Investing in outsourced lead generation is only worthwhile if you can measure and prove ROI. With 61% of marketers citing lead generation as their biggest challenge (HubSpot), the ability to track the right metrics is what separates wasted spend from scalable revenue growth.
Whether your partner runs email outreach, LinkedIn automation, cold calling, or website visitor identification, these are the ROI metrics that matter most.
Cost per Lead vs Cost per Qualified Lead
CPL (cost per lead) is a starting point, but it can be misleading. A cheap lead that never converts is worthless. CPQL (cost per qualified lead) shows the true acquisition cost for prospects who meet your criteria.
Example: 100 leads at £50 = £5,000 CPL. If only 20 are qualified, CPQL is £250.
Salesforce found companies prioritising lead quality over volume achieve 56% higher revenue growth.
Lead-to-Customer Conversion Rates
Tracking conversion reveals how well outsourced leads turn into revenue. B2B benchmarks show 2–5% average conversion, but rates vary by source.
Segment conversions by channel—LinkedIn, email, cold calls, visitor ID—so you know which to scale. MarketingSherpa reports companies tracking by source are 73% more likely to hit revenue goals.
Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) Impact
Leads should be judged by long-term value, not just acquisition cost. A £200 lead that becomes a £10k customer is a win.
Harvard Business Review notes that increasing retention by 5% boosts profits by 25–95%. Tracking CLV by source highlights which channels deliver the highest-value customers.
Sales Cycle Acceleration
Good leads shorten the sales cycle. InsideSales.com found responding within an hour makes teams 7x more likely to qualify a lead.
Measure time from lead to qualified opportunity and from opportunity to close. If outsourced leads cut cycle length from 90 to 70 days, ROI shows up in faster cash flow and lower sales costs.
Revenue Attribution Accuracy
Revenue attribution is the ultimate ROI metric. Multi-touch attribution is key: a buyer may first engage via LinkedIn, then email, and close after a cold call.
Bizible found companies using multi-touch models see 15–35% higher ROI. Ensure your partner provides detailed tracking across all touchpoints.
Channel Performance Comparison
Not all channels deliver equally. For example:
- Email outreach = higher volume
- LinkedIn automation = higher quality
- Cold calling = faster results
- Visitor ID = hidden intent discovery
Track responses, qualification, and revenue by channel to optimise your mix. Demand Gen Report highlights 67% of B2B buyers rely more on content than last year—giving LinkedIn outreach an increasing edge.
Pipeline Velocity Metrics
Pipeline velocity shows how fast and profitably leads move through sales:
Formula: (Qualified opportunities × Avg deal size × Win rate) ÷ Sales cycle length
A strong outsourced partner should improve velocity by feeding you better-qualified leads that progress faster.
Making Data-Driven Decisions
Before outsourcing, benchmark your current CPL, CPQL, conversion, and cycle times. Then measure improvements consistently.
Automated reporting prevents data gaps. Immediate metrics like response rates show quick wins, but true ROI often takes months to materialise through conversions, retention, and deal value.
By tracking these ROI drivers, outsourced lead generation shifts from a cost centre into a measurable growth engine.
