The most effective methods for generating B2B sales leads are outbound marketing (telemarketing, virtual/remote sales), event marketing (tradeshows, webinars, and seminars), and online marketing (email newsletters, websites, search, and blogs), according to a recent report by InsideSales.com.

On the other hand, the B2B sales and marketing professionals surveyed rated social media as the least effective lead generation strategy.

Among the top social networks, LinkedIn was rated the most effective tool, but it still barely reached above the bottom quartile in marketing method effectiveness.

Below, additional key findings from the report, which was based on a survey of 423 B2B professionals, the majority of whom (57%) have marketing budgets under $500k.

Most Common Lead Generation Methods

Company websites, email, and tradeshows are the most common methods employed in B2Bs' lead generation strategy.