B2B Sales Tools for Commercial Services: Improve Your Business and Accelerate Growth

Introduction

Ask any sales rep, and they’ll tell you that the outbound lead generation process is the most time-consuming and frustrating part of their job.

For many commercial services sales teams, the process looks like this:

• Scour the internet: Search for news, outreach triggers, and properties on Google or drive around to find them.
• Hunt down decision-makers: Using LinkedIn to find key contacts and decision-makers.
• Use email checker tools: Plugging in company names to find contact details- hoping to get an email.
• MapQuest (OR) Google Earth: Sales reps use map views and aerial shots to gather more information and to plan an efficient prospecting route.
• Potentially “fruitless” drop-ins: seeing if the decision maker is available and willing to talk.

Once you have their contact information, now it’s time to write an email or make a cold call. But how do you know what to say? What if your messages aren’t relevant to their needs? Or worse, what if you spend too much time researching them and they don’t respond?

The traditional lead generation process is extremely inefficient. This labor-intensive process can take 2 hours or more per account (not including drive time).

But what if you could streamline this process to only 3-5 minutes per account and effectively capture leads? With the three tools we’re going to talk about today, you can do just that.

Not only will you save time so you can focus on other high-value activities that drive growth, but you’ll be able to deliver better results. In this article, we’ll explore three B2B sales tools that can help you accelerate your business and achieve your sales goals. Lead generation tools are essential for transforming strangers into customers, automating the lead generation process, and managing customer data efficiently.

Understanding Lead Generation, The Sales Funnel, and The Sales Process

Before we dive into the tools, let’s take a step back and understand the basics of an effective outbound lead generation and sales process.

Outbound lead generation is the process of identifying potential customers who look like your ideal customer profile (ICP) and sending them personalized messages based on their needs.

The problem is finding out what their needs are. This is where lead generation software can help you find what are known as buying signals. Buying signals are based on intent data which shows you what products and services people are searching for. This data will help you create messages that are relevant to their needs rather than sending generic outreach messages.

The next step in sales involves guiding these leads through the sales funnel, from initial contact to closing a deal (or at least that’s the goal!). This requires follow-ups, reminders, email nurture cadences, and automation to ensure that you don’t forget any leads or miss out on an opportunity.

Having an effective system like this in place is vital for sales and marketing teams looking to hit their quarterly goals and achieve predictable growth. Additionally, incorporating a lead gen tool can further enhance your ability to capture and manage leads effectively.

The 3 Essential B2B Sales and Lead Generation Tools

Three essential B2B sales tools that can help you accelerate your business:

1. Sales Intelligence Software: A sales intelligence tool can help you identify buying signals and gather key insights on companies and decision-makers. LinkedIn Sales Navigator is a prime example of such a tool, offering specialized features to enhance lead generation strategies, particularly for B2B sales teams. These tools use data mining, predictive analytics, and machine learning technologies to provide valuable information for your outbound lead generation efforts.

2. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Software: A CRM is a fundamental tool for sales teams, enabling them to manage leads, contacts, and sales activities. With a CRM, you can track interactions, analyze data, and make informed decisions to drive growth.

3. Marketing Automation Tools: These sales prospecting tools can help automate various aspects of the sales and marketing process, such as email campaigns, lead nurturing, and social media management. They can save you time and ensure that your messaging is consistent across all platforms.

Let’s take another look at that lead generation and sales process we talked about earlier and see how we can “plug in” the key tools to make it work! Let’s start with Convex, an all-in-one sales intelligence platform specifically built for commercial services businesses.

1. Log into Convex, check “Signals” for buyer intent data, and identify high-value prospects.

2. Search for properties, accounts, and contacts using Convex’s property intelligence.

3. Use Generative AI to send personalized emails or phone scripts based on buyer signals, property intelligence, and firmographic data on the account and your business.

4. Set reminders, manage leads, and track progress in Convex or integrate with your CRM for automated follow-ups and seamless pipeline management.

That’s why our tools only take 3- 5 minutes per account.

Once you’ve added leads to your pipeline, you can easily manage and track their progress using your CRM. Plus, tools like Salesforce and HubSpot let you set up email sequences and nurture campaigns to keep those leads engaged until they’re ready for a sales call.

Lead Generation Strategies

There are two main methods of lead generation: outbound marketing and inbound marketing.

• Outbound marketing includes tactics like cold calling, email outreach, targeted ads, and direct mail offers. These methods allow you to directly target and engage with potential customers who are more likely to be interested in your products or services by using a lead generation tool.
• Inbound marketing tactics, however, focus on creating high-quality content, optimizing for SEO, and leveraging social media to attract potential customers.

While outbound lead generation is often more effective for B2B businesses due to its direct and targeted approach, inbound marketing plays a crucial role in driving long-term growth.

Finding the Right Balance

A mix of outbound and inbound methods is best for a balanced flow of high-converting leads. However, many B2B companies still rely on outbound methods because they’re predictable and consistent. Using tools like Convex can make these methods even more effective, accelerating sales.

Streamlining the Sales Process with B2B Sales Tools

Creating a smooth customer acquisition process with the right tools helps your sales team manage prospects more effectively and turn them into qualified leads. Once they’ve converted, the primary goal is driving value and building relationships. This is where the right CRM and sales automation software can help automate repetitive tasks and free up time for sales reps to focus on high-value activities.

But don’t forget your greatest ally—data. Data is the unsung hero of sales. Intent data shows what people are trying to find; sales intelligence shows firmographic data (data about an account), and property intelligence data shows information about the commercial building where you’ll be providing services or installations.

Data and analytics can really help sales teams fine-tune their sales process and boost results. By examining the data more closely, you can spot trends, optimize your campaigns, and make smart decisions that drive growth.

Conclusion

The traditional lead generation process can feel like a tough uphill battle—it’s time-consuming and often super frustrating. But it doesn’t have to be!

With the right tools and strategies, you can turn this process into a smooth system that consistently brings in high-quality leads. Just think about it: with sales intelligence software, you can easily target those high-value prospects and personalize messaging. Then, using CRM software, you can manage these leads without missing a beat. And finally, marketing automation tools let you keep the engagement flowing across all channels.

Tools like Convex are like having a secret weapon: they help you uncover buyer intent, create personalized messages, and automate follow-ups—all in just a few minutes per account.

So why stick with traditional and outdated lead generation methods?

If you’re ready to streamline sales and accelerate results, Schedule your demo today!