Finding the Best Prospecting Software: Top Tools to Find Leads and Boost Sales

Introduction

Finding leads that actually turn into customers can feel like an uphill battle, especially when you’re competing against countless others who are all vying for the same business. It’s frustrating to pour time and energy into chasing prospects only to have them slip through your fingers, leaving your pipeline empty.

The old-school methods – knocking on doors, cold-calling, and even cold emailing – just aren’t cutting it anymore.

The reason for this is that the sales landscape has shifted.

“Spam” tools are getting smarter. Smartphones automatically decline any phone number that is not in the owner’s contacts. Social media platforms like LinkedIn no longer require company emails (which limits outreach). and so on.

To reiterate, the landscape has changed- and if you’re not working smarter, you’re probably falling behind.

This is where sales prospecting tools can help you regain your competitive edge.

They’re designed to take the uncertainty out of your sales process and help you zero in on the right prospects, the ones who are more likely to say yes, and keep your sales funnel and pipeline flowing with potential deals.

In this article, we’ll cover:

• The role of sales prospecting in lead generation
• Top prospecting tools and strategies
• Tips on how to find the best prospecting tool for your company

Before we get into generating sales leads and the part that prospecting plays in that process, let’s cover lead-gen from a 30,000-foot perspective.

What is Lead Generation?

Lead generation is the process of attracting and engaging a target audience to the point where they willingly provide their contact information in exchange for something of value. This step plays a pivotal role in any lead generation campaign or strategy, aiming to generate leads by driving targeted traffic to your website, capturing visitor details, and nurturing those who align with your buyer personas.

There are several classifications of “lead-gen,” including:

• Inbound Lead Generation: Attracting potential customers through valuable content.
• Outbound Lead Generation: Initiating contact with potential customers through direct outreach.
• B2B/ Account-Based Lead Generation: Identifying and attracting businesses to purchase products and services.
• Online Lead Generation: Leveraging online tactics and tools to reach and engage with prospective customers.
• Offline Lead Generation: Relying on traditional marketing and networking tactics to reach and engage with a customer base.
• Hybrid Lead Generation: Combining online and offline lead generation to attract and capture potential customers.

In this article, we’re going to focus on outbound lead generation tool, as this is the type that many commercial services sales people will use everyday to generate a consistent flow of leads.

The Role of Prospecting in Lead Generation

Prospecting and lead generation are often used interchangeably, but they serve distinct purposes in the sales cycle. Understanding the differences between these terms can help you refine your sales strategy and improve your overall lead-generation process.

Prospecting is a key part of the lead generation process. It’s all about finding and reaching out to potential customers who fit with what the product or service your business offers. This includes researching, sourcing, and connecting with prospects to see if they’re interested in your products or services.

Lead Generation, on the other hand, encompasses all of the strategies, tactics, and tools used to attract potential customers. It includes prospecting, lead generation tools as well as other activities like content marketing, social media marketing, and event marketing.

The Outbound Lead Generation Process

Outbound sales prospecting and other lead-generation efforts typically involve the following steps:

Research and Identify Potential Leads

• Identify Your Target Audience: Define your target audience by understanding their demographics, pain points, and needs that align with your products or services.
• Lead Sourcing and Finding Prospects: Use various channels like sales intelligence, online databases, social media platforms, industry events, networking, referrals, and cold calling lists to find potential leads. Tools like Convex’s Signals can simplify this process by providing lead scores to identify ready-to-buy prospects.

Engage with Prospects

• Outreach Strategy: Make a strong first impression and establish a relationship with prospects. Utilize Generative AI prospecting tools like Engage to send the right messages at the right time to the right person.
• Personalization: Tailor your communication to the prospect’s specific needs and pain points. Personalization increases the likelihood of a positive response to your outreach.

These steps constitute the traditional prospecting process. Once a prospect responds or indicates interest in your products or services, they become a lead, and the lead generation process begins. These three steps make up what’s traditionally known as “prospecting.” Once the prospect has responded (or indicated interest in your products and services), they will become a qualified lead, and we will move into the lead generation process.

The Top 7 Prospecting Software for Sales

Often referred to as sales intelligence tools, the top prospecting software for sales provides accurate and up-to-date contact details, company insights, and market data. These tools are vital for finding and connecting with decision-makers, gathering data on potential buyers, and enhancing your overall prospecting efforts. 

1. Convex: Specifically designed for commercial services sales teams, Convex offers the only property intelligence software in the market. Its flagship products, Atlas and Engage, make it easier to generate leads by providing detailed property data, enabling targeted outreach to businesses that are likely ready to buy.
2. Cognism: Cognism is a leading sales intelligence platform known for accurate contact data, providing phone-verified mobile numbers, direct dials, and business emails. This tool’s data accuracy is a significant advantage for sales teams looking to connect with hard-to-reach prospects.
3. LinkedIn Sales Navigator: LinkedIn Sales Navigator is essential for sales professionals seeking to engage with prospects on the world’s largest professional network. With its advanced search filters and detailed insights, it’s easier to identify and connect with decision-makers.
4. Apollo.io: Specifically designed for B2B sales and marketing teams, Apollo.io offers a comprehensive sales intelligence platform. Its extensive database of over 220 million buyer profiles, advanced filtering options, and sales engagement automation tools enable users to find and nurture their ideal prospects, book more meetings, and drive revenue growth.
5. Crunchbase: Crunchbase serves as a comprehensive database for insights on private and public companies, making it a valuable resource for researching prospects, understanding market trends, and identifying potential buyers.
6. Clearbit: Clearbit Prospector is a web-enabled marketing automation platform that helps nurture customer relationships throughout their lifecycle by enriching your contact data and ensuring targeted and effective outreach.
7. Datanyze: Datanyze is an ideal tool for both B2B sales prospecting and prospecting, providing accurate company and contact data to help sales reps identify and reach out to the right prospects at the right time.

Choosing the Right Sales Prospecting Software for Your Team

According to G2, there are over 285 sales prospecting and sales intelligence solutions available in the market, so selecting the right ones for your business can be overwhelming. These questions will help you navigate the decision-making process for best sales prospecting tools by systematically evaluating key factors to consider before making a choice. There are five categories:

1. Evaluate Tool Features

Choosing a tool with the right features is essential for maximizing your sales prospecting efforts. Focus on features that align with your business goals and enhance your sales process. Consider the following:

• Does the tool offer powerful sales intelligence solutions like lead qualification and scoring capabilities?
• Can the tool support multi-channel outreach (email, phone, etc)?
• Are there automation features available, such as email sequences, follow-ups, and lead nurturing (or does it integrate with a platform that can)?
• Does the tool provide comprehensive reporting and analytics?
• Can the tool segment leads based on specific criteria (industry, type or property, location, etc.)?

Some popular sales prospecting tools that offer these features include Convex, HubSpot Sales Lead Software, LinkedIn Sales Navigator, and Dealfront (a great solution we haven’t discussed in this article).

2. Consider Pricing

Pricing is a critical factor when choosing from the best sales prospecting tools. Understanding the full cost of ownership, including any potential hidden costs, is essential to ensure the tool fits within your budget. Consider the following:

• What is the pricing structure (one-time purchase, subscription-based, or pay-per-user/ per-seat)?
• Are there additional costs for extra features, users, or integrations?
• Does the pricing plan offer a good balance of features and affordability?
• Is there a clear understanding of the total cost of ownership over time?
• What kind of return on investment could this tool generate if used optimally?
• Does the tool offer a free trial or demo period to evaluate its value before committing?

3. Assess Ease of Use

Your sales team will quickly adopt a tool that is easy to use and will integrate smoothly into your existing workflows. Simplicity and intuitiveness are key features for ensuring the tool enhances, rather than hinders, your sales efforts. Consider the following:

• Is the tool’s interface intuitive and user-friendly?
• How steep is the learning curve for your team?
• Does the tool require extensive training, or can your team start using it quickly?
• Are resources available (tutorials, team training, customer support) to help with onboarding?
• Has the tool received positive feedback regarding its usability from other users in the commercial services industry?

4. Ensure Scalability

Your business will grow, and your sales prospecting needs will evolve. It’s crucial to choose a tool that can scale with your business, accommodating more users, more leads,, and functionalities as your operations expand. Consider the following:

• Can the tool easily handle an increase in the number of users and leads or expanding territories?
• Does the tool offer advanced features you may need as your business grows?
• Does the tool support integrations with additional platforms that may be needed in the future? CRMs, sales and marketing automation tools, and the like.
• Can the tool adapt to the evolving needs of your business without requiring a complete overhaul?

5. Check CRM Integration

A seamless integration with your existing CRM is vital to maintaining a streamlined workflow, keeping a unified view of your customer interactions, and ensuring that your sales team can work efficiently across multiple channels and platforms. Consider the following:

• Does the tool integrate seamlessly with your current CRM system?
• Is the integration process straightforward, or does it require extensive setup?
• Can the tool sync data in real-time with your CRM to ensure accuracy? This is often called data enrichment and it’s necessary to keep your contact and account data up-to-date.
• Are there any known compatibility issues with your CRM that could hinder the tool’s effectiveness?

With these questions, you’ll be able to select a platform that offers you the most bang for your buck. Make sure to ask the Account Executive at each company about these factors before you choose a sales prospecting tool to help you reach your sales goals!

Conclusion

Sales prospecting tools are fantastic for leveling up your sales game! They help you streamline your process, find high-quality leads, and boost pipeline growth. If you follow the tips in this article and use the right tools, you’ll be able to track your lead capture and optimize your sales performance while generating sales and accelerating revenue.

Don’t let all the tools out there stress you out! Take a look at your team’s unique needs, schedule a few demos, and be sure to ask lots of questions!

Ready to take your team’s prospecting game to the next level?Convex can cut down your prospecting time from 1.5- 2 hours to just 3-5 minutes! How cool is that? If you’d like to see how schedule a demo today!