The Top Lead Generation Tool for Commercial Services Sales Teams: Boost Your Conversion Rates and Close Deals

Introduction

The topic of “lead generation” can be highly charged by many owners, sales managers, and reps as it directly affects their paychecks.

Commercial services business owners and sales managers feel the constant pressure to generate quality leads that actually turn into sales. Reps need a steady stream of qualified leads to hit their quotas and earn bonuses. So, effective lead generation isn’t just about numbers—it’s about job security, income, and business growth.

Having a clear, systematic approach to your outbound lead generation is key to long-term success. By breaking an effective lead-gen process down into manageable steps and leveraging the right tools, you can develop a method that delivers real results without the stress and inefficiency that plague so many businesses.

That’s what this article is all about.

We’ll start by defining lead generation and discussing the importance of creating a systematic approach to converting leads into sales. Next, we’ll map the stages in a lead generation process and discuss the necessary tools for success at each stage.

Finally, we’ll introduce you to the one tool that can revolutionize your lead generation, streamline your sales funnel, simplify outreach, and accelerate revenue- let’s get started!

What is Lead Generation Anyway?

At its core, the lead generation strategy is about attracting people who are interested in what you offer and nurturing that interest until they’re ready to become customers.

It’s a bit like dating – you don’t propose on the first date. Instead, you build a lasting relationship over time based on shared value and mutual trust. In the same way, the best lead generation processes offer something worthwhile to the prospect at each stage to build mutual trust. Maybe a helpful article, an insightful case study, an exclusive discount, or even a simple quote.

Without a clear, systematic approach to delivering value at each stage, you’ll likely lose track of leads somewhere in the process, and they’ll never become ready to buy. That means lost opportunities for your business.

The Stages of Lead Generation

Lead generation isn’t a one-and-done deal. It’s a multi-step process that requires time and effort. Here are the key stages you need to keep in mind:

1) Attracting Leads: This stage involves raising awareness about your business and offerings through different sales intelligence solutions and marketing channels such as social media, content marketing, SEO, paid ads, referrals, etc.

2) Capturing Leads: Once you’ve caught their attention, it’s important to make it easy for potential customers to express interest in what you have to offer. This can be done through opt-in forms, landing pages, contact forms, etc.

3) Nurturing Leads: Once you have their contact information, it’s time to engage with them and build trust. This stage involves providing valuable information or content to help educate and guide prospects toward a buying decision.

4) Qualifying Leads: Not every lead is going to be a good fit for your business. That’s why this stage is important in identifying and prioritizing the most promising leads that are likely to convert into sales.

5) Closing the Sale: The final step in the lead generation process is turning qualified leads into paying customers. This requires a strategic sales approach and effective communication to seal the deal.

If you don’t have a systematic approach like this, now would be the time to implement one.

Why Lead Generation Matters More Than Ever

With rising inflation, a shaky economy hinting at a recession, and innovation speeding ahead, having the right data is making “first mover advantage” more important than ever. Companies that quickly embrace technology and use speed to their advantage will come out on top.

Lead generation is no different. To stay ahead of your competition, having a well-oiled lead generation machine can be a real game-changer:

• You draw in higher caliber leads who are a better match for your services
• Your sales team can direct their efforts toward the most promising opportunities
• Marketing initiatives become more focused and cost-effective
• Inbound and outbound efforts are fueled by a consistent flow of leads
• Ultimately, you’re able to scale your business in a steady, foreseeable way

The trick is to have a “tech stack” of lead generation tools that hums along smoothly and is almost completely automated, freeing up your team to focus on building relationships and closing deals. In this next section, we’ll discuss some vital tools and how to utilize them best.

The Tools You Need for Effective Lead Generation

So, what are the top 5 types of lead-generation tools you need in your lead-gen toolkit?

To successfully navigate each stage of the lead generation process, you need the right tools in your arsenal. Here are some essential tools that can help you nurture leads, boost your conversion rates, and close more deals:

• Property Intelligence (OR) Sales Intelligence Software: Property and sales intelligence tools like Convex and LinkedIn Sales Navigator allow you to uncover the right accounts, people, or properties that fit your ideal customer profile. With this information at your fingertips, you can reach out with the right message at the right time, increasing your chances of making a meaningful connection.
• CRM (Customer Relationship Management) Software: A CRM like HubSpot or Pipedrive is the central hub where you manage all your leads and customer interactions. It helps you track lead status, communication history, and sales pipeline progress. With a CRM, you can ensure no lead falls through the cracks and that your team is always working on the most promising opportunities.
• Email Marketing Platform: Email marketing is a critical component of lead nurturing. Platforms like Mailchimp and Ortto enable you to create and deploy targeted email campaigns that keep your leads engaged and move them closer to a purchase decision. Look for tools with automation features that allow you to set up trigger-based emails that deliver the right content at the right time.
• Sales Process Automation Tools: Tools like Zapier, Outreach, and Drift streamline your sales workflows by automating repetitive tasks such as lead assignment, follow-up emails, and appointment scheduling. This frees up your reps to focus on high-value activities like having conversations with decision-makers. Automation also ensures a consistent, timely process is followed for every lead.
• Scheduling Tools: Scheduling tools like Calendly and ScheduleOnce eliminate the back-and-forth often required to book meetings with leads. Instead of lengthy email chains proposing different times, leads can quickly view your availability and book a slot that works for them. This reduces friction in the sales process and makes it easier to connect with prospects.

With these five tools, you can find potential customers, send them personalized messages, add them to your sales pipeline, use data enrichment to understand how your products and services can help, and schedule an appointment once they’re interested.

Those five types of lead generation tools cover everything you need to turn a stranger into a buyer.

But there are still hundreds of tools within those five categories… how do you choose the right ones? Here are the top 12 that, when used correctly, will get you the best results!

Top 12 Lead Generation Platforms

1. Convex

Convex is the only lead generation software purpose-built for commercial services sales and marketing teams. Generating new leads on the platform is a breeze:

1. Pinpoint the Asset, Job title, or Property that aligns with your offerings—this could be anything from a property manager to a hospital or generators to solar systems.
2. Check the Lead Scores to see who’s primed to buy.
3. Use Generative AI trained on their buying signals in just two clicks to send a tailored message.
4. Set up an automated follow-up sequence or reminder.

In short, Convex is your “one-stop-shop” for commercial services crews looking to amplify lead generation and sales without the complexity.

Our solution provides comprehensive property intelligence data, like permit history and tenant info, plus contact details for the decision-makers.

We’ve incorporated intent data, or “buying signals,” to indicate how likely a lead is to make a purchase, as well as Generative AI tools to assist with outreach. This means your sales reps can identify a lead and contact them in under five minutes.

Plus, Convex is rated 4.6/5 on Capterra and offers “data enrichment,” filling in missing information or updating stale details to keep your lead database and CRM accurate. This saves you time and effort while boosting the quality of your leads—and it integrates perfectly with our next tool, Hubspot.

2. HubSpot

HubSpot is a comprehensive marketing automation and CRM platform that streamlines lead generation and customer management for businesses. It offers tools for email marketing, social media management, content creation, and landing page design alongside powerful analytics for tracking performance. HubSpot also integrates perfectly with Convex allowing sales reps to have best-in-class access to data and a sales pipeline tracking tool that keeps them up to date with leads in each stage of the sales cycle.

• All-in-one marketing, sales, and customer service platform
• 4.4/5 on G2
• Feature-rich but can be pricey for small businesses
• Users laud its ease of use and positive client feedback

3. Pipedrive

Pipedrive is a user-friendly sales management tool designed to help teams visualize their sales processes, track leads, and manage customer relationships effectively. With features like activity reminders, pipeline management, contact management, and reporting, Pipedrive empowers sales teams to stay organized and focused on closing deals.

• CRM and sales pipeline management software
• 4.3/5 on G2 ⭐
• Budget-friendly pricing and a wealth of features
• Very user-friendly for managing deals
• Helpful customer support

4. Zapier

Zapier is an automation tool that connects various web applications, enabling users to automate repetitive tasks without needing to code. By creating workflows, or “Zaps,” users can seamlessly integrate their different lead generation and marketing software tools, saving time and enhancing productivity across their sales processes.

• Automation platform for integrating lead generation tools.
• 4.5/5 on G2 ⭐
• Customizable zaps for various tasks
• A wide range of integrations is available

5. LinkedIn Sales Navigator

As the world’s largest professional network, LinkedIn is a goldmine for B2B lead generation. With its Sales Navigator tool, users can take their prospecting to another level by leveraging advanced search filters and real-time sales insights on potential leads.

• Advanced prospecting tool for B2B sales teams
• 4/5 on G2 ⭐⭐⭐
• Helps find and engage with prospects more effectively

6. Mailchimp

Mailchimp is a popular email marketing platform that enables businesses to design, send, and analyze email campaigns with ease. Powerful automation features and audience segmentation tools help users effectively engage with their leads and nurture customer relationships for better conversion rates.

• Email marketing and automation platform
• 4.3/5 on G2
• Intuitive email builder
• Generous free plan
• Some limitations with CRM and reporting

7. ActiveCampaign

ActiveCampaign is a marketing automation platform that focuses on email marketing, CRM, and customer experience automation. It enables businesses to create personalized marketing campaigns, automate workflows, and track customer engagement, ultimately helping to improve lead generation and conversion rates.

• Marketing automation and CRM platform
• 4.5/5 on G2
• Intuitive email builder
• Stellar customer support
• A dependable choice for nurturing leads

8. Unbounce

Unbounce is a powerful landing page builder that enables marketers to create high-converting landing pages without the need for extensive coding knowledge. With features like A/B testing and integration with various marketing tools, Unbounce helps businesses optimize their lead-generation efforts effectively.

• AI-powered landing page builder with lead capture
• 4.4/5 on G2
• Strong conversion rates
• Integrates well with other tools
• Lacks native A/B testing

9. OptinMonster

OptinMonster is a powerful lead-generation software that enables businesses to create high-converting opt-in forms and campaigns. With features like exit-intent pop-ups, A/B testing, and advanced targeting options, it helps improve conversion rates and grow email lists effectively.

• Tool to boost website conversions
• 4.3/5 on G2
• Highly customizable
• Diverse triggering options
• Allows for granular optimization

10. Zoho CRM

Zoho CRM is a comprehensive customer relationship management solution designed to help businesses manage their sales, marketing, and customer support in a single platform. With features like lead management, sales automation, and analytics, Zoho CRM enhances team collaboration between sales and marketing teams and optimizes the customer experience. Zoho generally comes in a bit below Hubspot from a price perspective as well.

• CRM platform with sales, marketing, and customer support
• 4.1/5 on G2
• Budget-friendly plans with many features
• Positive user feedback on support
• UI can be confusing initially

11. Leadpages

Leadpages is a powerful platform designed to help businesses create landing pages that drive conversions without needing technical skills. With its intuitive drag-and-drop builder, Leadpages enables users to develop effective lead capture pages quickly, enhancing the overall lead generation process.

• Conversion software for landing pages, websites, pop-ups
• 4.3/5 on G2
• Extensive template library
• Intuitive drag-and-drop builder
• Lacks advanced customization

12. Keap

Keap is an all-in-one sales and marketing automation platform designed for small businesses. With features like contact management, lead scoring, email marketing, and e-commerce integration, Keap helps businesses streamline their lead generation, conversion, and customer retention efforts.

• Automation software for sales and marketing
• 4.0/5 on G2 ⭐⭐
• User-friendly interface
• Solid customer support
• Some users find it limiting in features compared to other options

Other Notable Tools Include:

• Agile CRM
• Cognism
• Apollo
• Ortto
• GONG
• Outreach
• Drift
• Zendesk Sell
• Dealfront
• LeadFuze
• Intercom

Picking the Right Lead Generation Tool

Here’s the #1 factor to consider when picking the best lead generation software tools: What creates the simplest and most efficient workflow for the best results?

Think about it: If you want to drive qualified leads to your business today in the simplest way possible, which platform would you choose? And what additional solutions would you need to support that workflow? Let’s find that perfect combo!

In the world of commercial services, that’s Convex. Convex’s property intelligence solution operates in a similar way to your phone’s maps app, allowing you to search for:

1. A building (e.g., hospital, multifamily, mixed-use, manufacturing, etc.),
2. An account (owners, property management groups or tenants).
3. Decision-maker or Job title (e.g., property owner, manager, or tenant),
4. Or a “buying signal” (e.g., potential behaviors that would indicate interest in a purchase).

Convex is a great tool for B2B lead generation because it streamlines prospecting and qualifying potential leads by providing accurate data on commercial properties, people, and assets.

Once you’ve found the decision-maker, Convex offers Generative AI that makes outreach easy, personalized, and timely. Our AI is trained on the data of the prospect, the property, and the company to score the lead quality and make outreach effective.

But, maybe you’re not looking for a primary tool, maybe you’re looking for a great supplement to your existing stack. In that case, think about the specific pain point you’re trying to solve for in your lead generation process.

• Do you need help with creating effective email campaigns? Look for tools that offer advanced email automation and personalization features.
• Need help with managing leads and customer relationships? Consider platforms with intuitive CRM capabilities.
• Want to improve your website’s conversion rates? Look for tools that specialize in creating landing pages and forms.

Remember, your primary tool shapes your workflow, while your secondary tool adds those extra helpful features. As you look for secondary tools, here are some key factors to consider:

Integration with CRM and Marketing Automation

• Make sure the tool integrates seamlessly with your existing tech stack
• Avoid disrupting current workflows or requiring manual data transfer

Automation Capabilities

• Look for tools that can automate repetitive tasks like follow-up emails
• Automation should enhance personalization, not make your outreach generic

Lead Capture and Qualification Features

• Evaluate how well the tool can capture leads from your website and other channels.
• Scoring and grading features help prioritize leads for sales outreach

Cost and Scalability

• Consider the monthly or annual cost, along with any contract commitments
• Ensure the pricing model can scale reasonably as your lead volume grows

These are all key to creating a workflow that’s efficient, effective, and generates results. Now, let’s talk about maximizing the ROI from lead-gen.

Maximizing ROI with Lead Generation Software

Establishing a lead generation system and integrating lead generation software is an investment, both financially and in the time required to set it up and train your team. To ensure you’re getting the most bang for your buck, here are a few tips:

Align with Your Sales Process

• Choose tools that match how your team actually works. For example, if you’re a commercial services sales team, filtering through large databases or names is probably a waste of time. According to Salesforce, over 21% of a sales rep’s time is spent in lead research. This means they’re spending, on average, 2 hours a day doing something that Convex can do in 3 to 5 minutes.
• Software should enhance your sales process by providing seamless integration and support rather than forcing you to adapt to its constraints and limitations.

Automate the Right Tasks

• Automate repetitive, time-consuming tasks like initial outreach and follow-up
• But don’t automate at the expense of personalization and the human touch—this is key to staying on prospective customers’ “good side” and not getting sent straight to “spam.”

Leverage AI-Powered Insights

• AI can help identify high-potential leads, send messages to them, and suggest the next best actions – use these tools to increase efficiency and effectiveness.
• But always combine AI recommendations with sales reps’ intuition and expertise.

Measure and Optimize Continuously

• Track key metrics like lead volume, conversion rates, deal size, and sales cycle length to ensure your sales stay on track. Creating an effective lead-generation machine requires continuous optimization.
• Experiment with different tools and techniques to find the most effective combination for your team. Don’t be afraid to try new things!

Invest in Training and Support

• Make sure your team knows how to use the software effectively – invest in training sessions or workshops if necessary.
• Choose a software provider that offers reliable customer support. This will allow you to quickly resolve any technical issues or questions that arise.

To this last point, Convex offers regular training to make sure your team is utilizing all of our features to the fullest, and our customer support team is always available to assist with any questions or issues.

Remember, finding the right tools is just part of the equation – it’s up to your team to use them effectively and continuously optimize for success!

Conclusion

Lead generation is both an art and a science, requiring a blend of technology, strategy, human creativity, and data-driven insights.

The right software can be a powerful ally, helping you identify, engage, and convert more qualified leads- however, technology alone isn’t a “silver bullet.” The real magic happens when powerful software is paired with well-designed processes and a team dedicated to growing sales and accelerating revenue.

Ready to transform your lead generation process and drive meaningful growth? Take the first step today…Schedule a demo of Convex to discover how our comprehensive suite of lead generation software sales intelligence tools can revolutionize your sales process, save time, and drive more qualified sales leads to your business.