If You're Reading This in 2021, You're Living Through The Great Pivot
Conference rooms are empty, trade show floors are quiet, and that familiar handshake has been replaced by a "Join Meeting" button. The old playbook? Toss it out the window.
This year isn't about small adjustments—it's about rebuilding how we connect, engage, and sell in a B2B world that's gone fully digital.
The pressure is on, but so is the opportunity. Let's cut through the noise and focus on what actually works right now. Here are the proven B2B lead and demand generation tactics for 2021 that are helping smart companies not just survive, but actually fill their pipelines with quality conversations.
The 2021 Mindset Shift: From Broadcast to Dialogue
First, let's get our heads straight. The biggest mistake you can make this year is taking your 2019 strategies and just moving them online. That's like using a radio playbook for a television show. The core shift is this: stop broadcasting and start conversing.
Your Prospects Have Changed
Your prospects are overwhelmed, skeptical, and doing more independent research than ever. They don't want to be sold to; they want to be understood. Your entire approach—from your website copy to your sales emails—needs to reflect that.
In 2021, the most powerful word in your B2B strategy isn't "innovative" or "solution." It's "you."
Tactics That Are Delivering Real Results This Year
Hyper-Targeted, Value-Packed Virtual Events
Forget the marathon 60-minute webinars where one person talks at a slide deck. That's 2020 thinking.
The virtual events that are working in 2021 are different:
They are interactive: Use live polls, Q&A sessions, and breakout rooms. Platforms like Hopin or Demio make this easy.
They are niche: Instead of "The Future of Cloud Computing," host "A Practical Guide to Azure Cost Management for FinTech Startups." Go narrow to attract the right people.
They offer real networking: Use tools that facilitate 1:1 video connections or small group chats. The goal is to recreate the hallway conversations people miss from physical events.
Don't make it a one-off. Turn a single event into a series. This builds anticipation and gives you multiple touchpoints with your audience.
Conversational Marketing with Chatbots & Live Chat
When your website is now your primary sales rep, it needs to talk back.
Implementing smart, helpful chatbots is no longer a "nice-to-have."
Static contact forms, generic "Contact Us" pages that go unanswered for hours or days.
Use them to qualify leads: Program a bot to ask a few key questions (e.g., "What's your biggest challenge with X?") and route high-intent visitors to a live salesperson or a specific demo.
Provide instant help: Offer to send a relevant case study, guide, or pricing sheet directly in the chat. Drift and Intercom became essential tools this year for this very reason.
The key is personality: Script your bot to sound helpful, not robotic. "Hi there! Looking for our cybersecurity whitepaper? I can get that for you in a sec 😊"
This tactic captures leads in the moment they're most engaged—while they're actively on your site.
LinkedIn Content That Builds Authority (Not Just Connections)
Everyone is on LinkedIn now. To stand out, you need a strategy beyond posting company updates.
Focus on personal brands: Encourage your CEO and subject matter experts to post authentic, thoughtful content. A short video from your CTO explaining a complex concept simply gets more traction than a corporate logo.
Use LinkedIn Articles for deep dives: Publish insightful, long-form content directly on the platform. It builds your profile's authority and keeps professionals in their preferred ecosystem.
Engage, don't just post: Spend 20 minutes a day leaving thoughtful comments on posts by ideal clients and industry influencers. It's warmer than a cold connection request.
Account-Based Experience (ABX)
Account-Based Marketing (ABM) is evolving. In 2021, it's about creating a coordinated experience across an entire target account.
Create account-specific content: For your top 20 dream clients, build a custom one-pager or a short Loom video addressing their specific industry announcement or challenge.
Coordinate multi-channel touches: Sync your efforts. If your sales rep sends a personalized email, your marketing should ensure that the same company sees a tailored LinkedIn ad. The message should feel cohesive, not coincidental.
It's a team sport: Sales and marketing must work from the same account plan, sharing insights and feedback in real-time.
Repurpose Everything into Atomic Content
You're creating great pillar content—a webinar, a report, a case study. Don't let it just sit there.
Chop it up: Turn a 45-minute webinar into:
This "atomic" approach lets you feed multiple channels from one piece of high-effort work, extending its reach and reinforcing your core message.
What to Measure in 2021: Ditch the Vanity Metrics
Forget just tracking "website visits" or "social likes." This year, focus on what matters:
Are sales finding your leads useful? Track the percentage of Marketing Qualified Leads (MQLs) that become Sales Accepted Leads (SALs).
Look at metrics like average watch time on your videos or time on page for key content. Are people actually consuming what you make?
Is your new approach helping deals move faster? This is the ultimate test of your 2021 strategy effectiveness.
The Bottom Line for 2021
This year has been a reset. The tactics that work are rooted in empathy, precision, and conversation. It's about being useful, being present, and creating genuine connections in a digital space.
The businesses that will win in 2021 aren't waiting for things to "go back to normal." They're defining what normal looks like now—by being more human, more helpful, and more strategic than ever before.
Ready to Adapt Your Strategy for the Rest of 2021?
Let's identify one gap. Tell us which channel feels the weakest right now, and we'll send you a quick, 5-point diagnostic checklist to strengthen it this quarter.
