Lead generation is the discipline B2B marketing relies on most and trusts least. In this episode of Trust & Influence in B2B, Robin Caller, founder and CEO of Leadscale, explains why, and what it would take to fix it.

Most people in B2B know that a good share of the leads changing hands every day are of questionable quality. Few will say so on the record. Robin is an exception. He calls it "a tolerable level of mischief", a grey zone the whole industry has quietly learned to live with, and in conversation with host Joel Harrison he explains why it persists, why he refuses to call it fraud, and how transparency could begin to put it right.

A note before you listen: Robin speaks freely, and not everyone in the industry will agree with all of it. That's rather the point.

In this episode:

– Why lead generation has been B2B's least-trusted discipline for 20 years

– What "a tolerable level of mischief" really means, and why it isn't fraud

– The "blind faith" model and the hierarchy of transparency

– Why marketers tolerate poor-quality leads: the quota trap

– How advertisers are part of the problem, not just the victims

– The provenance questions every buyer should be asking their suppliers

– Why "more leads will not be the answer" in the AI era

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Lead Generation Challenges

05:42 Transparency and Its Role in Trust

08:20 The Ambivalence of Stakeholders

11:26 Blind Faith in Lead Generation Practices

14:23 The Importance of Transparency in Data Collection

17:19 Navigating the Gray Areas of Lead Generation

18:22 Finding Fair Solutions for All Parties

21:37 Advertisers: Victims and Perpetrators

21:54 The Importance of Data Sharing

24:30 Data Decay and Its Impact on Performance

25:16 Trust and Transparency in Data Transactions

25:25 Generational Perspectives in Marketing

27:03 The MQL Mindset and Its Limitations

29:20 Dynamic Qualification of Leads

31:12 Managing Tolerances in Imperfect Systems

32:48 The Future of Lead Generation

36:23 Questions for Better Data Practices

39:56 The Ethical Implications of Data Sourcing

42:42 A Positive Outlook on Future Trends

About the guest

Robin Caller is the founder and CEO of Leadscale, a London-based lead generation and data quality business. He has spent more than two decades in lead and demand generation and is one of the industry's more outspoken voices on data quality, transparency and trust.

Robin on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robincaller/

About the podcast

Trust & Influence in B2B is hosted by Joel Harrison, founder of Joel Harrison B2B. Each episode explores marketing strategy and practice with senior B2B practitioners, researchers and academics.

Joel on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joelharrison/

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