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The Best Lead Generation Software to Accelerate Revenue: A Guide for Commercial Services
Erika Carmichael
Introduction
The backbone of any great sales team is an effective lead-generation strategy. Without a steady flow of potential customers, growth slows, and opportunities to sell dwindle.
Whether you’re advertising, email marketing, driving organic leads through content and SEO, deploying property intelligence platforms, or optimizing your online presence for conversions, the right lead generation software can make all the difference in your team’s success.
In this guide, we’ll take a closer look at the best lead-generation software for commercial services. We will explore their ratings, features, pricing, and advantages to help you choose the best lead-generation tool platform for your business and your strategy.
So, let’s get started!
What is Lead Generation Software?
Definition and Importance of Lead Generation
Lead generation, or “lead gen” (as it’s commonly known), is the process of identifying and converting prospective customers for your business. Traditionally, this was achieved through old-school methods like cold calling, direct mail, and networking events…
However, with today’s technology, “lead generation software” has become a catch-all term for tools that enhance conversions. As you’ll see in our “Types of Lead Generation Tools” section, there are solutions for every stage of the customer’s journey.
But, with so many tools available, how do you choose the right ones? This article is here to guide you through that decision.
Before we get into the tools, let’s talk about the benefits of lead gen software and the defining characteristics of an effective lead gen process.
Benefits of an Effective Lead Generation Process
Lead generation is about driving a sales pipeline and accelerating revenue. An effective lead generation, sales tool, and pipeline management process can transform your business in several ways:
- Generate Quality Leads: As the name suggests, an effective lead generation process is built to attract high-quality, new leads who are more likely to convert into paying customers. But that’s not all…
- Save Time on Manual Outreach: Using lead generation tools and sales intelligence software can automate many of the manual tasks involved in reaching out to potential customers, freeing up your sales team to focus on closing deals. These tasks could be anything from lead research to sales outreach.
- Enhance Marketing Efforts: The best lead generation tools can help you maximize the return on your current marketing efforts by curating a list of qualified folks to reach out to.
- Support Inbound and Outbound Sales: Lead generation software can be utilized for both inbound and outbound sales strategies, making it an incredibly versatile tool for your sales team.
How to Build an Effective Lead Generation Process
Before diving into the tools and software options, we need to define the key steps involved to understand what an effective lead-generation process looks like. The foundation of this process typically involves several key steps:
- Identifying Target Audience: The first step is to clearly define who your ideal customers are. This involves creating detailed buyer personas based on factors like demographic information, behavior patterns, motivations, and goals. For commercial services clients, this often means looking at property intelligence data like permits, tenants, and ownership information to identify and connect with decision-makers.
- Creating Valuable Content: Content is king when it comes to attracting potential leads. Whether it’s blog posts, eBooks, whitepapers, or webinars, providing valuable information that addresses your audience’s pain points can draw them into your sales funnel. The most valuable content that you can create directly answers a prospective customer’s questions and delivers value throughout the entire experience.
- Capturing Leads: Once you’ve attracted your audience with engaging content, the next step is to capture their information. This often involves using forms, landing pages, or call-to-actions (CTAs) that encourage visitors to share their contact details in exchange for valuable resources.
- Nurturing Leads: Not every lead will be ready to make a purchase immediately. An effective lead nurturing strategy involves maintaining regular contact through email campaigns, personalized messages, and targeted content to move them further down the funnel. They say, “The fortune is in the follow-up!”
- Qualifying and Passing Leads to Sales: The final step is to evaluate which leads are ready for a sales conversation. Tools like lead scoring and predictive analytics can help identify high-potential leads, which are then passed to the sales team for further action.
These steps help you identify and attract your ideal customers, but now it’s time to build it. In this section, we’ll cover the actual lead generation process from understanding the customer journey to converting them into a sale.
The Lead Generation Process
Understanding the Customer Journey
First, we have to understand the ideal customer’s journey. The customer journey is a series of steps that potential customers go through before making a purchase. Understanding this journey helps sales and marketing teams identify and qualify leads more effectively.
We often use terms like Product-Qualified Leads (PQLs), Marketing-Qualified Leads (MQLs), and Sales-Qualified Leads (SQLs) to show lead qualification and describe the “warmth” of a lead and their readiness to buy. These terms help categorize leads based on their interactions and engagement levels, indicating how qualified they are and their stage in the customer journey.
Overview of the Customer Journey
When looking at your prospects, what stage would you say they are? This will help us define which tools will generate leads with the highest conversions into sales.
- Awareness Stage: The customer becomes aware of a problem or need and starts looking for solutions. Marketing efforts at this stage aim to attract attention and generate interest.
- Consideration Stage: The customer actively seeks out information and evaluates different options. This is where content like case studies, webinars, and detailed product information are most effective.
- Decision Stage: The customer is ready to make a purchase decision. They compare vendors, read reviews, and engage directly with sales teams. This stage requires targeted sales efforts and personalized outreach.
Now that we know what stage they’re in, let’s talk about how we move them to the next stage.
Identifying and Qualifying Leads
If you’re a young business, the vast majority of your prospects will be in the “awareness phase,” even if they’re considering making a purchase.
This means they’re looking for the products and services you offer but may not know you or your business. In this case, sales intelligence and other marketing tools would be the most effective options for generating leads.
Sales intelligence solutions like Convex allow you to use buying signals to identify when someone is searching for a product or service so you can reach out to them at the right time with the right message.
This means you can skip the hassle and headache of finding leads and focus on building relationships with potential customers who are actively looking for what you offer.
Engaging, Nurturing, and Converting Leads
Once you’ve identified and qualified leads, nurturing them effectively will either move them through the customer journey or help them exit the process altogether. This requires a mix of targeted content, personalized messaging, and timely follow-ups.
Lead nurturing software like HubSpot or a marketing tool from Marketo can help automate this process by delivering relevant content and messages based on lead behavior and interests. This ensures that your prospects receive the right information at the right time, increasing their likelihood of converting into a sale.
Nurturing leads involves building relationships and providing continuous value to guide them through the sales funnel. This process can be greatly enhanced with the use of effective lead-generation tools that automate and optimize communication and follow-ups to nurture leads.
- Automation: Tools can automate email sequences, reminders, and follow-ups, ensuring consistent and timely communication.
- Optimization: Data insights from these tools can help you refine your strategies, making your lead-generation process more efficient.
By nurturing leads with relevant content and personalized interactions, you can convert them into loyal customers, ultimately driving sales and growth for your business.
Choosing the Right Lead Generation Tool
Evaluating Your Needs
Before diving into the sea of lead generation tools, evaluate your specific needs and goals for sales tools. Understanding what you want lead gen tools to achieve will guide you in selecting the right lead generation tool for your business.
- Type of Leads: Consider whether you need tools for B2B or B2C lead generation and whether you are focusing on inbound or outbound strategies.
- Channels: Determine the channels you plan to use for lead generation, such as email, social media, your website, or direct outreach.
- Integration: Ensure the tool integrates seamlessly with your existing sales and marketing platforms, like CRM systems and email marketing software.
Comparing Lead Generation Tools
When comparing different lead generation software and tools, consider which features will drive the most success for you in addition to pricing and customer reviews. Integration of the best lead generation software with your current contact management systems and the overall value they bring to your lead generation efforts are crucial factors.
Types of Lead Generation Tools
Sales Intelligence Platforms
Sales intelligence platforms like Convex, Cognism, LinkedIn Sales Navigator, and HubSpot provide critical data and insights that help sales teams identify, target, and engage potential leads. These tools integrate with CRM systems, automate data collection, and offer advanced search and analytics features. They are essential for businesses aiming to streamline their sales processes and improve lead quality by providing actionable information about prospects.
- Pricing: Contact for pricing.
- Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars on G2.
- Pros: Comprehensive property intelligence, integrates with multiple data providers, features for route planning and buying signals, includes Generative AI for targeted messaging.
- Cons: Higher costs may be a barrier for small businesses.
- Best Uses: Commercial and industrial sales, property intelligence, targeted lead research, permitting, tenant and ownership data, and Generative AI for outreach.
- Pricing: Contact for pricing.
- Rating: 4.4 out of 5 stars on G2.
- Pros: GDPR-compliant data, real-time insights, AI-driven lead recommendations, and integrations with popular CRM systems.
- Cons: Pricing may be unaffordable for small businesses.
- Best Uses: B2B lead generation, sales automation, contact data enrichment.
- Pricing: Paid plans start at $64.99/month.
- Rating: 4.4 out of 5 stars on G2.
- Pros: Advanced search capabilities, lead recommendations, real-time updates, seamless CRM integration.
- Cons: Lead Filtering can be extremely complex, and pricing is more than double that of most competitive databases like Apollo.io.
- Best Uses: Finding and connecting with prospects, leveraging LinkedIn network, and lead management.
- Pricing: Free plan available; paid plans start at $50/month.
- Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars on G2.
- Pros: Comprehensive CRM and marketing automation, lead tracking, email tracking, and sales automation integrated with various tools and platforms.
- Cons: Advanced features can be costly.
- Best Uses: Lead generation, sales and marketing automation, customer relationship management.
Website Visitor Identification Tools
Website visitor identification tools such as Leadfeeder, Overloop, and D & B Hoovers help businesses understand who is visiting their website in real time. These tools provide insights into visitor behavior, allowing sales teams to identify potential leads and tailor their outreach strategies. Integrating with CRM systems ensures that valuable visitor data is captured and utilized effectively.
- Pricing: 14-day free trial, paid plans starting at €99/month.
- Rating: 4.3 out of 5 stars on G2.
- Pros: Helps identify companies visiting your website in real-time and integrates with various CRM systems.
- Cons: Higher pricing might be a barrier for small businesses.
- Best Uses: B2B lead generation, understanding website visitor behavior.
Overloop (formerly Prospect.io)
- Pricing: Paid plans start at $49/user/month.
- Rating: 4.3 out of 5 stars on G2.
- Pros: Excellent for finding email addresses and running multi-channel outbound campaigns.
- Cons: Can get expensive as your team grows.
- Best Uses: Multi-channel outreach, email address lookup.
- Pricing: Contact for pricing, a free trial is available.
- Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars on G2.
- Pros: Strong data and analytics capabilities, extensive database.
- Cons: Higher cost, complex setup for small teams.
- Best Uses: Building targeted lists and accelerating sales efforts.
Email Address Lookup Tools
Email address lookup tools like Hunter.io, Voila Norbert, Reply.io, Skrapp, AeroLeads, and Datanyze enable businesses to find and verify the email addresses of potential leads. These tools are crucial for building contact lists and reaching out to prospects via email. They help ensure that your outreach efforts are directed at valid and accurate contact information, increasing the chances of successful engagement.
- Pricing: Free for up to 25 requests/month; paid plans start at $49/month.
- Rating: 4.4 out of 5 stars on G2.
- Pros: Simple and effective email lookup, integrates with CRM and email platforms.
- Cons: Limited free plan.
- Best Uses: B2B email finding, outreach campaigns.
- Pricing: Plans start at $49/month for up to 1,000 leads.
- Rating: 4.6 out of 5 stars on G2.
- Pros: Accurate email finding, user-friendly interface.
- Cons: Pricing can add up with high volume.
- Best Uses: Email outreach, lead generation.
- Pricing: 200 emails free per month; paid plans start at $60/month.
- Rating: 4.6 out of 5 stars on G2.
- Pros: Comprehensive engagement platform, LinkedIn integration.
- Cons: Learning curve for new users.
- Best Uses: Automated email campaigns, LinkedIn outreach.
- Pricing: Paid plans start at $49/month.
- Rating: 3.9 out of 5 stars on G2.
- Pros: Effective for finding LinkedIn emails, easy to use.
- Cons: Lower rating, limited features compared to competitors.
- Best Uses: LinkedIn email finding, small businesses.
- Pricing: Plans start at $49 per month for up to 3,000 credits.
- Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars on G2.
- Pros: Comprehensive contact information integrated with CRM.
- Cons: Can become costly with high usage.
- Best Uses: Contact information lookup, B2B lead generation.
- Pricing: $29 per month, billed monthly, for up to 80 credits a month.
- Rating: 4.2 out of 5 stars on G2.
- Pros: Affordable, good for startups and small businesses.
- Cons: Limited credits in lower-tier plans.
- Best Uses: Sales prospecting, B2B contact information.
Email Follow-up Tools
Email follow-up tools such as Boomerang for Gmail, HubSpot Sales, and Yet Another Mail Merge automate the process of following up with leads. These tools help sales teams maintain consistent communication with prospects, schedule follow-up emails, and track leads’ responses. By automating follow-ups, these tools ensure that no lead falls through the cracks, improving overall conversion rates.
- Pricing: Free with 10 message credits/month; paid plans start at $4.98/month.
- Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars on G2.
- Pros: Easy scheduling and follow-up, integrates with Gmail.
- Cons: Limited free plan.
- Best Uses: Email scheduling, follow-up reminders.
- Pricing: Free, paid plans start at $18/month.
- Rating: 4.4 out of 5 stars on G2.
- Pros: Comprehensive sales platform, integrates with HubSpot CRM.
- Cons: Higher cost for advanced features.
- Best Uses: Email tracking, sales automation.
- Pricing: Free for one user and up to 50 recipients per day, paid plan at $25 for 400 emails/day.
- Rating: 4.3 out of 5 stars on G2.
- Pros: Easy to use, integrates with Google Sheets.
- Cons: Limited free plan.
- Best Uses: Email merges, follow-up tracking.
Form & Email Collection Tools
Form and email collection tools like Snov.io, Global Database, ConvertPlus, and LeadQuizzes facilitate the capture of lead information through online forms and quizzes. These tools are essential for gathering contact information from website visitors and converting them into leads. They integrate with CRM systems and email marketing platforms, ensuring that collected lead data is stored and utilized efficiently.
- Pricing: Free for up to 50 emails/month; paid plans start at $39/month.
- Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars on G2.
- Pros: Multifunctional tool, integrates with CRM.
- Cons: Limited free plan.
- Best Uses: Email collection, outreach automation.
- Pricing: Available upon request, customizable.
- Rating: 4.6 out of 5 stars on G2.
- Pros: Verified and up-to-date business information, advanced filtering.
- Cons: Higher cost for custom plans.
- Best Uses: Data-driven lead generation and market research.
- Pricing: Paid WordPress Plugin for a $23 one-time fee.
- Rating: 4.8 out of 5 stars on G2.
- Pros: Affordable, integrates with WordPress.
- Cons: Limited to WordPress users.
- Best Uses: Email capture and lead generation for WordPress sites.
- Pricing: 14-day free trial starts at $49/month.
- Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars on Capterra.
- Pros: Engaging quizzes, effective for lead capture.
- Cons: Higher cost.
- Best Uses: Audience engagement, lead capture.
Email Marketing Tools
Email marketing tools such as ActiveCampaign, MailChimp, and Brevo (formerly SendinBlue) help businesses automate and manage their email marketing campaigns. These tools offer features like email templates, segmentation, automation, and analytics. They enable businesses to send targeted, personalized emails to their leads, nurturing them through the sales funnel and driving conversions.
- Pricing: Paid plans start at $29/month.
- Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars on G2.
- Pros: Powerful email automation and CRM integration.
- Cons: Learning curve for new users.
- Best Uses: Email marketing automation, CRM integration.
- Pricing: Free, paid plans start at $9.99/month.
- Rating: 4.3 out of 5 stars on G2.
- Pros: Easy to use, scalable plans.
- Cons: Limited features in the free plan.
- Best Uses: Email marketing, small business outreach.
Brevo (formerly SendinBlue)
- Pricing: Free, paid plans start at $20/month.
- Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars on GetApp.
- Pros: Comprehensive email marketing and SMS marketing.
- Cons: Limited features in the free plan.
- Best Uses: Email and SMS marketing, marketing automation.
Landing Page Creation & Lead Capture Tools
Landing page creation and lead capture tools like Unbounce, Instapage, Leadpages, ClickFunnels, SeedProd, and WPForms help businesses create optimized landing pages to capture leads. These landing page tools offer drag-and-drop builders, templates, and integrations with CRM and email marketing platforms. They are crucial for converting website visitors into leads by providing attractive and functional landing pages that encourage form submissions.
- Pricing: Paid plans start at $95/month for up to 20,000 visitors and 500 conversions.
- Rating: 4.4 out of 5 stars on G2.
- Pros: Customizable landing pages, drag-and-drop builder.
- Cons: Higher costs may be inaccessible for small businesses.
- Best Uses: Custom landing pages, conversion rate optimization.
- Pricing: Paid plans start at $199/month.
- Rating: 4.3 out of 5 stars on G2.
- Pros: Easy to use, integrates with popular CRM and email platforms.
- Cons: Expensive for small businesses.
- Best Uses: Landing page creation, A/B testing.
- Pricing: Paid plans start at $25/month.
- Rating: 4.4 out of 5 stars on G2.
- Pros: Affordable range of templates.
- Cons: Limited features are available in the lower-tier plans.
- Best Uses: Landing pages, lead capture.
- Pricing: Paid plans start at $97/month, but most will want the $297 option.
- Rating: 4.4 out of 5 stars on G2.
- Pros: Comprehensive sales funnel builder, integrates with various marketing tools.
- Cons: Higher cost, learning curve.
- Best Uses: Sales funnels, lead capture.
- Pricing: Paid plans start at $39/month.
- Rating: 4.4 out of 5 stars on G2.
- Pros: Easy to use, integrates with email marketing tools.
- Cons: Limited to WordPress users.
- Best Uses: Landing pages, email capture.
- Pricing: Paid plans start at $39/month.
- Rating: 4.4 out of 5 stars on G2.
- Pros: User-friendly, integrates with WordPress.
- Cons: Limited to WordPress users.
- Best Uses: Lead capture forms, surveys.
Why Choose Each Type of Tool?
Sales Intelligence Platforms
The reason to choose an advanced sales intelligence platform like Convex is to skip all the other steps and get right to generating deals. For a commercial services team, generating a sales pipeline is more about reaching out to a decision-maker when they need your services than creating high-value social media content.
- Challenges: Difficulty identifying and targeting the right leads, inefficient sales processes, and lack of actionable data.
- Solutions: These platforms provide comprehensive data and insights, streamline lead identification and targeting, and integrate with existing systems to enhance sales efficiency.
Website Visitor Identification Tools
- Challenges: Lack of visibility into who is visiting your website, inability to capitalize on potential leads.
- Solutions: These tools help you identify and understand website visitors in real time, allowing for targeted outreach and better lead conversion.
Email Address Lookup Tools
- Challenges: Difficulty finding and verifying contact information for potential leads.
- Solutions: These tools ensure you have accurate email addresses, enabling effective email outreach and building a reliable contact list.
Email Follow-up Tools
- Challenges: Inconsistent follow-up with leads, lost opportunities due to lack of timely communication.
- Solutions: These tools automate follow-up emails, ensuring consistent communication and improving conversion rates.
Form & Email Collection Tools
- Challenges: Inefficient lead capture processes and inability to gather contact information from website visitors.
- Solutions: These tools facilitate the collection of lead information through forms and quizzes, integrating seamlessly with your CRM and email marketing platforms.
Email Marketing Tools
- Challenges: Difficulty managing and automating email campaigns and need for personalized communication.
- Solutions: These tools automate and optimize email marketing efforts, allowing for targeted, personalized communication with leads.
Landing Page Creation & Lead Capture Tools
- Challenges: Poorly designed landing pages and low conversion rates from website visitors.
- Solutions: These tools help create optimized landing pages that capture leads effectively, integrating with CRM and email marketing platforms for seamless data management.
By selecting the right combination of these tools, commercial services sales teams can address their specific challenges and significantly enhance their lead generation efforts. Whether it’s identifying the right prospects, capturing lead information, or nurturing leads through the sales funnel, these tools provide the necessary support to drive sales and business growth.
Implementing and Optimizing Lead Generation Tools
Once you’ve chosen the right lead generation tools for your business, it’s crucial to implement and optimize them effectively to maximize their benefits.
- Set Up and Integration
Ensure seamless integration with your existing systems, such as your CRM and marketing automation platforms. Proper setup is essential to leverage the full potential of these tools. Take the time to configure settings, import existing data, and train your team on how to use the new tools effectively. - Continuous Monitoring
Monitor the performance of your lead generation tools and your team’s adoption of them regularly. This will help you evaluate the output of the tool or platform you choose, when measured by your primary metric (e.g., new meetings, opportunities, revenue generated, or ROI). By closely tracking results, you can make informed decisions and adjustments to grow your lead-generation efforts. - Optimization
Continuously optimize your strategies based on performance data. This includes adjusting targeting criteria, refining content, and improving user experience. A/B testing different approaches can provide valuable insights into what resonates best with your audience. Optimization is an ongoing process that helps ensure your lead-generation efforts remain effective and efficient. - Adapt and Evolve
As market dynamics and customer behaviors change, adapt your lead generation strategies accordingly. Stay informed about the latest trends, technologies, and best practices in the industry. Be prepared to evolve your approaches and tools to stay ahead of the competition. Flexibility and adaptability are key to sustaining long-term success in lead generation. - Feedback Loop
Establish a feedback loop between your sales and marketing teams. Encourage open communication to share insights, challenges, and successes. Feedback from the sales team can provide valuable information about the quality of leads and the effectiveness of lead nurturing tactics. This collaborative approach helps refine strategies and improve sales reps’ overall performance. - Customer-Centric Approach
Always keep the customer at the center of your lead generation efforts. Understand their needs, preferences, and pain points. Tailor your messaging and engagement strategies to provide value and build trust. A customer-centric approach not only attracts more leads but also enhances customer satisfaction and loyalty. - Scalability
Consider the scalability of your lead generation tools and strategies. As your business grows, the volume and complexity of lead-generation activities will increase. Ensure that the lead gen tools that you choose can scale with your business and continue to deliver optimal performance. Plan for future growth and scalability to avoid disruptions and inefficiencies.
Conclusion
Mastering the art of lead generation is a core function for any business looking to thrive in today’s competitive sales marketplace.
Grasping the importance of lead generation, utilizing the right tools, and continuously optimizing your strategies will allow you to create an ever-increasing pipeline of high-quality leads. This not only boosts your sales and marketing efforts but also enhances overall business efficiency.
The key to successful lead generation lies in choosing tools that align with your specific needs and goals. Whether you need website visitor identification, email address lookup, a customer relationship management tool, or comprehensive marketing automation, there’s a lead generation tool designed to help you achieve your objectives.
Ready to take your lead generation to the next level? Skip all the complex tools and take the first step today…
Schedule a demo of Convex and discover how our comprehensive suite of lead generation, outreach, and Generative AI tools can transform your sales process, save time, and drive more qualified leads to your business.