How I boosted MQL>SQL conversion by 467%—with fewer leads
My hit song “Escobedo.”
Top 5 Tips
For large brands, shift a larger percentage of marketing spend from Facebook and Google onto the search and discovery ad tools of platforms like Shopify and Lazada.
When building B2B buyer personas, use information from real people. Copy and paste information from their LinkedIn profiles into a word cloud to identify relevant keywords.
When marketing in Southeast Asia, Adobe found that scaling content by focusing on the industry is effective because verticals have unique needs and commonalities across countries.
When negotiating, "poke" or "prod" the other person to elicit some emotion and shift your gaze to the bottom of their face to see what happens.
Have accounts ready every month and understand the principles of profit and loss statements. Cash in a business comes from money made, borrowed money, extending creditor agreements, or raising capital via shares or grants. The best of these options is cash from trading profit.
How I boosted MQL-to-SQL conversion by 467%—with fewer leads
3 Questions With...Kyson (Kaisheng) Xu
1. What’s a strategy that worked surprisingly well?
Most marketers chase leads. The best ones chase intent.
We shifted from broad lead generation to intent-based targeting. Instead of treating all MQLs the same, we:
✅ Refined our ICP with GTM leaders using industry, company size, and revenue criteria.
✅ Leveraged data from 6sense to prioritize high-intent prospects.
✅ Focused on a Top 100 account list per Tier 1 market.
✅ Optimized engagement touchpoints based on historical data.
The result? MQL-to-SQL conversion jumped from 3% to 17%, and our pipeline grew 35% YoY—with fewer leads.
Lesson: It’s not just about doing the right things. It’s about doing them right, with the right people, at the right time.
2. What project didn’t work? And what did you learn?
We joined a partner-led webinar expecting strong engagement. It flopped.
Why?
🚩 The audience came from a purchased list—no alignment with our ICP.
🚩 The format was too presentation-heavy—zero interactivity.
🚩 No real traction, no opportunities.
Lesson: Always vet audience sources. Prioritize quality over quantity. Push for engagement-driven formats.
Marketers must ask hard questions, challenge assumptions, and ensure alignment—without compromising partnerships. We fixed our approach, focusing on audience quality and interaction-first collaborations.
3. What’s something you learned from a peer or influencer?
Dave Gerhardt once said: "B2B marketing doesn’t have to be boring." That stuck with me.
B2B often plays it safe, but the best marketing creates connections, not just messages.
Across industries, one thing stays true:
📌 Marketing isn’t about what we sell. It’s about who we serve.
📌 The deeper we understand them, the better we market to them—and for them.
Boring doesn’t convert. Relevance, insight, and authenticity do.
Thanks for stopping by!
Joe Escobedo, CEO of Escomedia
P.S. When you’re ready, here’s how I can help