Hi there,
Thanks for reaching out!
I had a look through your situation. It's a classic startup problem, so don't feel like you're alone in this. Trying to get those first few clients is always the hardest part. I'm happy to give you some initial thoughts and guidance on how you might want to approach getting inbound leads, especially as you're willing to invest in ads. The short answer is that you're probably focusing on the wrong things right now, but that's easily fixed.
TLDR;
- Stop cold emailing immediately. You're likely burning your reputation with an audience that isn't ready to buy. The low success rate is a symptom of a bigger problem.
- Your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) isn't a demographic; it's a specific, urgent, and expensive nightmare. You need to define your customer by their pain before you spend a single pound on ads.
- The best way to get inbound leads for a B2B service, especially early on, is to capture existing demand with Google Search ads. Go after people who are *already* looking for a solution.
- Your offer ("free audit") is a good start, but it needs to be framed as an instant value-add, not a veiled sales call. We'll talk about how to build a low-friction offer that people actually want.
- This letter includes an interactive calculator to help you figure out how much you can actually afford to pay for a customer, which is the most important number in your buisness.
We'll need to look at your Ideal Customer Profile... by which I mean their nightmare
Alright, let's get brutally honest. The reason your cold emails aren't working isn't because of your subject line or your CTA. It's because you're targeting "local small to medium businesses". Tbh, that tells me absolutley nothing. It's a demographic, a sterile, useless piece of data. It leads to generic messages that get deleted on sight.
To stop wasting time and money, you have to forget demographics and define your customer by their pain. You need to become an obsessive expert in their specific, urgent, expensive, career-threatening nightmare. Your customer isn't a 'business owner'; she's a founder who lies awake at 3 am terrified that her cash flow projections are a complete fantasy and she's one bad month away from not making payroll.
Your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) is not a person; it's a problem state. A moment of intense professional pain.
Let's walk through this. Who, specifically, feels the pain that your service solves? Is it the Head of Sales who just missed his quarterly target because his team is wasting hours on manual data entry? Is it the Operations Manager at a logistics company whose outdated software is causing shipping delays and costing them clients? Is it the Marketing Director whose website conversion rate is so low she's afraid of getting fired?
You need to pick one. Just one of these nightmares. Then you need to live inside it. What does that person's day look like? What are they secretly Googling when their boss isn't looking? What industry podcasts are they listening to on their commute? What newsletters do they actually open because they're desperate for a solution? Are they in specific Facebook groups or following certain influencers on LinkedIn?
This isn't just market research; it's the entire foundation of your marketing. Once you know the specific nightmare, you know the exact language to use in your ads. You know which keywords they're typing into Google. You know which interests to target on Meta or which job titles to target on LinkedIn. Without this, you're just guessing. And guessing is expensive.
I've put together a little flowchart to show what this process looks like. It's about getting more and more specific until you have a target that's so precise, your ads feel like they're reading your customer's mind.
Do this work first. Seriously. Before you build a landing page, before you write an ad, before you spend a penny. You have no business running ads until you can articulate your customer's nightmare better than they can.
I'd say you need a message they can't ignore
Once you have that nightmare defined, crafting a message that cuts through the noise becomes infinitely easier. You stop selling your service, and you start selling a solution to their specific pain. Most B2B marketing is boring because it's full of features and jargon. Your ad needs to be a direct, empathetic response to their problem.
The best framework for this, especially for a service business, is Problem-Agitate-Solve (PAS).
- Problem: State the nightmare you just identified, using the exact language they would use. You need to enter the conversation already happening in their head.
- Agitate: Don't just state the problem, poke it. Remind them of the consequences, the frustration, the cost of inaction. Make them feel the pain more acutely.
- Solve: Introduce your service not as a list of features, but as the clear, obvious path out of the nightmare.
Let's use our example of the overwhelmed founder:
Bad Ad (What most people write): "We offer CRM implementation and business automation services for SMEs. Our expert team can streamline your workflows. Contact us for a free consultation."
Who cares? This is generic, feature-focused, and inspires zero action.
Good Ad (Using PAS):
"(Problem) Are promising leads slipping through the cracks because your follow-up is a mess of spreadsheets and sticky notes? (Agitate) Every lost lead is revenue you're handing directly to your competitors, all while you're stuck working late on admin instead of closing deals. (Solve) We help founders implement a simple system that automates follow-up and turns missed opportunities into predictable revenue. Get a free 'Leaky Bucket' audit of your sales process."
See the difference? The second one speaks directly to the founder's pain. It agitates the problem by mentioning competitors and lost revenue, then presents the solution as a clear outcome, not a technical service. The offer—a 'Leaky Bucket' audit—is also much more compelling than a generic 'consultation'.
This isn't about being clever; it's about being empathetic. You prove you understand their problem deeply, which is the only way to earn their trust enough for them to click. Every ad you write, every piece of copy on your website, should follow this structure. It's the antidote to boring B2B markering.
You probably should focus on high-intent channels first
Okay, so you have your nightmare-defined ICP and your PAS message. Now, where do you put it? You mentioned you're willing to invest in ads, which is good. But choosing the right platform is critical, especially with a limited budget.
Your cold email adventure taught you a valuable lesson: it's really hard to sell something to someone who isn't looking to buy. This is called 'interruption marketing'. You're interrupting their day hoping they have the exact problem you solve at that exact moment. It's a low-probability game.
For a new B2B business, the smartest, safest, and most effective way to get inbound leads is to start with high-intent channels. Specifically, Google Search Ads.
Why? Because you're not interrupting anyone. You're placing your solution directly in the path of people who are *already looking for it*. They are actively typing their pain into the search bar. The demand already exists; you just need to capture it.
Someone searching for "how to automate lead follow up" or "electrician near me" or "best accounting software for small business" has a problem and they want it solved *now*. That's an inbound lead. That's what you want.
Social media ads on platforms like LinkedIn or Meta are different. They are powerful, but they are primarily interruption-based platforms. You're targeting people based on their job title or interests, not their immediate need. This can work exceptionally well, especially for creating demand for a new type of product, but it's a more advanced (and often more expensive) strategy. I've seen it work wonders for B2B software; one campaign we ran on LinkedIn got leads for just $22 each, which was fantastic for that client. But they were targeting specific decision-makers who we knew would be receptive.
For you, starting out, I'd put 90% of your initial ad budget into Google Search. It's lower risk and gives you the fastest feedback on whether your messaging and offer are working.
Your job is to do some keyword research and find what your pained-up ICP is searching for. Think about the specific phrases they would use. Don't just target "business consulting". That's too broad. Target "how to improve sales follow up process" or "local IT support for law firms". The more specific, the better.
Here's a sample of what that might look like for a fictional agency that helps service businesses with automation:
| Keyword Phrase | User Intent | Why It's Good |
|---|---|---|
| "how to automate client onboarding" | High (Problem-Aware) | This person knows their exact problem and is actively seeking a solution. They're ready to be helped. |
| "zapier consultant for small business" | Very High (Solution-Aware) | They're not just aware of the problem, they're aware of a potential tool to solve it and are looking for an expert. This is a buying keyword. |
| "service business crm" | High (Researching) | This user is looking for a specific type of software. If your service involves setting this up, you can intercept them here. |
| "leads falling through the cracks" | Medium (Pain-Aware) | They are expressing their pain in their own words. Your ad can mirror this language back to them perfectly. This is a great top-of-funnel keyword. |
Start with a small, tightly-themed list of keywords like this, point them to a dedicated landing page (more on that next), and see what happens. This is how you build a predictable inbound lead machine.
You'll need to understand your numbers... or you'll go broke
This is the part where most startups get it wrong. They ask, "What's a good cost per lead?". It's the wrong question. The real question is, "How much can I afford to *spend* to acquire a great customer?". The answer is locked inside a metric called Lifetime Value (LTV).
If you don't know this number, you are flying blind. You have no way of knowing if your ad spend is a brilliant investment or a catastrophic waste of money. Calculating it is simpler than you think.
You need three bits of info:
- Average Revenue Per Account (ARPA): How much does a typical customer pay you each month?
- Gross Margin %: What's your profit margin on that revenue? (Revenue - Cost of Goods Sold) / Revenue. For a service buisness, this is often high, maybe 70-90%.
- Monthly Churn Rate: What percentage of your customers leave each month? If 1 in 20 customers leave, your churn is 5% (1/20).
The calculation is: LTV = (ARPA * Gross Margin %) / Monthly Churn Rate
Let's say you charge £1,000/month (ARPA), have an 80% gross margin, and a 4% monthly churn.
LTV = (£1,000 * 0.80) / 0.04 = £800 / 0.04 = £20,000.
In this example, each customer is worth £20,000 in gross profit to your business over their lifetime. This number changes everything.
A healthy business model often aims for a 3:1 LTV to Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) ratio. This means for a £20,000 LTV, you can afford to spend up to £6,667 to acquire a single new customer. If your sales process converts 1 in 10 qualified leads into a paying customer, you can afford to pay up to £667 for a single qualified lead.
Suddenly, a £100 cost per lead from Google Ads doesn't look so scary, does it? It looks like a bargain.
I've built a simple calculator for you below. Play with the sliders. Figure out your own numbers. This is the maths that unlocks aggressive, intelligent growth. Don't skip this step.
Knowing this also helps set realistic expectations for ad costs. Depending on the industry and competition, costs can vary wildly. I remember one B2B software client for whom we generated registrations on Meta Ads for just $2.38 each. In the LinkedIn campaign I mentioned earlier, the cost per lead was $22. Both were profitable because we understood their numbers. Without the LTV context, one seems cheap and one seems expensive, but that's a meaningless comparison.
And finally, you'll need to delete the "Request a Demo" button... or whatever your version of it is
This brings us to the final piece of the puzzle: your offer. Your current CTA is a "free audit". That's a decent starting point, but the way you've framed it in your cold emails ("want to chat for 5 minutes where I can explain exactly what is wrong") sounds like a thinly veiled sales pitch. It creates friction.
The single biggest failure point I see in B2B advertising is the offer. Most companies default to "Request a Demo" or "Book a Consultation". Tbh, these are some of the most arrogant CTAs ever invented. They presume your prospect, a busy decision-maker, has nothing better to do than schedule a meeting to be sold to. It's high-friction and screams "I am a vendor".
Your offer's only job is to deliver a moment of undeniable value—an "aha!" moment that makes the prospect sell themselves on your full solution. You need to give them something valuable for free to earn the right to ask for their money.
You're not a SaaS company, so a free trial isn't an option. So you must bottle your expertise into a tool, a resource, or an asset that provides instant value. Your "free audit" idea is on the right track, but it needs to be productised.
Instead of a vague "chat", rebrand it. Give it a name. Create a dedicated landing page for it. Make it feel like a real product.
- Instead of a "Free Audit", offer a "Free 28-Point Website Conversion Health Check". Deliver a PDF report that highlights specific issues and opportunities.
- Instead of a "Consultation", offer a "15-Minute Growth Strategy Session" where you promise to give them three actionable ideas they can implement immediately, whether they hire you or not.
- Create a simple calculator or spreadsheet template that solves a small, specific problem for them. For example, a "Client Acquisition Cost Calculator" or a "Project Profitability Forecaster".
The key is to shift the focus from "talking to us" to "getting this valuable thing". It lowers the barrier to entry and positions you as a generous expert, not a desperate salesperson. The goal of your ads is not to get a customer; it's to get someone to take you up on your high-value free offer. The offer then does the heavy lifting of demonstrating your expertise, and the sales conversation becomes a natural next step.
This is how you build a funnel that doesn't feel like a funnel. You just help people. And some of those people will pay you to help them more.
So, what should you do now?
That was a lot of information, I know. It can feel overwhelming, but it's a much clearer path than sending out cold emails and hoping for the best. To make it easier, here is the exact plan I would follow if I were in your shoes.
I've detailed my main recommendations for you below:
| Step | Action Item | Why It's Important |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Define Your ICP's Nightmare | Spend a full day—no distractions—writing down the single biggest, most urgent professional pain your ideal customer faces. Get hyper-specific. | This is the foundation for all your messaging, targeting, and offers. Without it, you're just guessing. |
| 2. Craft Your PAS Message | Write a short paragraph using the Problem-Agitate-Solve framework based on the nightmare you defined. This will be your core ad copy. | This ensures your ads are empathetic and focused on the customer's outcome, not your company's features. |
| 3. Build Your Offer Landing Page | Create a simple, single-page website dedicated to your new, productised free offer (e.g., the 'Health Check' or 'Strategy Session'). Use your PAS message on this page. | A dedicated page removes distractions and has one job: get people to sign up for your free offer, dramatically increasing conversion rates. |
| 4. Launch a Google Search Campaign | Start with a small budget (£15-£20/day). Target 5-10 highly specific, high-intent keywords that reflect your ICP's pain. Point all ads to your new landing page. | This is the fastest way to get in front of people who are already looking for a solution, providing quick feedback and your first inbound leads. |
| 5. Track Everything & Calculate LTV | Make sure you have conversion tracking set up correctly. As soon as you have a few customers, calculate your LTV using the calculator above. Monitor your Cost Per Lead. | You can't optimise what you don't measure. Knowing your numbers is the differance between scaling profitably and going out of business. |
Following this process will take you from guessing with cold outreach to building a predictable system for generating inbound leads. It takes work, and it requires a mindset shift from 'selling' to 'solving', but it's the most reliable path to sustainable growth I've seen.
Getting all these pieces right—the deep customer insight, the compelling copy, the technical ad setup, and the constant optimisation—is a full-time job. It’s what we do all day, every day. While you can definitly implement this yourself, working with an expert can significantly shorten the learning curve and prevent costly mistakes.
If you’d like to have a chat about how we could apply this framework specifically to your business, we offer a completely free, no-obligation 20-minute strategy session where we can review your plans and give you some more tailored advice. It might be a good next step once you've had a chance to digest all this.
Hope that helps!
Regards,
Team @ Lukas Holschuh
