Lead Generation Strategy Planning

Review your lead gen results and plan what to change.

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What went well?

Which lead generation tactics were most successful?

Our webinar campaign drove a ton of high-quality leads interested in our solution.
Partnering with industry influencers really helped expand our reach to a new audience segment.
The new ebook landing page had a much higher conversion rate than past offers.
What didn't go well?

Which lead gen initiatives underperformed or had challenges?

Our email nurture sequences had really low engagement after the first few touches.
The paid search campaign spent a lot but drove very few conversions.
We struggled to get stakeholder alignment on the target buyer personas.
What did we learn?

What patterns did we notice this period?

We need to get better at mapping content to each stage of the buyer's journey.
Our ideal customer profile and lead scoring criteria may need to be updated.
There are opportunities to improve sales and marketing alignment on lead definitions.
What should we do next?

What are our priorities for optimizing lead gen efforts?

Revamp the nurture email cadence and content based on buyer mapping.
Update lead scoring and routing processes with revised ICP and qualification criteria.
Implement a lead management solution to better track and analyze lead sources.

What is the Lead Generation Strategy Planning Activity?

Lead Generation Strategy Planning is a session for looking back at your recent lead generation work and deciding what to do differently next. It uses the four questions most teams know from retrospectives and points them at your campaigns, your channels and the hand-off to sales. Start with the data: leads by channel, conversion rates and what sales said about lead quality. In the first two columns, people add the tactics that worked and the ones that underperformed, like a webinar that filled the pipeline or a paid search campaign that spent a lot and converted little. What did we learn? is where you look for the patterns behind those results, such as content that doesn't match the buyer's stage or a lead scoring model that needs updating. What should we do next? turns those patterns into a short plan with owners and due dates. Run it at the end of a quarter or campaign, or whenever the market or your product changes enough that last quarter's tactics might not hold.

Lead Generation Strategy Planning format

What went well?

Which lead generation tactics were most successful?

Celebrate the wins, then ask why each one worked so you can repeat it.

What didn't go well?

Which lead gen initiatives underperformed or had challenges?

Discuss results objectively and without blame. The aim is to learn why something underperformed.

What did we learn?

What patterns did we notice this period?

Look for the themes, patterns and root causes behind what worked and what didn't.

What should we do next?

What are our priorities for optimizing lead gen efforts?

Turn the priorities into a concrete action plan with owners and due dates.

When to use this retrospective

  • At the end of each quarter or campaign, to review performance and adjust your strategy.
  • When you launch a new lead generation initiative, to set a baseline and spot opportunities.
  • After a major change in your market, product or business that affects how you find leads.
  • When stakeholders need to agree on changes to how leads are managed and handed over.

Suggested icebreaker questions

  • If you could generate leads from any celebrity endorsement, who would you choose?
  • What's the craziest lead generation idea you've ever heard of or tried?

Want a warm-up your team plays, not just answers out loud? Browse free icebreakers →

Ideas and tips for your retrospective meeting

  • Bring lead generation metrics and performance data so the discussion starts from facts.
  • Invite everyone involved in lead gen, from content and paid media to sales development.
  • Capture ideas on the board as you go, so nothing raised in discussion gets lost.
  • Give every action an owner, a due date and a measure of success.
  • Book a follow-up session to check progress on your updated plan.

Frequently asked questions

What is a lead generation strategy planning session?
It's a meeting where marketing and sales review recent lead generation campaigns: what worked, what didn't and what you learned. The team then agrees on what to change before the next campaign.
When should you run a lead generation retrospective?
Run it after a campaign, webinar or content push ends, or on a regular rhythm such as quarterly. Holding it before you plan the next push means the lessons shape the plan.
What questions does this template ask?
Four: What went well? What didn't go well? What did we learn? What should we do next? The first two look at results, and the last two turn them into a plan.
Who should take part?
Everyone who works on lead generation, plus someone from sales who sees the leads after hand-off. Sales feedback on lead quality is often the most useful input in the room.
How long does it take?
Allow 60 to 90 minutes, depending on how many campaigns you're reviewing. Sharing the data beforehand saves time in the session.

Related templates

Lead Generation and Quality Retrospective

Find out which lead sources actually turn into customers.

Marketing Campaign Retrospective

Learn what worked in your last campaign.

Marketing Campaign Futurespective

Get your team aligned before the campaign launches.

Content Strategy Retrospective

See what your content achieved and what to change

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