community. Join existing ones where your ideal customers already gather.
Jeremy Schiff, CEO, SalesBot
Email isn’t dead—it’s just saturated. The right message still works. Combine better data with meaningful calls. And happy clients are your best closers. Referrals convert faster and better.
Melissa Faith Hart, CEO, eBodyGuard
Lead generation is trust generation. The best marketing creates psychological safety—for both your team and your prospects.
Key Takeaway: Referrals Win
There’s one theme that came up repeatedly: referrals still work. Always have. Always will. A warm introduction from someone who trusts you results in deals that close faster, at higher value, and with better retention.
Sales teams can absolutely generate referrals, and so can the rest of your company. But it requires a process.
Six Practical Tactics You Can Use Today
Be specific when asking for introductions. Don’t say, “Do you know anyone who might be interested?” Instead: “We help SaaS CEOs expanding into enterprise who are struggling to scale sales. Do you know any CEOs like that?”
Always follow up with gratitude, not pressure. Whether it leads to a sale or not, thank them. Handwritten notes or quick videos go a long way.
Reconnect with your Dream 100 list. Reach out to 25–100 high-priority accounts in the next 90 days. Offer value, ask nothing. The results will come.
Train your full team to spot referrals. Customer success, marketing, even engineering—all interact with people who can make introductions. Encourage it. Reward it.
Show up in the right rooms. Instead of hosting your own events, find where your audience already is and show up there. Speak, sponsor, or participate.
Personalize everything. Generic templates don’t work anymore. Whether it’s email, voicemail, or DMs—speak to the individual. Fewer, better conversations beat high-volume automation every time.
Lead Generation Is a Trust Game
Stop chasing strangers. Start building trust with the right people. Make it easy for your network to introduce you. When you go cold, go with purpose and insight.
The CEOs who joined our roundtable are not sitting back waiting for leads. They’re being intentional. They’re building communities, leveraging relationships, and showing up where it counts.
Ask yourself:
Who should we reconnect with this week?
Who can introduce us to the right buyers?
Where should we be showing up?
In this market, clarity and consistency win. If you want to talk through how to apply this to your business, let’s have a conversation.
To your success.