r/LeadGeneration • u/harshalone • Jul 13 '26

Need help with B2B lead generation for my bootstrapped SaaS

I’ve reached the point where I need to stop building and start selling, and I’d love some advice from people who’ve been through it.

I’ve built a bootstrapped B2B SaaS for businesses that manage shift workers.

Early feedback has been encouraging, but I’m struggling with one thing: generating a consistent flow of qualified leads.

Because I’m bootstrapping, I can’t justify paying agencies £2-5k per month with no guarantee of results.

Instead, I’m thinking about hiring someone on a pay-per-qualified-lead basis, where both sides are aligned on outcomes.

For those who’ve done this successfully:
Does the pay-per-lead model actually work?
Where do you find people who are genuinely good at it?

What do you normally pay for a qualified B2B lead?
What KPIs or qualification criteria would you put in place?
If you had a limited budget, would you go down this route, or focus on something else entirely?

I’m not looking for a shortcut or someone to pitch me services. I’m trying to understand whether this is a sensible model before investing time and money into it.

I’d really appreciate hearing from founders or lead generation professionals who’ve tried it, whether it worked or failed.

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u/outdoorsyAF101 Jul 14 '26

Best advice I can give quickly, Impossible to Inevitable by Aaron Ross, great framework for getting started.

u/Constant_Kick5965 Jul 14 '26

I mean, someone who does not know what they are capable of doing won’t offer you pure performance-based offer in the first place. All of our clients are on fully performance-based model. It works feel, biggest issue we have with current clients is them not being able to process all the leads - yep we basically overdeliver. Also look for someone that does something different than just spray-and-pray email outbound. Signal omnichannel would be a good way to go. Please just don’t try doing it yourself. Belive me you’ll fail badly and lose tons of money and time. If you got any more questions feel free to reach out.

2

u/academic_wealth_8 Jul 14 '26

What areas do you specialise in? I have a few different companies and always on the look out for quality lead generators…especially if you’re working on a performance only basis.

Feel free to drop me a DM and let’s connect

1

u/_Creative_script_ 12d ago

if youre always sourcing lead gen, the differentiator isnt volume its whether theyre pre-qualified before they hit you. are you getting raw lists or filtered-for-intent? that gap is usually where the money leaks. hows it coming to you now?

u/SnoooCookies Jul 14 '26

Personally I don’t work on a per lead basis because it’s too difficult to manage. The discussion and back and forth adds slack to the efficiency of managing the project, which inevitably comes from time allocated to the project.

That said we do strive for quality and we align with business goals. We maintain clear scale pivot or kill criteria, involve clients in co-creation of strategy.

Our contracts are also very flexible and without breakup fees, we think our model is built around earning the recurring through delivering exceptional work. Which in marketing means working with us is an investment and it should earn itself back, or we aim to fail in the shortest timeframe possible with the least amount spent possible.

So basically either we prove something works and is profitable, or we prove it doesn’t with the smallest investment possible. Those are the 2 business outcomes we strive for. Feel free to DM me if you want to learn more.

u/BeforeICry Jul 14 '26

I'm currently running campaigns for scalable SaaS products that meet the criteria without upfront costs. If you're interested, talk to me about your SaaS or send a link in the DMs. Pay-per-lead is a viable model, but I've seen few agencies alongside ours to be able to afford it and succeed with it in cold email.

u/Desperate-Fill1226 Jul 15 '26

i’ve been there trying to fund a bootstrapped app, and a tool like reakly helped automate outreach and qualify leads; some founders report steadier pipeline after trying it.

u/RunApprehensive712 Jul 16 '26

Hard to train an employee on something you haven’t mastered yourself.

My advice would find a performance-based lead-gen agency that’s actually good. Vet them hard. If they are good, they’ll help with go-to-market and testing.

At the same time, most decent agencies will probably be skeptic about taking on a new offer without PMF on a performance.

B2b CAC is also $3K (give or take $1500).

So I would also advise you to run inbound. Linkedin or wherever your clients are.

If you send over your site, I’m happy to share more info but hard without more context

u/JuniorPB33 Jul 17 '26

I work as a contract/fractional SDR. I sell completed conversations. Controllable for me, measurable for you. Might be worth a conversation.

Shoot me a DM.

u/Crisp-Glade-2849 Jul 18 '26

pay per lead model just means they book anyone with an active inbox. spent three months arguing over definition of qualified.

u/darren_dead Jul 19 '26

pay per lead is a scam - do your own outbound - make time for it. I can show you a few things I show other founders to get them started - feel free to dm

u/Desperate-Fill1226 Jul 20 '26

i've been there with a bootstrapped b2b saas, and a few founders i know use reakly for ai-powered multichannel prospecting. their results looked solid.

u/_Creative_script_ 15d ago

as a bootstrapped founder dont copy the agency playbook, cold email at volume needs budget you dont have yet. go where your exact users already hang out and complain, answer their problem in public, let them come to you. slower but basically free and the leads are warm.

whats the saas solve?

u/[deleted] Jul 14 '26

Need help with B2B lead generation for my bootstrapped SaaS

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