How B2B Prospecting Software can Accelerate Pipeline and Streamline Sales

Sales person in car

Introduction

A typical day for commercial services sales reps can be exhausting. Back-to-back meetings, drop-ins and site visits, sales quotes, contracts, and A LOT of driving… all with the goal of exceeding quota.

These tasks are time-consuming, and they don’t even include the core function of your role… identifying and closing new deals.

When you add prospecting and lead generation tasks to a sales rep’s already packed schedule, it can feel overwhelming- if you don’t have the right tools.

Traditional prospecting can be a grind. It requires sifting through tons of notifications on LinkedIn, filtering through databases of names, reviewing customer and property data, and looking for that nugget of gold that tells you this contact or account could be perfect for your products and services.

But prospecting is necessary for success because, without it, your pipeline will eventually dry up.

This is where B2B prospecting software tools can give you a competitive edge…

B2B prospecting software removes the guesswork in prospecting and speeds up the process of closing deals. It’s essential for b2b lead generation; helping businesses identify and convert cold contacts into sales leads. The right ones will accelerate your b2b sales prospecting pipeline exponentially, increasing your chances of closing deals.

To help you accelerate sales, this article will discuss:

  • What sales prospecting is, and how it works
  • How to leverage tools to speed up sales prospecting
  • Top sales prospecting tools in the market
  • How to find the best prospecting software for your business.

What is Sales Prospecting?

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Before discussing the benefits of sales prospecting, it’s important to know what exactly is prospecting in the first place. By definition, prospecting is the process of identifying, reaching, and engaging potential clients. There are two main types:

  • Marketing prospecting: This approach involves casting a wide net to capture the attention of potential clients. It is commonly done through strategies like social media content and SEO.
  • Sales prospecting: It involves zeroing in on a prospect who fits the ideal customer profile (ICP) and engaging them in the next phase of the funnel.

This article will focus on “outbound sales prospecting” or just “prospecting for sales.” It covers any type of cold outreach activity performed in the pursuit of a deal.

Commercial services sales reps often use sales prospecting as a core customer acquisition method because it’s predictable. This may sound counterintuitive, but if you consider that cold calls, cold emails, and other outbound approaches have fairly consistent metrics, then you’ll see why they’re effective.

For example, when it comes to well-executed email outreach campaigns, you can expect open rates between 10% and 30%. Out of those who open your email, about 15- 20% will probably say no right away, while around 75% won’t reply. That leaves you with just 5% to 10% who could fit your business perfectly.

Here’s how the outbound sales prospecting process typically works:

  1. Create Your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP): Creating an Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) is important because a sales pitch that highlights your company’s offerings is only effective if it’s delivered to the right person. 
  2. Research and Gather Information: Sales reps must have the right data when engaging with prospects. This will allow them to establish rapport and build relationships. Essential data for commercial services clients can often be found in property intelligence databases and lead generation tools. 
  3. Build a List of Potential Leads: After researching, list possible customers to guarantee that they are the best fit for what you have to offer. Use lead generation tools to get accurate contact details and relevant data.
  4. Initial Outreach: Send personalized messages that speak directly to your prospect’s problems and needs. Focus on showing how your product or service can provide real value—whether through the phone, email, or social media.
  5. Qualify Leads: During your initial interactions, assess each lead’s potential and determine whether they have the need, budget, and authority to make a purchase.
  6. Nurture Relationships: Provide qualified leads with valuable insights and address their concerns. The key to moving people through your sales funnel is to build trust through regular, helpful communication.
  7. Conduct Discovery Calls: Set up discovery calls with the prospect to learn more about their needs. Use this time to position your product or service as the best solution for their problems.
  8. Address Objections: Find out what the prospect is worried about so you can be ready for objections. Address their concerns and demonstrate your product’s value with thoughtful, data-backed responses.
  9. Close the Deal: Customize an offer that meets the needs and business goals of your prospects. Highlight the benefits and ROI of your solutions to get their attention.
  10. Follow-Up and Onboard: After the deal is closed, make sure the onboarding process goes smoothly through regular follow-up. Support your customers and check in with them frequently to maintain the relationship. This will turn satisfied customers into loyal ones.

It might sound like a lot of steps, but with tools like Convex, you can almost do the first five on autopilot! We’ll come back to this point in a moment.

Benefits of Using Sales Prospecting Tools

Sales prospecting tools can significantly improve the efficiency and impact of your sales efforts. The benefits of the right sales prospecting software and tools include streamlining the sales process, enhancing productivity, and leading to shorter sales cycles and increased deal closures. These tools make the process easier by automating boring tasks and providing useful information. This lets salespeople focus on what really matters: making connections and closing deals.

Here’s how these tools can make a difference:

  • Boost Efficiency and Productivity
    Today’s prospecting tools take care of tasks like prospecting identification, lead scoring, email writing and outreach, lead list creation, and contract tracking in just a few clicks. This gives the sales reps more time and opportunity to connect directly with leads. Salespeople can work faster and focus on what matters most.
  • Improve Prospect and Data Quality
    Modern prospecting software uses advanced analytics to sort and rank leads through buying signals and intent data, helping sales teams focus on the best prospects. This targeted approach saves time and effort, increasing the chances of making a sale.
  • Efficiency from Sales to Customer Service
    Sales prospecting tools integrate seamlessly with CRM and other marketing automation platforms, which includes sales engagement and tools for sales, making it easy to move from prospecting to customer onboarding and even customer service. These integrations allow strong customer relationships to be built from the beginning of the sales cycle through the customer lifetime – and streamline the process from converting sales leads into customers to giving support teams contact data to resolve issues.

Types of Sales Prospecting Software

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There are various types of sales prospecting software in the market. Each is focused on a particular aspect of the sales process. Knowing their differences lets you pick the best prospecting tools for your team.

  • Sales Intelligence and Property Intelligence Platforms
    Sales intelligence is a type of software that provides businesses with data on their current and potential customers. It lets sales teams create targeted lead lists, get contact information for prospects, identify key decision-makers, and track the key selling factors.

    Property intelligence platforms are another sales prospecting tool that helps commercial services companies find valuable insights into properties. They offer property-related data such as owner names, addresses, permit information, building characteristics, tenant data, and more. This is especially useful when targeting specific properties, markets, or territories.
  • Email Outreach & Email Automation Tools
    Sales reps can really benefit from email automation tools to shoot off personalized emails to prospects in bulk- but be careful, some email automation tools can put you in the dog-house with Google, Microsoft, and other email providers.

    The right tool lets you personalize and tweak each message based on things like company size or job title. Plus, email outreach platforms make it super easy to automate and personalize your campaigns. They’ve got cool features like Generative AI for outreach and performance tracking to help amp up your outreach efforts while tailoring your messages to your prospect’s needs.
  • Lead Finder Tools
    These tools have advanced search filters that help you identify and grow your target account lists quickly. They provide up-to-date and accurate data plus complete contact details for qualified prospects, making it easier to create targeted prospect lists.
  • Social Media Prospecting Tools
    These tools help you find and reach out to your potential prospects and customers on various social media platforms. They provide data like job titles, professional contact information, connections, and engagement stats.
  • Sales Engagement Platforms
    A sales engagement platform combines multiple prospecting tools into one comprehensive solution. It helps you manage your entire sales process, from lead identification to conversion. Sales engagement platforms also integrate with other business apps, such as CRM systems, creating a seamless workflow for your team.
  • Lead Scoring Solutions
    Lead scoring platforms sort leads based on their likelihood of becoming customers, letting your sales team focus on the best opportunities. This ensures that the most important leads get the attention they need.
  • Meeting Scheduling Platforms
    Meeting scheduling platforms make it easier to book meetings with your potential buyers or clients by syncing with your calendar. This eliminates the need to exchange schedules.
  • Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Solutions
    Sales CRMs are like a central hub where you can collect lead data, keep an eye on deal progress, and monitor interactions across your sales team. Platforms like Hubspot and Salesforce are the big names in the game, but tools like Zoho are also carving out their space. This level of organization is critical for maximizing revenue through follow-ups and nurturing campaigns for sales.

Top Sales Prospecting Software for B2B Sales

Sales and Customer Representative

Here are some of the best B2B sales prospecting tools to help streamline your sales pipeline. These b2b sales prospecting tools are specifically designed for businesses, emphasizing their importance in identifying leads rather than targeting individual customers. Each of the options listed below has distinct advantages tailored to different stages of the sales prospecting process. Check them out:

Convex

Convex offers an all-in-one solution made just for sales teams selling commercial services. With sales intelligence data on accounts and contacts, property intelligence data on owners, tenants, buildings, and sites, lead scoring tools that provide intent signal strength to help you identify prospects that are ready to buy, and Generative AI trained on both the prospect’s data and your own, Convex serves as the front-line tool for identifying and closing deals.

  • Value Proposition: Convex helps grow revenue by providing constantly updated property, account, and contact data. It also uses generative AI for personalized outreach. Convex is the only platform in the US designed to serve the needs of commercial services sales professionals.
  • Target Market: This tool is best utilized by HVAC, security, FLS, commercial cleaning, janitorial, waste management, elevators, generators, roofing, and other sales teams who need up-to-date property intelligence for prospecting.
  • Unique Selling Point: The platform is the only solution tailored to the needs of commercial services sales reps with the tools they need to streamline sales.

Cognism

Cognism is a sales intelligence platform that provides real-time data on companies and contacts, with a strong focus on GDPR-compliant markets. It’s designed to make B2B prospecting more effective by offering accurate, high-quality contact information. 

  • Value Proposition: Cognism enhances outreach efforts by supplying sales teams with verified contact data and professional email addresses, making it easier to connect with key decision-makers and streamline the prospecting process.
  • Target Market: This platform is best for B2B sales teams in European markets that must protect data and comply with GDPR.
  • Unique Selling Point: Cognism is dedicated to ensuring GDPR compliance and prioritizing the accuracy of data. This gives businesses in places with strict data privacy laws some peace of mind.

LinkedIn Sales Navigator

LinkedIn Sales Navigator is a powerful tool for finding and connecting with potential customers on LinkedIn. It taps into LinkedIn’s extensive professional network to help sales teams identify key decision-makers and engage with them directly.

  • Value Proposition: Sales Navigator boosts lead generation by offering tools to build and nurture relationships with prospects. Advanced search filters, lead recommendations, and insights into account status make targeting and connecting with the right professionals easier.
  • Target Market: This tool is perfect for B2B sales professionals who rely on networking and building relationships through direct engagement with decision-makers on LinkedIn.
  • Unique Selling Point: Sales Navigator offers unmatched access to a vast database of professionals and companies within LinkedIn’s network, enabling highly targeted prospecting efforts.

Apollo

Apollo is an all-in-one platform that combines advanced sales analytics and intelligence with engagement tools, helping you through the entire prospecting process—from finding leads to closing deals. It offers a wide range of features that simplify everything from discovering prospects to managing outreach and follow-ups.

  • Value Proposition: Apollo is ideal for fast-paced B2B sales teams, providing solutions that combine sales analytics with outreach capabilities. It enhances lead gen by offering tools to build and nurture relationships with prospects, making it easier to manage large-scale prospecting programs efficiently.
  • Target Market: This platform is ideal for B2B sales teams working in dynamic, high-volume environments that need scalable solutions to manage extensive prospect lists and outreach efforts.
  • Unique Selling Point: Apollo stands out by integrating sales intelligence and engagement tools into a single platform, providing a seamless experience that lets teams manage the entire sales process without juggling multiple tools.

HubSpot

HubSpot Sales is a platform that makes sales prospecting and lead management easier. Being a part of HubSpot’s CRM ecosystem, the all-in-one sales engagement platform also offers email tracking, sales automation, lead scoring, and advanced analytics—helping sales teams manage their pipeline efficiently and close deals faster.

  • Value Proposition: HubSpot makes routine operations automated, which allows sales professionals to focus on high-impact assignments. Its integration with marketing and customer support tools plus data-driven insights make it scalable for the growth and optimization of the sales process.
  • Target Market: Ideal for small to large businesses needing an integrated platform for sales, marketing, and customer service. It is suited for sales teams who want a tool that’s user-friendly, manages pipelines, improves lead quality, and boosts productivity using automation.
  • Unique Selling Point: HubSpot’s strength lies in its all-in-one approach, offering a unified platform that aligns sales, marketing, and customer service. This integration, combined with scalability and ease of use, makes it a top choice for businesses looking to streamline operations and drive growth.

Wiza

Wiza has a huge database of B2B individuals. This sales prospecting tool is valuable due to its ability to find contact details and provide real-time and verified contact data, which makes many sales prospecting tools more accurate and effective.

  • Value Proposition: Wiza makes it easy to build prospect lists quickly by providing up-to-date email addresses and phone numbers so sales teams can reach out with confidence, knowing their contact information is accurate.
  • Target Market: Works best for sales teams that need to make instant prospect lists and those who depend on verified contact data for their outreach efforts.
  • Unique Selling Point: Wiza stands out due to its real-time data verification. It makes sure that each contact information is current and accurate. This reduces the chances of bounced emails or unsuccessful outreach attempts.

Usergems

Usergems is a sales intelligence platform that monitors job changes in target organizations. It provides tools to help sales teams stay updated on key decision-makers, allowing them to reach out to their leads at the perfect time.

  • Value Proposition: Usergems effectively helps sales teams seize new opportunities by capitalizing on organizational shifts like job changes, which are usually good times for engagement and sales.
  • Target Market: This platform is ideal for sales teams that need to keep an eye on organizational changes and connect with decision-makers who may be more open to new solutions due to recent role changes.
  • Unique Selling Point: Usergems’ focus on tracking job changes gives sales teams timely insights, allowing them to engage with prospects at critical moments when they’re most likely to consider new solutions.

Leadfeeder

Leadfeeder is a B2B tool that helps you turn anonymous website visitors into potential leads. It tracks who’s visiting your site and provides detailed information about the companies they’re from, giving your sales team the insights they need to reach out to interested prospects.

  • Value Proposition: Leadfeeder makes lead generation easier by identifying website visitors who have already shown interest in your products or services. This means you can focus your efforts on reaching out to engaged prospects.
  • Target Market: This tool is perfect for B2B companies looking to get the most out of their website traffic by identifying and pursuing high-quality leads.
  • Unique Selling Point: Leadfeeder’s ability to turn anonymous website visitors into qualified leads gives your sales team a head start in connecting with prospects who are early in their buying journey.

Bombora

Bombora’s Company Surge platform uses intent data to pinpoint companies that are actively researching products or services like yours, allowing you to reach out at just the right time.

  • Value Proposition: By focusing on leads who are already showing buying intent, Bombora helps sales teams prioritize their efforts, making outreach more efficient and effective.
  • Target Market: This platform is ideal for sales teams that depend on intent data to find and connect with prospects who are actively searching for solutions in their industry.
  • Unique Selling Point: Bombora’s automatic surge reports, which fill your CRM with high-intent leads, ensure your sales team is always focusing on the most promising opportunities.

UpLead

UpLead is a platform that lets you build and manage prospect lists easily. It has a massive profile database, which you can filter and customize to fit your specific needs.

  • Value Proposition: UpLead makes list building simple by providing accurate, detailed contact information, enabling sales teams to broaden their reach and target prospects more effectively.
  • Target Market: This platform is perfect for sales teams that need to quickly scale their prospecting efforts and require reliable tools for creating large, targeted lists.
  • Unique Selling Point: With its extensive database and user-friendly interface, UpLead is a go-to solution for teams looking to build and manage prospect lists efficiently.

HG Insights

HG Insights is a market intelligence platform that monitors companies’ digital infrastructure. It allows sales teams to get data on prospects based on the technology they use.

  • Value Proposition: HG Insights helps sales teams identify companies that have adopted specific technologies, enabling more focused outreach to tech-savvy prospects who are likely interested in related products or services.
  • Target Market: This platform is perfect for sales teams targeting industries where technology adoption plays a crucial role in their sales strategy, such as IT services or software sales.
  • Unique Selling Point: HG Insights’ emphasis on digital infrastructure data offers a distinct advantage for sales teams looking to connect with companies based on their technology stack and usage.

Choosing the Right Sales Prospecting Tool

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Choosing the best sales prospecting tool for your business isn’t just about going for the latest, most exciting software—it’s about finding a tool that aligns with your specific business goals and helps your sales team succeed. Factors to consider in the decision-making process for best sales prospecting tools include affordability, ease of use, and comprehensive functionalities for lead verification and cold outreach campaigns. Selecting the best tool is crucial for optimizing your sales efforts and achieving better results.

Here’s a guide to help you find the best B2B prospecting tool for your needs:

Assess Your Business Needs

Before you start exploring the many sales tools already out there, take a moment to think about what your business really needs. Are you trying to bring in a constant flow of new leads? Or are you more focused on strengthening the relationships you already have? Each tool has its pros, so understanding your sales strategy is the key to finding the right one.

Think About Your Budget

While it might be tempting to choose the tool with the most features, your budget will play a big role in your decision. Always balance the cost of the software with what your business actually needs.

For example, having a network of over a billion people may be beneficial if you could sell your services to the entire world, but most of us can’t – we’re selling one thing to a small group of potential customers. Make sure to focus on this because it will be the greatest driver of your success with that tool. 

Remember: a pricier tool might have lots of advanced features, some that are beneficial and others that aren’t. However, if they don’t match your goals, you could end up paying for things you don’t need.

Evaluate Tool Features and Integrations

Once you’ve narrowed down your choices based on your needs and budget, time to evaluate the tools’ key features.

Think about the tasks that your sales team MUST accomplish to absolutely crush their quotas and focus on scaling those.

For example, if they must target specific roles within companies, find a tool that lets you see job titles and filter contacts by job title with ease.

Scalability

Scalability is an important thing to consider when selecting a sales prospecting tool for your growing businesses. As companies expand, their sales efforts should adapt to increased demand and a larger prospect pool. Choose tools with flexible pricing and the capacity to handle larger datasets without compromising performance. A scalable tool evolves with business needs, ensuring productivity and avoiding the costs of switching tools later.

Team Training

Once you’ve picked the right sales prospecting tool, it’s super important to spend some time training your team. A well-prepped sales team can really make the most out of the tool, boosting sales productivity and getting better results. Start with some thorough onboarding sessions to show them all the functionalities, features, and best practices of the tool.

Encourage your team to dive in with hands-on exercises so they can get comfortable with what it can do. Plus, keep the training going! At Convex, we offer regular training sessions to help reinforce what your team has learned and tackle any new questions that pop up as they start using the tool in their day-to-day work.

Using real-world scenarios and examples during training is key to helping your team understand how to use the tool to hit their sales goals. And don’t forget to share regular feedback and success stories—it creates a great learning environment and helps everyone adapt and grow as the market evolves.

User Experience and Support

The usability of a sales prospecting tool can greatly impact the productivity of your sales team. A user-friendly interface reduces the learning curve and encourages team members to engage with the tool regularly. Additionally, consider the level of customer support provided by the vendor. Strong support can be invaluable, particularly when troubleshooting issues or learning how to maximize the platform’s features. A reliable support system will ensure your team remains focused on their objectives rather than getting sidetracked by technical difficulties.

Sales Prospecting Techniques for Sales Teams

Sales Data

B2B sales prospecting is a mix of art and science. It requires a thoughtful, strategic approach. The right best prospecting tools can help you find leads, build lists, qualify prospects, and close deals. However, even the best sales prospecting tools will not deliver good results if your team is not using the right sales prospecting techniques.

Use Data and Analytics for Sales Prospecting

Using data and analytics for your sales strategy is a must. Data not only helps you find prospects, but it also lets you track the effectiveness of your outreach efforts. 

Analyzing which messages resonate most with different audiences will help you adjust your approach to boost your chances of success.

This will help you better understand how your customer targeting and messaging are “landing” with potential customers. 

Engage in Customer Segmentation

Effective sales prospecting involves targeting the right people at the right time. Customer segmentation lets you group your sales prospects by industry, firm size, or buying behavior. 

Understanding your key consumer categories helps you personalize messaging that targets their pain points and needs.  This approach boosts your chances of making meaningful connections and reduces the sales cycle.

Take Advantage of Automation in Sales Prospecting

Sales prospecting can be time-consuming, especially with repetitive tasks that drain your team’s energy and resources. That’s where sales automation comes in. 

Sales engagement tools can handle routine tasks to allow your team to concentrate on high-value activities. Automation also ensures consistency in your outreach efforts. It helps you stay on your prospects’ radar without manual effort, resulting in a more efficient prospecting sales process efficiency and better business outcomes.

Conclusion

Sales prospecting software is a game-changer for sales teams, especially in the commercial services industry. With the best sales prospecting software tools and techniques, you can streamline your sales pipeline, boost the quality of your leads, and fuel your business growth.

Ready to level up your sales prospecting strategy? Schedule a demo with Convex to see how our platform can revolutionize your sales process and help you achieve your business goals.

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