Value Accelerator Wiki
Milestone 0: Lead Generation
Introduction
Milestone 0: Lead Generation is part of the Pre-Engagement Phase of the Value Accelerator Framework. It marks the execution of the marketing campaigns designed in Milestone -1: Value Narratives.
This is a mandatory Milestone of the Value Accelerator Framework. It ensures that the Marketing content developed during Milestone -1 is effectively deployed to generate interest, engage the buying group, and trigger new customer conversations.
Milestone 0 is not tied to a single sales opportunity. Instead, it is executed every time a Vendor activates a new marketing campaign, targeting a specific Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) through outbound, inbound, or hybrid channels.
Purpose
The purpose of Milestone 0: Lead Generation is to execute structured, insight-led campaigns that proactively influence customer thinking before a sales conversation begins. These campaigns are designed to create demand by engaging potential customers who match the Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) and show early interest in the Commercial Insight developed in Milestone -2: Value-selling Foundation.
This milestone is built on a critical insight from The Challenger Customer: B2B buyers complete more than 50% of their decision journey independently, before ever engaging with a sales rep. This shift demands that vendors rethink how they generate demand—moving away from traditional, product-driven tactics and toward content and campaigns that shape customer thinking early and independently.
Lead Generation is not about mass outreach or lead volume. It’s about targeted engagement, designed to challenge assumptions, spark internal debate, and prepare the buying group for a high-quality discovery interaction.
The key objectives of Milestone 0 are to:
Generate Qualified Leads
Surface leads who fit the ICP and have shown meaningful engagement with insight-driven content.
Activate Demand Using Commercial Insight
Deploy Spark, Introduce, and Confront messaging to reframe how customers see their challenges and reveal the cost of inaction.
Accelerate Progress into the Buying Journey
Move potential customers from passive awareness to active exploration—before they formally raise their hand.
Engage Multiple Stakeholders Early
Reach a broader set of decision-makers and influencers, laying the groundwork for faster alignment in the upcoming discovery phase.
Collect Market Signals and Improve Continuously
Use engagement data to test message resonance, understand customer objections, and refine outreach strategy in real time.
By achieving these outcomes, Lead Generation ensures that vendors enter customer conversations early, with clarity, and on the right terms—maximizing their ability to shape demand and win high-quality opportunities.
Methodology
Outreach Guiding Principles
Educate Early, Influence Independently
The goal of Lead Generation is not just to generate contacts—it’s to equip the customer’s buying group with disruptive insight that reframes their understanding of the problem and creates urgency for change.
This means vendors must guide customers through their independent discovery of the Commercial Insight—before a discovery call happens.
The best campaigns do this by:
Publishing Spark, Introduce, and Confront content consistently
Running targeted outbound campaigns (emails, LinkedIn, cold calls)
Supporting real-time engagement through social selling and event-based interactions
Linkedin Content Mix: The 3–2–1 Rule of SIC
To support customer learning and trigger engagement, vendors should apply a 3–2–1 cadence to SIC-based content during active campaigns:
3 Spark posts per week
Use short-form, thought-provoking content to challenge assumptions and ignite curiosity.
2 Introduce posts per week
Share deeper insight: customer stories, benchmark data, or short videos that expand understanding.
1 Confront post per week
Highlight the cost of inaction using ROI calculators, diagnostic tools, or outcome-focused mini-cases.
This cadence provides progressive exposure to the Commercial Insight while keeping the vendor’s message consistent and discoverable across multiple formats and channels.
Best Timing to Reach Out
Based on sales effectiveness research and behavioral engagement data:
Best times to cold call:
Tuesday to Thursday, between 08:00–09:00 or 16:00–17:00 local time
Avoid calling during lunch hours or Monday mornings/Friday afternoons
Best times to send messages (email or LinkedIn):
07:30–08:30 (inbox-checking window)
12:00–13:00 (lunch scroll)
16:00–17:30 (end-of-day reflection)
Use these windows to maximize open rates and reply rates across cold outreach campaigns.
Social Selling: Amplifying SIC Content
Social selling is the ongoing practice of engaging prospects and influencing their thinking via social platforms, especially LinkedIn.
To maximize social selling impact:
Engage consistently on LinkedIn:
Comment on posts from your ICP or industry thought leaders
Share relevant SIC content weekly (see 3–2–1 rule)
Tag or message prospects when your post addresses a challenge they’ve expressed
Use Commercial Insight posts to spark curiosity in comments or DMs
Example: “This came up in a recent conversation—curious how you see this challenge in your role.”
Focus on problem reframing and stakeholder alignment, not solution pitching
LinkedIn Sales Navigator: Precision Targeting
Sales Navigator is a critical tool to support outbound campaigns and account-based social selling. Use it to:
Build smart lead lists filtered by:
ICP criteria (industry, size, geography)
Job titles (aligned to personas defined in Milestone -2)
Recent activity (new role, content engagement, company updates)
Use “Spotlights” to identify:
Decision-makers who’ve posted in the last 30 days
Accounts with job changes or new funding
Leads that follow your company page or visited your website
Save lead lists to track engagement and prioritize outreach
Combine this with email automation tools or CRM triggers for multi-channel execution.
Use SIC Framework for Lead Nurturing
Lead nurturing should guide leads across SIC phases:
From Spark to Introduce: share deeper content
From Introduce to Confront: present ROI tools and enable peer collaboration
Example:
One lead has engaged with Spark, another with both Spark + Introduce
Nurture them by:
Sending Introduce content to the first lead
Encouraging both leads to complete a self-assessment (Confront content) together
Vendor-facilitated sessions using diagnostic tools are a great Confront tactic.
Traditional nurturing focuses on more information. SIC-based nurturing focuses on mental model transformation.
Cold Calling Best Practices
One Stakeholder’s Rejection Does Not Represent the Entire Account
A negative response from one individual within a customer organization does not imply that the entire account is closed. In B2B environments, multiple stakeholders may hold different priorities or decision-making authority. Reps should continue prospecting the account through alternative personas, ideally aligning their outreach with higher-level decision-makers.
Improve One Call Element per Week
Rather than attempting to overhaul all aspects of a cold call at once, sales reps should focus on one improvement area each week (e.g. opener, objection handling, tone). During calling sessions, reps should note objections or friction points, and use these to guide weekly skill development.
This incremental approach leads to sustained performance improvements across the sales team.
Rude Responses Are Not a Performance Indicator
Even with a strong pitch and clear messaging, some prospects will respond negatively. Rudeness or abrupt objections are part of the cold calling environment and do not necessarily indicate a flawed sales approach. Sales reps should maintain professionalism and avoid letting negative experiences impact subsequent interactions.
Use Metrics to Identify the Right Problem
Before changing scripts or increasing call volumes, sales reps should review basic cold calling metrics:
Volume: Number of calls made
Connect rate: Percentage of calls that result in a conversation
Set rate: Percentage of connects that convert to meetings
This diagnostic approach allows the sales rep and manager to isolate the issue (e.g. connect rate vs. script quality) and implement the right corrective action.
Offer a Justification Before Asking Curiosity-Based Questions
If a prospect raises an objection (e.g. “We already have a provider”), the instinct may be to ask a follow-up question. However, doing so without context can make the rep appear pushy. Instead, reps should insert a justification before asking further questions:
“Just so I can ensure no one from my team follows up again…”
“Just so I know to mark this opportunity as closed…”
This framing increases the likelihood of a productive dialogue.
Lead With the Problem, Not the Solution
Reps should avoid technical jargon or abstract value propositions. Instead, they should describe a clear, relatable customer problem in plain language. Once the problem is established, the solution can be introduced in simple terms. This approach improves understanding and engagement, particularly with senior stakeholders.
Open With Context, Not Permission
Standard permission-based openers (“Is this a bad time?”) often result in immediate rejection. A more effective approach is to begin with relevant context:
“I recently read your interview in [publication]...”
“I noticed your company is expanding in [area]...”
This demonstrates preparation and makes the cold call feel more intentional and customer-centric.
Focus on Delivery, Not Just Script Content
How something is said often matters more than the specific words. Confidence, tone, and natural delivery significantly impact how the message is received. Sales reps should aim for a conversational tone and practice until their delivery feels as natural as speaking with a colleague.
Ask the Prospect to Accept the Calendar Invite During the Call
At the end of the call, the rep should not assume the meeting is confirmed. They should proactively ask the customer to accept the calendar invite while still on the call. This reduces the likelihood of no-shows and ensures the invite is delivered and visible in the recipient’s inbox.
Create a High-Standards Calling Culture
A high-performing outbound motion is built on two pillars: consistent activity and structured execution. Sales leaders should clearly define expectations (e.g. minimum number of weekly calls) and coach reps on how to:
Select the right accounts
Identify the right stakeholders
Craft relevant messaging
This structured approach helps raise overall team standards and improves cold calling results across the board.
Lead Scoring Guidelines
Vendors adopting the Value Accelerator Framework should move away from the traditional BANT scoring model (Budget, Authority, Need, Timeline).
BANT typically engages customers late in their journey—when pricing becomes the main concern. Instead, vendors should use the SIC Lead Scoring Mechanism.
Key Lead Behaviors to Track:
Engagement with SIC Content
Stakeholder Connection (e.g., peer sharing or engagement within same account)
Lead Scoring Guidelines:
Spark Content: Low score
Introduce Content: Medium score
Confront Content: High score
Peer Sharing Bonus: Extra score
Expected Changes to Lead Generation Metrics
Lead Volume: May drop short-term, but rises long-term due to content depth
Lead Quality: Will increase based on SIC engagement
Sales-Generated Leads: Will rise as sales shares structured content
Win Rate & Deal Profitability: Expected to grow via early influence
Cycle Time: May balance out as early engagement increases buyer momentum
Detect Early Signals of Success
Indicators that the strategy is working:
Terminology Adoption by the market
External References to the vendor’s own commercial insight
Presentation Invitations to share own commercial insight own commercial insight
Engagement by New Personas early in the cycle
Positive Sales Sentiment about lead quality
Outside Tender Engagements: engaging before RFPs are issued
These signals confirm that the vendor’s Commercial Insight is resonating and creating change.
Execution
To execute this Milestone, vendors should perform the following activities:
Campaign Launch and Activation
Lead Engagement and Qualification
Sales Handoff and Opportunity Trigger
The execution of the Milestone is driven by the Marketing department.
In the sections below you can find detailed instruction on how to execute the Milestone.
1. Campaign Launch and Activation
This step focuses on activating the outreach campaign using the marketing assets created in Milestone -1. Each campaign must target a specific ICP segment and be aligned to a validated Commercial Insight.
Key activities:
Define campaign timeline and target ICP accounts
Launch multi-touch outreach sequences (email, LinkedIn, cold calls)
Publish SIC-aligned content across relevant channels
Assign roles and responsibilities across Marketing and Sales
Every outreach sequence should follow the SIC structure—starting with Spark messages to provoke curiosity, followed by Introduce and Confront content to deepen engagement and drive urgency.
2. Lead Engagement and Qualification
As leads interact with SIC content, their behaviors must be tracked and analyzed to assess readiness for a discovery interaction. This includes both marketing engagement and Sales-triggered outreach.
Key activities:
Monitor engagement signals (email opens, content views, link clicks, peer shares)
Score leads based on SIC activity using the SIC Lead Scoring Model:
Spark = low intent
Introduce = moderate intent
Confront = high intent
Peer Sharing = bonus points
Identify stakeholder clusters within the same account
Prioritize leads for outreach or lead nurturing
Sales teams should be alerted when high-scoring leads are detected or when multiple stakeholders in one account engage with the same Commercial Insight.
3. Sales Handoff and Opportunity Trigger
When a lead reaches the Confront stage or shows high SIC engagement, the vendor should initiate a sales handoff by proposing a Discovery Call (see Milestone 1: Value Discovery).
Key activities:
Use cold call or email to schedule a short call focused on the customer’s current situation
Share relevant Confront content or self-diagnostic tools to prepare the customer
Document all lead interactions and insights in the CRM
This step marks the transition from marketing-led lead generation to sales-led discovery. If the lead declines a Discovery Call but remains active, they should be routed back into a nurturing workflow using additional SIC content.
Quality Gates
Campaign is live and targeted to a validated ICP
SIC content is published and distributed
Lead engagement is tracked using SIC Lead Scoring
At least one high-scoring lead is handed over to Sales
Sales Enablement Artifacts
List of sales and marketing automation tools (e.g. CRM, AI Note taker, etc.)
List of KPIs for performance review of lead generation (e.g. connect rate, MQL-to-SQL, etc.)
Note: all templates and tools referenced above are available in the Value Accelerator Academy. The academy provides Sales Reps with ready-to-use resources developed by the Value Accelerator team to support the effective delivery of each milestone.
Need help? Visit the Value Accelerator Academy!
The Value Accelerator Academy is your go-to resource for turning value-selling into a habit and driving predictable revenue.
It offers both free and premium on-demand training, with over 10 hours of content covering every Milestone of the Value Accelerator Framework. Each module includes:
Actionable lessons
Real-world examples
Guided steps to build mastery across all phases of the Framework
In addition to training, the Academy provides a full set of tools and templates to help you tailor the Framework to your specific sales motion—whether you’re leading transactional deals or enterprise engagements.
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