10 Best Sales Prospecting Tools to Get More Leads

What is a Sales Prospecting Tool?

A sales prospecting tool, which is often referred to as a lead generation tool, is a software or a platform that helps the sales prospecting process to identify, engage, and convert potential customers. Its purpose is to assist teams, and sales professionals to efficiently conduct the process with valuable contact data and automated tasks. How that works is that these tools use analytics, artificial intelligence, and algorithms to analyze customer details such as demographics. These insights provide professionals with plenty of data to target the right customer at the correct moment. 

For instance, when you sell something, you need to know your buyer's taste and preferences. You can go more in-depth and look for their behavior, location, or whether or not they are the decision-makers in any purchase. The latter is especially important for B2B salespeople. You have a product or service, but you need to identify your prospects. That's what the sales prospecting tool does, it is designed to provide you with an efficient way to find, authenticate, and connect with your customer on a meaningful level. These tools offer features and functionalities to support the efforts of sales teams, including:

• Lead generation: One of the main purposes of sales prospecting tools is being able to generate leads from various sources such as websites, public directories, professional platforms, and proprietary databases. B2B email list providers such as Book Your Data allow you to filter, segment, and categorize your leads based on specific criteria important for your business. 
• Ease of use: It's one of the top features when you work with large teams to have intuitive tools that will be easy to learn. This is why demos and free trials are extremely important when choosing the right tools and solutions. 
• Customization: We have heard so many times how personalization can change the outcome. However, when searching for your audience it's important to be able to set filters and get results that are specifically connected with the targeted segment. 
• Data enrichment: The tool that is able to enhance data with relevant information makes your targeting much easier. These data sets include the size of the database, email addresses, phone numbers, social media profiles, or company-related details. 
• Data accuracy: There is no 100% guarantee of the exactness of the data, and claiming one is non-realistic. However, whichever tool provides more than 90% data accuracy is a sufficient signal to understand that the data is reliable and verified.
• Real-time verification: To build on the previous feature, verification provides a certain level of trustworthiness when it comes to using the obtained data through a prospecting tool. 
• CRM integrations: Any prospecting tool should be able to integrate with the CRM of your choice such as Salesforce and HubSpot. That implies that your data will easily sync and track and measure your outreach efforts.
• Analytics and reporting: Some tools provide insights into key metrics relevant to your campaign performance, customer behavior, and sales activities. Information such as this can help you better understand and rearrange your sales strategy to perform better. 
• Cost-effectiveness: Seek a tool that will fit your budget or at least have a pricing model where you can pay only for the contacts you choose. 

The 10 Best Sales Prospecting Software Solutions

Based on the criteria we mentioned in the previous section, we have chosen the top 10 best sales prospecting software solutions that are easily understandable, have a proven success record, quality and accurate data, integration capabilities and offer unique features. That being said, let's look at the different aspects of these solutions and what makes each of them so popular on the market. 

BookYourData

• The lead generation process made it easy.
• Real-time verification
• Ease of use
• 97% data accuracy
• Data compliance
• B2B platform
• Tiered pricing model
• Integration with marketing tools
• No subscription

Case Study-Transforming Outreach with BookYourData

Client: Business Marketing Engine (USA) Industry

Challenge: High bounce rates and difficulty in finding quality contacts and software for cold email outreach. 

Solution: BookYourData offers accurate and customized targeted data. Additionally, the provider offered exceptional customer support and targeting criteria to help clients acquire constant feeds of new contacts and leads.

Results: Significant boost in lead generation and sales period within a short time. The accurate quality data and the targeted list provided by BookYourData transformed their previously ineffective outreach campaigns into one of the most profitable lead generation approaches.

Crunchbase

• Easy-to-use data
• Advanced search filters
• Real-time updates
• Integration with CRM
• Lead builder
• Data Accuracy

Testimonial from Capterra 

"Very useful for prospecting. Easy to use and search for information. Every feature is well organized." - Amos M. Founder Staffing and Recruiting

ZoomInfo

• Extensive database of business contacts
• Advanced search filters 
• Integration with popular CRMs
• Detailed business profiles
• Lead builder
• Buyer intent data
• Accuracy of contact information

ZoomInfo offers integration capabilities with popular sales tools such as Salesforce, HubSpot, Dynamics 365, and Marketo. Integrations such as these help organizations synchronize their contacts and automate daily workflows, all the while improving lead-generation ideas. Being able to connect ZoomInfo with marketing and sales automation platforms, your business can gain up-to-date and accurate, valuable data insights. 

LinkedIn Sales Navigator

LinkedIn Sales Navigator is especially beneficial for sales professionals as it offers advanced search, real-time insights, and recommendations which can improve sales process and lead generation efforts. The software is constantly evolving and now offers AI-powered assistance. The platform also integrates well with customer relationship management tools while some of its proprietary features offer direct communication and collaboration. 

Let's name a few types of data and metrics you can acquire through Navigator. For example, past company data, current company, hiring data, number of seats purchased, invited, days active, searches performed, profile views, leads saved, accounts saved, lists created, mail sent, mail accepted, decision-makers, and more.

Apollo.io

Apollo.io is perhaps one of the popular sales intelligence and lead generation platforms. What draws users is the ease of use and extensive database, which allows targeted prospecting. Apart from having plenty of contacts to choose from, the platform also offers automated email sequences, CRM integrations, and great analytics to track and optimize the sales pipeline. 

Case Study - Successful Lead Generation Campaign Using Apollo.io

Client: SuccessCoaching.co

Industry: Customer Success Training

Challenge: SuccessCoaching.co is a company that primarily uses inbound leads. However, they needed a better solution to automate their outreach process and identify their high-value targets.

Solution: 

• The company implemented a custom Apollo.io tailored to their needs.
• Created an automated cold email outreach.
• Integrated Apollo.io with HubSpot for lead tracking.

Results:

• Generated a $750,000 sales 
• Created 62 open deals

Hunter.io

• Email finder
• Domain Search
• Email verifier
• Personalized campaigns
• Integration with other tools
• Bulk tasks
• Browser add-ons and extensions

Hunter.io Recognitions

Hunter is all in one company research tool for those looking for solutions that can support cold email outreach. It is known for ease of use, transparency, and reliability of data. In general, Hunter has great reviews online on different platforms like Lemlist. The majority of positive feedback comes from email verifiers and their seamless integration capabilities with a large number of tools.

Pipedrive

Pipedrive is a perfect solution for handling customer relationships, and sales teams who need a tool for tracking and managing sales interaction. It organizes these activities and visualizes pipelines, allowing the salespeople to see the status of each interaction at a single glance. Interactions are tracked through customizable stages, from finding leads to closing deals with buyers; on top of that, it allows sales teams to monitor and make data-driven decisions based on reporting and analytics. 

Pipedrive Integrations

• Zapier
• Mailchimp
• Slack
• Trello
• Zoom
• QuickBooks
• Leadfeeder
• JustCall
• Outfunnel

Lusha

Lusha has a Chrome extension, which is designed to extract global B2B contact information, including email addresses and phone numbers. Its API integration makes it easy to access and enrich data with up-to-date information. Additionally, Lusha collects data from various sources and it's especially beneficial for creating email marketing databases. 

Statistics on Improvements in Lead Quality or Sales Cycles

Lead Quality - Significant increase in the quality of leads with a focus on the ones who are most likely to convert.

Conversion Rates - Nurturing leads with relevant content provides a notable boost.

Shorter Sales Cycles - Engaged leads are more likely to make buying decisions

Higher ROI -  Users experience an 800% return on investment using Lusha's data enrichment capabilities.

Zoho CRM

Zoho CRM is rich in features designed to enhance your sales prospecting. It includes tools for managing leads and deals across the sales pipeline. This includes lead scoring, assignment rules, and sales forecasts. The platform also integrates email marketing options with a sales funnel which gives teams seamless communication without hiccups. Zoho CRM has AI-powered lead enrichment and customizable workflows, which provide additional conformity for different business needs.

Customer Service and Support

• Classic Support - available with a paid subscription, offers emails, calls, chats, and remote assistance.
• Premium Support - also part of the paid subscription gives personalized onboarding sessions and guidance.
• Enterprise support - another part of paid subscription plans, provides a designated technical account manager with 24/7 support and reports. 

UpLead

UpLead is well known for its 95% data accuracy and real-time verification feature. This feature uses a multi-step validation process and analyzes millions of sources to categorize and validate information. Their real-time verification provides your business with instant access to reliable, accurate, and up-to-date data, which reduces bounce rates. 

Type of Data Provided by UpLead

• Email addresses
• Company profiles
• Mobile and direct phone numbers
• Intent data
• Technographics
• Firmographics
• Job titles
• Marketing data
• CRM integration data
• Data Enrichment

Best B2B Prospecting Tools

It's easy to understand that using B2B prospecting tools for targeting business clients is common sense. In comparison to using any of the tools that will provide you with agency leads, business-oriented tools can give you more features relevant to your needs, and accurate data with highly targeted prospects. 

When discussing top B2B prospecting tools we have chosen the following companies for specific criteria. These include data compliance, accuracy, automation, data enrichment, and integration with other tools.

BookYourData

• Database with access to more than 250 million B2B contacts across 200 countries
• High data accuracy of 97% with up-to-date information
• Real-time verification to minimize bounce-off rates
• Advanced search filters are easily customizable according to your needs.
• Ease of use with unlimited export capabilities
• Integration with major CRMs and sales tools
• No subscription is required, and you pay only for verified leads.

BookYourData Beats Competitor Prospecting Tools

A specific case where you can understand why BookYourData excels in the industry is with Creative Edge Australia, an advertising and marketing company. Before using BookYourData company struggled with the limited features and capabilities of ZoomInfo and Lusha, which did not align with their needs. After using the BookYourData platform, they experienced a high boost in sales and email marketing conversion rates and secured high-end clients. This case demonstrates the platform's ability to outperform competitors and deliver great results to businesses looking for B2B prospecting tools.

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SalesLoft

SalesLoft is a platform designed to automate sales engagement, which helps professionals enhance productivity and improve the entire process. It lets sales teams integrate the platform with popular CRMs. Additionally, it includes automated features such as real-time email verification, automated follow-ups, and scheduling, which improve the sales process by eliminating manual and repetitive tasks. 

SalesLoft Key Features to Enhance Your B2B Engagement

• Automated responses and follow-ups
• Real-time reports
• Scheduling appointments and phone calls
• Onboarding and coaching
• Advanced search filters
• Integration with other tools

Cognism Limited

Cognism Limited was created with business applications in mind. They provide data intelligence and compliance features for that purpose. Cognism is dedicated to securing data accuracy and compliance through the verification process and GDPR and CCPA regulations. It's also evident through  ISO 27001 and SOC2 Type II certifications, and incident management protocols.

Mini Case Study - Huggg Building Quality 2B database

Company: Huggg

Industry: IT services and IT consulting

Challenge: Shifting focus from B2C to B2B and searching for websites to buy leads and build a suitable database.

Solution: Huggg used Cognism tools to grow their database and create targeted campaign lists.

Result: Hugg built a database that generated 22% of new sign-ups and converted 18% of customers within a week.  

Clearbit (acquired by Hubspot)

Clearbit has real-time data enrichment features that can enhance the quality of prospects' data. If integrated with the CRM of choice, Clearbit can enrich your data with more than 100 B2B attributes. That includes data such as technographics, firmographics, and contact details. These attributes help businesses like yours organize their workflows and improve leads, creating more personalized marketing campaigns.

Use Cases of Clearbit in B2B Settings

• Lead enrichment
• Account-based marketing
• Data cleansing
• Sales prospecting
• Customer segmentation
• Email personalization
• Market research 

HubSpot

HubSpot can easily be seen as an all-in-one platform for inbound marketing, sales, and CRM. As it provides a suite of tools designed to attract, engage, and retain customers. It integrates well with marketing automation, email marketing, social media management, content management, and SEO tools to give you a complete marketing experience. The platform allows sales to manage contacts, track all deals, and automate the entire sales process effortlessly. 

Integration capabilities with other tools include:

• Salesforce
• Microsoft Dynamics
• Slack
• Zapier
• Google Workspace
• Zoom
• Shopify
• WordPress

Best Prospecting Tools for Email Verification

The reason why you want a prospecting tool with an email verification feature is that it avoids email bounces, ensures email deliverability, and, therefore, provides higher chances of ROI. Hence, due to the importance of verification in prospecting tools, we have created a short list of tools that provide powerful verification algorithms and guarantee quality and accurate data.

UpLead

There are a few specific features that help UpLead in the email verification process, which provides high-quality and accurate data for B2B prospecting. 

• Real-time email verification, which instantly checks data and provides accuracy to minimize bounce rates
• 95% accuracy on all data is the result of the validation process 
• Bulk email verification, which helps check large quantities of data at once
• Controlled downloads allow users to ignore or download certain data

UpLead users have observed improvements in platform and lead quality. Their high level of data accuracy results in better engagement with prospective clients and successful marketing campaigns. Users have also pointed to reduced bounce rates, higher conversions, and an overall ROI increase.

MyEmailVerifier

MyEmailVerifier claims 99% accuracy justified by the advanced technology in email verification. As per their website, they use syntax verification, domain and MX record checking, and real-time API integration to validate each email address. Tools that use the multilayered approach, such as this, remove invalid, disposable email addresses that provide only genuine and deliverable email contacts.

MyEmailVerifier types of email verification include:

• Bulk email verification
• Real-time email verification
• Catch-all email checker
• Free domain email checker

DeBounce

DeBounce uses a combination of advanced email verification techniques and real-time processing to ensure 95% accuracy. Their approach identifies and removes double entries or offers data enrichment. Once verified you download a clean list ready to use. Their interface is flexible and allows you to customize export files and separate different sections.

Ease of use is also visible in:

• Intuitive dashboard
• Bulk verification
• Real-time API
• Detailed reports
• Customer support

Benefits of Sales Prospecting Tools

The benefits of sales prospecting tools are straightforward. Whichever industry you are in, they are enhancing productivity and sales effectiveness by removing manual mundane tasks. They save time by efficiently finding your prospects and offering you insights into their characteristics so you can adjust your campaigns and personalize messages.

Here are the specific benefits of using the right sales prospecting tools:

• Time-saving - sales prospecting tools can improve your efficiency by automating contact search and organizing lists.
• Accuracy - having access to accurate and quality data gives you improved deliverability and reach and increases your authority as a brand. 
• Scalability - as your business grows, the tool can handle an increase in the number of prospects and customer segments. 

How to Choose the Right Tools

There are numerous options on the market for prospecting tools. Although each of them offers similar options and features, the ultimate benefits for your business depend on choosing the right one. Because the right tool chosen according to your business needs and preferences can ease your work and that of your team, additional benefits include increased efficiency, saved time, deeper buyer insights, and improved sales productivity. 

Therefore, to find the right tool, you can use these three criteria for guidance. These factors should be your guidelines when considering between options.

Analyze Your Business Goals

Questions to consider related to sales prospecting tool choice:

1. What is the goal of sales prospecting for your business?
2. Who is your audience, and whether they have a specific industry?
3. What is your budget for this particular tool?
4. Is there a specific number of leads you need to generate per week or month?
5. What are your key performance indicators?
6. Do you need a specific level of integration with your current CRM and marketing tools?
7. Is data accuracy and compliance vital for your business?

Why is aligning tool capabilities with your business goals important? If data accuracy and compliance with all the major privacy regulations are important, then your search for the right tool should cover these inquiries. However, you might want a large number of leads, which means it would be wise to prioritize tools with an extensive database and advanced search filters. Aligning tools with business goals increases your chances of sales prospecting efforts.

Shortlist Needed Features

• Real-time email verification
• Advanced search filters
• CRM integration
• Lead targeting
• Data Enrichment
• User-friendly interface
• Reporting and analytics

Each of these features can help you make your workflow more efficient, improve the quality of your leads, and provide valuable insights. For example, real-time verification assists you in finding quality leads that are up-to-date and accurate. This reduces bounce rates and increases the deliverability of your email messages. 

Assess the Quality and Accuracy of Data Sources

We can safely state that data accuracy and, with it, its quality are highly important in any campaign. While sending millions of messages is all good and well, the quality of data directly impacts your prospecting efforts. It reduces wasted time and resources and also enhances your reputation as a brand with fewer invalid and outdated contacts. 

The criteria for assessing data quality include:

• Data sources
• Update frequency
• Verification process
• Compliance with regulations
• Data coverage

Compare Pricing Models

The final factor is the pricing model of the service provider. Each one differs, and some align with your business. What you should be attentive to is considering its cost-effectiveness and scalability. For example, subscription-based models include fixed monthly or annual fees for a specific set of features and data. On the other hand, pay-as-you-go models offer flexibility and allow you to pay only for the data you wish to use. If you have fluctuating requirements, then this pricing model is more suitable for your business.

Factors you need to consider when comparing these pricing models:

• Scalability
• Hidden fees
• Accessible features
• Data limitation
• Terms and services

What is the Difference Between a Lead and a Prospect?

These two terms are often used, presuming they have the same meaning, but there is a slight difference between them. A lead is an individual who has actually shown interest in your products or services but has not been qualified. It's the contact that you gather through the website or event registration. 

A prospect, on the other hand, is a lead that was qualified based on specific criteria. Let's say budget, authority, or timeline. These individuals are more likely to convert into paying customers because they already meet the criteria of your ideal customer.

Let's look at the main differences between these two:

• Interest level
• Qualification
• Stage in the sales funnel
• Engagement
• Conversion likelihood

Choose BookYourData for Prospecting

BookYourData is often the prime choice for small and medium businesses and enterprises. What started as a place to buy email lists is now a renowned platform for prospecting. The reason is the data-driven prospecting thanks to their accuracy, reliability, user-friendly interface and a proven track record of success. 

There are more than 250 million contacts in their database, with 97% accuracy on each entry. Moreover, BookYourData contacts are updated and enhanced thrice a month, which gives you the most recent contact information at hand. You can quickly segment professionals, industries, companies, or individuals to implement into your sales strategy. Let's review specific features and case studies that demonstrate their effectiveness:

• Extensive database
• 97% Data Accuracy
• Verification algorithms
• Real-time updates
• User-friendly interface
• Advanced search
• Credible sources
• Data compliance with GDPR and CCPA 
• Record-breaking sales of new condominiums for iRise Realty Corp. 

Key Takeaways

• Sales prospecting tools are vital for improving sales efficiency
• Features you should look for revolve around lead generation, ease of use, customization, data accuracy, verification, CRM integration, and cost-effectiveness.
• You should familiarise yourself with top sales prospecting tools like BookYourData, ZoomInfo, and others to leverage their unique strengths.
• Tools such as these can bring your business many benefits, such as increased productivity, accuracy in targeting, and scalability should your business needs grow.
• Hence align your tool choice to your business needs.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Can I Score a Prospect?

Scoring prospects means evaluating their value for your business based on specific criteria. For instance, there can be different categories of prospects. Let's say you are a software development company, and a specific group of prospects have shown interest in your product by engaging with content. This means these are high-value prospects that are likely to convert to paying customers.

How Can I Automate Sales Prospecting?

Automating sales prospecting can bring many benefits to your business's daily efforts, from identifying leads and qualifying them to speeding up your efforts and having insights to boost productivity and revenue. 

Are There Specific Sales Prospecting Tools for Small Businesses?

Yes, there are specific sales prospecting tools for small businesses. They are often determined by features and cost. Small businesses often require fewer features and flexible pricing plans, while enterprises seek larger packages with more information, and often, costs correspond to the number of features. 

How Do I Measure the Success of a Sales Prospecting Tool?

To measure the success of a sales prospecting tool, you have to have specified KPIs beforehand. Whether it's the number of leads generated or the time spent on prospecting activities, these metrics show your progress. For example, high lead conversion rates indicate that the tool successfully found potential customers while reducing your time. 

Can Sales Prospecting Tools Help with Compliance Issues?

Yes, they can. Certain sales prospecting tools are designed to ensure compliance with major data privacy laws such as GDPR and CCPA. That means they already have data encryption, consent management, and automated compliance checks.

How Does AI Enhance Sales Prospecting Tools?

AI enhances sales prospecting tools by automating and improving data. AI algorithms are used for searching for leads, making predictions of their possible conversion, and analyzing large amounts of data.

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