One of the most crucial elements in any sales pipeline is prospecting. The process of finding and qualifying new leads to turn into customers will build a healthier bottom line for your business. Thankfully, since we live in the digital age, there are tons of various sales prospecting tools available. Rather than comb through each one yourself and compare different features, we have done the hard work for you.
Here are the top 25 sales prospecting tools for 2021. We have broken this list into various categories to help your team at every step of the sales funnel.
Tools for Qualifying a Prospect
Finding new leads can be relatively easy, but qualifying them is much harder. Your reps need to focus their time and energy on prospects who are most likely to buy. Trying to do this manually, however, is labor-intensive.
Instead, use one of these tools for qualifying a prospect.
Datanyze
When it comes to B2B prospecting, one significant challenge is identifying the decision-makers at a prospective company. If all you have is a cold lead, how can you make a connection and get on the inside track?
Datanyze is a Google Chrome extension that finds data about your prospects and delivers a comprehensive report. Your team can now locate the right people for sales pitches and even get personalized information to warm up each lead.
From there, your reps can curate and export contact lists for seamless integration with your company’s CRM software.
Mention
No matter what your business sells, people will be talking about it online. Unfortunately, much of this chatter happens without your knowledge or input, which can be detrimental if the conversation is negative.
Mention is a program that sifts through all major social media channels and news platforms to find comments about your business, whether they are official (tagging your brand) or unofficial. Best of all, Mention allows you to gain insights into these conversations to understand your customer base better.
Finally, Mention allows your marketing team to control your company’s message by planning and scheduling posts from a single, easy-to-use platform. Overall, when it comes to prospecting via social media, Mention is highly valuable.
ZoomInfo
Part of the problem with B2B prospecting is that workplaces can change in an instant. Employees can get fired, promoted or moved to different departments all the time. With ZoomInfo, you can find out about these changes before reaching out to a potential customer.
This program helps you curate lists by focusing on the details that matter most to your brand. For example, suppose you want to target businesses with 300 workers or less and $2 million in annual sales. In that case, you can get a list in minutes, complete with contact information for top executives. When things change, you will get notifications to stay updated in real-time.
Vainu
One of the newest trends in marketing these days is account-based marketing. Rather than doing a broad sweep of businesses in a particular industry, ABM has your team focus on a specific company.
Vainu helps you get as much information about that company before developing a marketing strategy. You can gain insight into various details, such as which software is used, how the business operates, and its culture. With all of this data, you can build a targeted ABM system that will deliver high-quality results.
CrystalKnows
These days, marketing is all about finding a niche and understanding your target audience as much as possible. Fortunately, there are several excellent personality tests out there — if only you could use them to discover what makes your prospects tick.
Thankfully, with Crystal Knows, you can. This software allows you to utilize DISC personality profiles to understand prospects, new hires and executives. With this information, you can make better decisions about how to allocate time and resources.
Owler
If you are trying to master B2B prospecting, Owler has you covered from beginning to end. First, you can customize your search to locate businesses that fit your ideal customer profile. Second, you will receive updates and new data as the company makes any changes that could affect your sales process. Finally, you can deliver customized materials and messaging that will ensure a smoother opening interaction with decision-makers.
Best of all, Owler allows you to track top competitors as well as prospects. See what other businesses are doing in your industry so you can figure out how to stand out or stay ahead.
DemoDesk
For some companies, the best way to sell the product is to demonstrate its capabilities. While scheduling in-person software demos can be valuable, the process is also time and resource-consuming.
Instead, you can utilize DemoDesk to provide the same experience virtually. No download is required on the client end, and you can send invites, develop custom pitches and messaging and ensure that everyone stays on target throughout the demonstration. Sales demos will never be the same.
Prospect Listing Tools
Prospect Listing ToolsBefore you can start qualifying your prospects, you need to build curated lists. Listing tools help you gather details and data about different leads to determine if they are worth pursuing. Here are the top prospect listing tools we’ve found.
Leadfeeder
Inbound marketing is an excellent strategy for companies because it does not require as much time and effort. However, as you entice new leads to visit your website, what happens if they do not click on your CTAs or subscribe to receive updates?
Fortunately, Leadfeeder allows you to see which companies are visiting your site and provides detailed insight. This tool is ideal for B2B businesses since they can learn about decision-makers and qualify new leads without doing any outbound research. Leadfeeder compiles all of this data for you based on the companies you’re trying to reach. It’s like Google Analytics for your website.
FollowerWonk
Twitter is one of the most valuable social media sites for marketers and businesses. Because the platform has so many users, you want to tap into it as much as possible.
FollowerWonk allows you to get more insight into your followers by scanning user bios and activity. Not only can you get details like location and who they follow, but you can compare your interactions with competing businesses.
AngelList
If you are marketing to startups, then AngelList is a must-have program. This platform is designed to help new businesses find funding from angel investors and VCs. However, as a prospecting tool, your team can find new potential customers and see where they are in the funding process.
Product Hunt
Here we have a sales prospecting tool that can help you track down other tools. Product Hunt discovers new and upcoming apps and enables users to find them easily. You can use this free service to locate software that can help track and manage leads.
There are multiple tools available on Product Hunt, including a search, ask (where you ask the community about a particular app) and collections so you can sort by group. Overall, an excellent resource for tech-savvy businesses.
Capterra
Once you locate a new sales prospecting tool, how can you be sure that it will work correctly? Assuming that you found something not included on this list, Capterra will be your one-stop resource for vetting new programs.
This website allows you to compare different apps and see reviews, ratings and user experiences. Capterra organizes apps by type, or you can use the search bar to make it even easier. Never settle for subpar software again.
Clutch
This program is ideal for B2B companies that sell to digital product agencies. Clutch is another directory app, but it focuses solely on marketers, startups, app developers and any other company that lives online.
Technically, this website is built for enterprises who want to use these digital agencies for work, but it can be a gold mine for prospecting as well. Since each business listing has tons of details and insight, your sales team can quickly build a list.
MatterMark
Most business directories are not necessarily designed for prospecting (i.e., Clutch above). However, MatterMark is built exclusively for salespeople, so your reps can create lists and search for companies that fit your ideal profile.
There are many different search options available, including business type (i.e., B2B, B2C), growth, location and business model. With all of this data at your fingertips, warming your leads has never been easier.
BuiltWith
If you are selling software tools, you want to know what the competition is like. BuiltWith allows you to peek behind the curtain and see how your competitors are doing. How does BuiltWith do this? By showing you the software or apps used to create individual websites.
You can find tons of data on almost any site online and build prospect lists accordingly. This information can give you insight into which apps are generating the most business and allow you the chance to find an inside path with potential prospects. Just use this power responsibly.
Contact Finder Tools
Sometimes, you locate the perfect lead, only to discover that you have no way to contact them. Fortunately, information is easy to find online, particularly when that data is publicly listed. With these contact finder tools, you’ll never let another prospect slip through your fingers.
Voila Norbert
For many individuals, email is the preferred (or only) means of contacting them. Voila Norbert makes it easy for you to find the right email address with a few keystrokes. All you have to do is type a name, a company and the information will pop up almost instantly.
Even better, Voila Norbert allows you to connect to a prospect’s Gmail plugin for even easier access to their communication network.
FindThatLead
Although you can build a prospect list with individual emails, sometimes it is better to expand your search to an entire company. FindThatLead allows you to type in a domain name and get all of the associated email addresses.
This tool is helpful if you know the name of a business but are not sure where to start your prospecting. By getting a full list of emails, it is easier to figure out who to contact and what they do within the company. FindThatLead also has a Chrome extension for maximum synergy.
Prospect.io
While apps like Voila Norbert specialize in finding contact details, Prospect.io takes this process several steps further. Once you get an email address, you can curate your prospect lists, customize your outreach materials and then analyze your results.
Best of all, Prospect.io can integrate with high-level CRM programs like SalesForce for fast and efficient integration. This is an excellent sales automation platform for businesses of all sizes.
Meeting Tools
It is exceedingly rare to find a lead and close a sale within a few phone calls. In many cases (particularly for B2B brands), a meeting is necessary to move the prospect through the funnel. These two programs make it easy to maintain an efficient schedule, both for yourself and your prospects.
Calendly
If your sales team uses the full Gmail suite, they will appreciate the speed and efficiency of Calendly. This program integrates with Google, syncing to one’s Google calendar and Gmail. Best of all, this syncing happens on your end and with the client, so it is easier to set up meetings, phone calls and demonstrations. With Google Meets, you can schedule impromptu sessions as well.
Doodle
Setting up a meeting with a prospect can be challenging, particularly when they are busy. Doodle comes with all the standard scheduling tools, but it also allows leads to pick the best time for them. This way, you can almost guarantee engagement and avoid playing meeting tag over and over again.
Tools for Prospect Engagement
Tools for Prospect EngagementLocating and qualifying a prospect is one thing — turning that person into a customer is another. Prospect engagement is vital to keep your sales pipeline functioning, but it can be challenging to juggle many leads at once. These sales prospecting tools can help you manage your lists more efficiently.
Boomerang
This app is a simple Gmail extension that allows you to pre-schedule emails and automates follow-ups with prospects. Although there isn’t much to Boomerang, it can be a powerful addition to other apps you may be using. Plus, since it integrates with your Gmail, the setup is a snap.
Rebump
Although Boomerang is useful, it has its limitations. Rebump takes the prospecting experience a step further by allowing you to customize your automation for individual leads or subscriber lists. For example, some lists may require three emails in four months, while others might benefit from five emails over a year.
Best of all, you can analyze your results to make it easier to adjust for better success in the future.
Bananatag
If you don’t have Gmail, Bananatag is an ideal choice for email automation. However, what sets this program apart is that it tracks what your prospects do once your message gets sent. For example, you can see if or when a lead opens an email and clicks on a CTA within it.
This data can help you adjust future campaigns as well as determine which prospects are engaging the most. You can now focus on the ones who have the best click-through rate, rather than wasting time on those who never open a single email.
Yet Another Mail Merge
Going back to Google, Yet Another Mail Merge is a tool that allows you to curate subscriber lists, send campaigns and analyze the results. YAMM integrates with all Google products, including Sheets and Docs. This prospecting tool is ideal for sending mass campaigns where it is harder to keep track of individual data.
Vidyard
Stand out from the crowd by incorporating video into your emails and other messages. Vidyard allows you to take the prospecting system further by utilizing video clips to increase engagement. The platform is easy to use and integrates with most messaging software.
Contact Selling Revolution Today
Although having the best sales prospecting tools can help your team succeed, reps need to know how to use each program and string them together in a cohesive funnel. Selling Revolution can assist you and your salespeople to ensure a smoother transition from prospect to customer. Contact us today to find out how.