Diagnosing SaaS top-of-funnel challenges

In the many commercial due diligences I have completed for SaaS acquisitions, I have seen that ~3x pipeline coverage is necessary to comfortably achieve growth targets. And while the methodology to qualify leads varies between companies, the necessary coverage ratio applies to a pipeline of qualified leads, meaning the quality feeding into the funnel is as important as the volume. Here are some strategies I look at when advising SaaS startups that are struggling to reach that ratio of quality leads:

Improve target customer definition - While not a lead generating activity in itself, a major hurdle to lead generation is having detailed definitions and a prioritized list of target customer profiles. Levels of specificity that are often missing include: sub-sector, stage of growth, department and level (of the buyer), and any competitor interest. Once these profiles are established and then validated by internal data and customer conversations, all lead-gen activities (inside sales, paid search, email marketing, etc.) improve their value.
Ensure the marketing funnel is not inverted - For high quality leads to reach the sales team, they need to engage with the brand in the right order. The highest volume of unique views should hit broad-based content, then hit targeted content, and finally arrive at product pages; it is often the case that this structure is inverted. A common mistake is with paid ads; they should largely be viewed as part of the middle to bottom-end of the marketing funnel, utilized to close "warm" leads that have already engaged through another channel. Fixing this could be as simple as refactoring CTAs across owned channels or reallocating the paid advertising budget towards the content fit for the audience.
Further invest in content - Content is an extremely high-ROI activity, particularly when it leads to "earned" coverage, or non-paid content published on third-party channels, that generate backlinks to owned channels. Example areas of content for enterprise SaaS solution that could result in earned coverage include a proprietary survey covering target buyer (i.e., customer success) pain-points, explanation of why key activities provided by solution are a "need-to-have" over a "nice-to-have," or other data-driven reports. Press releases of new funding, features, or, most notably, joint partnerships between companies are also a way to generate earned coverage.
Address bottom of funnel conversion - Regardless of whether the marketing funnel is operating correctly, bottom-of-funnel conversion is always a key factor in converting views into demos. Chatbots have become ubiquitous because they generally convert ~3x better than requesting emails, primarily due to their ability to pique a potential customer's interest with engaging content or the option to quickly schedule time with a sales rep. Another strategy I would look at is providing potential customers an offer right before conversion. These offers could be as simple as additional product information, detailed pricing sheets, or even limited time pricing offers (such as first 3 months free, 3 accounts free forever, etc.).
Piggyback on partners - While early-stage SaaS startups may not yet be able to drive revenue for upstream partners (e.g., Salesforce, Segment, Zendesk, etc.), an interesting strategy may be to go after VARs, SIs, or other non-technology partners of these market leaders. It may be preliminary to set up an entire partner program, but hand-picking partners that sell to target verticals and already boast a "best-of-breed" position (i.e., pick and choose the best offerings rather than cross-selling for one company) could be a strong entry point. Additionally, ensuring a comprehensive presence on platform marketplaces (e.g., AppExchange) is a good way to catch a few interested eyeballs.
Improve targeted SEO - Often newly launched SaaS startups have very few mentions in the top 20 search results for "[target vertical] software." While this broad search area may be tough to break into, targeted keywords like "customer success orchestration" or "best customer success software for Salesforce," for example, would help drive inbound interest from the right set of customers.