Top 20 B2B Lead Generation Software
Struggling to generate B2B leads? You're not alone. In today's B2B SaaS industry, finding qualified leads has become increasingly challenging. The past decade has witnessed a dramatic change in B2B sales, from outbound strategies to inbound leads and now, partner ecosystems.
Factors like rapid software development, AI advancements, and stringent data protection regulations have intensified competition. Traditional lead generation methods, such as inbound and outbound marketing, are becoming less effective due to noise and declining response rates. Buyers are more knowledgeable and independent, often conducting extensive research before engaging with vendors. What's more the number of decision makers within one company has increased significantly ranging from 5 to 10 individuals (this number can fluctuate based on factors such as company size, software complexity, and purchase price). Larger companies often have more decision-makers, while complex and expensive software. This shift has pushed vendor interactions to the later stages of the decision-making process.
To address these challenges, we've curated a comprehensive guide to top-tier B2B lead generation software solutions. These tools can help you build a robust and sustainable pipeline, enabling you to build a robust pipeline of qualified leads.
What is B2B lead generation software?
In short, a lead generation system is a strategic approach and set of tools designed to identify, attract, and convert potential customers into leads. These tools are designed specifically to help companies streamline their demand generation activities by: capturing interest, nurture prospects, and lastly create opportunities that can be turned into paid deals. Lead generation software aims at building a sales pipeline, and as a result increases revenue.
How to Choose the Right Lead Generation Tools
Choosing the right software tool can be overwhelming due to the abundance of options available. The key factors to take into account when selecting the best tool to fit your business challenges and objectives are:
- Defining your lead generation goals
- Assessing your budget (does it offer a free plan?
- Identifying essential features
- Evaluating ease of use (integrations)
- Considering scalability (is it going to ‘grow as you go’?)
- Testing and comparing tools
- Target users (sales and marketing purposes or partnerships)
To simplify this process, we've compiled a comprehensive comparison chart of the top 20 lead generation tools on the market. These tools have proven track records in helping businesses generate high-quality leads and drive sales. Each software will be briefly described, outlining its core functionalities and unique selling points: key features, target audience, sales model, pricing plan, enabling you to make an informed decision.
1. Journeybee
Overview
Journeybee is a comprehensive partnership management platform that goes beyond traditional Partner Relationship Management (PRM) functionalities. It's designed to foster collaboration and efficiency across sales, marketing, and partner teams.
Key features
- Lead management: Captures, attributes, and shares leads efficiently.
- Real-time collaboration: Facilitates seamless communication and interaction among partners, sales, and marketing teams.
- Deal collaboration: Enables joint deal planning and execution.
- Payment management: Streamlines payment & commissions
- Analytics: tracks, measures and provides insights of partner performance.
Pricing
Free Plan - available (a comprehensive free plan)
Premium - additional features (analytics, payments and others) starting from $500 per month
Business Value
Journeybee aims to optimise partner relationships, improve deal closure rates, and drive overall partner-led growth. Essentially, Journeybee offers a unified solution for managing the entire partner lifecycle, from initial onboarding to joint revenue generation.
2. Hubspot Marketing Automation
Overview
HubSpot is a leading CRM platform that offers a robust marketing automation solution. It's designed to help businesses attract, engage, and delight customers.
Key features
- Email marketing: Create personalised email campaigns, automate workflows, and track performance.
- Lead management: Capture, nurture, and qualify leads through automated processes.
- CRM integration: Seamlessly connect marketing and sales teams for better collaboration.
- Analytics and reporting: Gain insights into campaign performance and ROI.
- Landing page creation: Build high-converting landing pages to capture leads.
Pricing
Free Plan - available for up to 5 users (small teams)
Premium: Marketing Hub Professional - starts at $792 per month
Business Value
HubSpot's user-friendly interface and comprehensive suite of tools make it a popular choice for businesses of all sizes. By automating repetitive tasks and providing valuable insights, HubSpot empowers marketers to focus on strategic initiatives and drive growth.
3. Pipedrive
Overview
Pipedrive is primarily a sales CRM platform with a growing suite of marketing automation tools. It's designed to help sales teams manage their pipelines effectively and improve deal closure rates.
Key features
- Sales pipeline management: Visualise and track deals from inception to closure.
- Contact management: Organise and segment customer information.
- Deal forecasting: Predict sales and revenue.
- Email integration: Send and track emails within the platform.
- Marketing automation (Campaigns by Pipedrive): Automate email campaigns and lead nurturing.
Pricing
Free plan - 14 days
Paid Plan - starts are $14 / seat per month
Business Value
While not as comprehensive as dedicated marketing automation platforms, Pipedrive offers sufficient tools for smaller businesses or those seeking a combined sales and marketing solution. Its focus remains on sales, but the addition of marketing automation features enhances its overall value proposition.
4. Salesforce
Overview
Salesforce is a cloud-based software company renowned for its Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platform. It provides businesses with a comprehensive suite of tools to manage and nurture customer relationships across the entire customer lifecycle.
Key features
- Sales Cloud: Manages sales pipelines, forecasts, and customer interactions.
- Service Cloud: Handles customer support, case management, and field service.
- Marketing Cloud: Executes targeted marketing campaigns and tracks customer engagement.
- Commerce Cloud: Powers online sales and commerce experiences.
- App Cloud: Develops custom applications and integrations.
Pricing
Free plan - 30 days
Paid Plan - undisclosed (priced upon request)
Business Value
Beyond its core CRM functionalities, Salesforce offers a vast ecosystem of apps, integrations, and AI capabilities to enhance business operations. Its platform's flexibility and scalability have made it a popular choice for businesses of all sizes, from startups to global enterprises.
5. Cognism
Cognism is a leading B2B sales intelligence platform designed to supercharge lead generation and prospecting efforts. It offers a robust suite of tools to help sales and marketing teams identify, qualify, and engage potential customers efficiently.
Key features
- Data enrichment: Accurately updates and completes existing contact information.
- Lead generation: Identifies and qualifies potential customers based on specific criteria.
- Prospecting: Provides verified contact details for outbound sales campaigns.
- Data compliance: Ensures data is collected and used ethically and legally.
Pricing
Free Plan - not available
Paid Plan - from $1,000 per month
Business Value
By leveraging Cognism's advanced data capabilities and intelligent search functions, businesses can significantly improve their sales pipeline and conversion rates.
6. 6sense
Overview
6sense is a leading revenue intelligence platform that leverages AI to predict and influence buyer behaviour. It goes beyond traditional marketing automation by providing deep insights into customer intent and engagement.
Key features
- Intent data: Identifies companies actively researching products or services similar to yours.
- Account-Based Marketing (ABM): Focuses marketing and sales efforts on high-value accounts.
- Predictive analytics: Forecasts customer behaviour and buying stages.
- Revenue orchestration: Aligns sales and marketing teams for optimal performance.
Pricing
Free plan - not available
Paid Plan - from $12,000 / per year
Business Value
By providing actionable insights and automating tasks, 6sense helps businesses increase revenue and improve sales efficiency. It's particularly well-suited for organisations looking to adopt a data-driven approach to sales and marketing.
7. Zoho CRM
Overview
Zoho CRM is a cloud-based customer relationship management (CRM) software designed to help businesses manage and nurture customer relationships effectively. It offers a suite of tools to streamline sales, marketing, and customer support processes.
Key features
- Lead management: track and qualify leads through the sales pipeline
- Contact management: Maintain detailed records of customer information and interactions
- Sales automation
- Marketing automation: Execute targeted campaigns, nurture leads, and measure ROI.
- Analytics and reporting: Gain insights into sales performance, customer behavior, and campaign effectiveness.
Pricing
Free Plan - not available
Premium - starting from 14 EUR per month
Business Value
Zoho CRM is known for its affordability, scalability, and user-friendly interface, making it a popular choice for businesses of all sizes. By centralising customer information and automating tasks, it helps improve sales efficiency, enhance customer satisfaction, and drive business growth
8. Gong
Overview
Gong is a revenue intelligence platform that leverages AI to analyse customer interactions and provide actionable insights to sales teams. It captures a vast amount of data from various channels, including calls, emails, video conferences, and more, to offer a comprehensive view of the sales process.
Key features
- Conversation intelligence: Transcribes and analyses calls to identify key topics, customer sentiment, and sales rep performance.
- Deal intelligence: Predicts deal outcomes based on historical data and identifies opportunities to improve win rates.
- Coaching and development: Provides insights into sales rep strengths and weaknesses, enabling targeted coaching and development plans.
- Sales enablement: Offers content recommendations based on customer interactions and sales stage.
Pricing
Free Plan - Unavailable
Premium Plan - Undisclosed (pricing upon request)
Business Value
Connects with popular CRM and sales tools to provide a unified view of customer data. By providing deep insights into customer behaviour and sales performance, Gong empowers sales teams to optimise their strategies, improve win rates, and accelerate revenue growth.
9. Attio
Overview
Attio is a cloud-based CRM platform that prides itself on flexibility and customisation. Unlike traditional CRMs, Attio is designed to adapt to your specific business needs rather than forcing you to fit into a predefined structure.
Key features
- Highly customisable data model: Build a CRM tailored to your unique business processes.
- Intuitive interface: Easy to use and navigate, even for non-technical users.
- Collaboration features: Effectively work with teams and share information.
- Integration capabilities: Connect with other tools and platforms to streamline workflows.
- Scalability: Grows with your business, accommodating increasing data and user needs.
Pricing
Free Plan - up to 3 seats (real-time contact syncing, automatic data enrichment)
Paid Plan - starts from 29 EUR per seat / per month
Business Value
Attio is particularly well-suited for startups and small businesses that require a CRM that can evolve with their changing needs. Its focus on flexibility and customization sets it apart from traditional CRM solutions.
10. Lusha
Overview
Lusha is a robust B2B sales intelligence platform designed to supercharge the prospecting process. It provides accurate and up-to-date contact information, empowering sales teams to identify and connect with potential customers efficiently.
Key features
- Lead generation: Quickly find relevant leads based on various criteria like company size, industry, job title, and location
- Contact enrichment: Enhance existing CRM data with missing information like phone numbers, email addresses, and social profiles
- Data accuracy: Lusha prioritises data quality to ensure reliable and actionable insights.
- Buyer intelligence: Gain insights into buyer behaviour and intent to optimise sales strategies
Pricing
Free plan - up to 50 Emails, 5 Phones for 1 user
Paid Plan - $36 per user / month
Business Value
By providing accurate and accessible contact information, Lusha helps sales teams build stronger pipelines, improve conversion rates, and accelerate revenue growth.
11. Seamless AI
Overview
Seamless.AI is a powerful sales intelligence platform that leverages artificial intelligence to streamline the lead generation process. By providing accurate and up-to-date contact information, it helps sales teams identify and connect with potential customers efficiently.
Key features
- Real-time contact discovery: Quickly find accurate email addresses and phone numbers for potential prospects.
- Lead enrichment: Enhance existing CRM data with missing information and verify contact details.
- Intent-based prospecting: Identify companies and individuals showing interest in your products or services.
- Chrome extension: Easily access contact information while browsing the web.
Pricing
Free plan - available up to 50 credits
Paid plan - from 250 credits (price undisclosed)
Business Value
Seamless.AI's focus on speed, accuracy, and ease of use makes it a valuable tool for sales teams looking to boost productivity and improve sales performance.
12. LinkedIn Sales Navigator
Overview
LinkedIn Sales Navigator is a premium version of LinkedIn designed specifically for sales professionals. It offers advanced search capabilities, lead generation tools, and insights to help sales teams identify, connect, and engage with potential customers more effectively.
Key features
- Advanced search: Find ideal prospects based on specific criteria like job title, company size, industry, and location.
- Lead recommendations: Discover potential customers based on your existing network and engagement.
- Account insights: Gain insights into company size, industry trends, and employee changes.
- InMail credits: Send personalised messages to prospects outside your network.
- Sales analytics: Track sales activity, measure performance, and optimise sales strategies.
Pricing
Free plan - 1 month
Paid plan - from €81.31 per month
Business value
By providing a deeper level of access to LinkedIn's vast professional network, Sales Navigator helps sales teams increase their productivity, improve lead quality, and ultimately drive revenue growth.
13. Clay
Overview
Clay is a powerful platform designed to streamline the lead generation and outreach process for sales teams.It specialises in data enrichment, allowing users to gather comprehensive information about potential customers, and then leverages AI to create personalised outreach campaigns.
Key features
- Data enrichment: Accurately and efficiently enriches lead data with missing information.
- AI-powered outreach: Creates personalised outreach messages at scale.
- Integration capabilities: Connects with popular CRM and sales tools for seamless workflow.
- Data accuracy: Provides high-quality data to improve lead quality and conversion rates.
- Time-saving: Automates repetitive tasks, allowing sales teams to focus on higher-value activities.
Pricing
Free plan - 14-day trial available
Premium plan - $149 per month
Business Value
By combining data enrichment with AI-driven outreach, Clay helps sales teams improve efficiency, increase productivity, and ultimately drive more revenue.
14. Kaspr
Overview
Kaspr is a lead generation tool designed to help sales, recruiting, and business development professionals find and connect with potential customers. It specialises in providing accurate and up-to-date contact information, such as phone numbers and email addresses.
Key Features
- Real-time data: Kaspr offers access to a vast database of contact information, which is constantly updated to ensure accuracy.
- LinkedIn integration: The platform seamlessly integrates with LinkedIn, allowing users to easily find and enrich prospect information.
- Data verification: Kaspr verifies contact details to minimise bounce rates and improve outreach effectiveness.
- Lead management: Beyond data collection, Kaspr provides tools for organising and managing leads, including list creation, tagging, and note-taking.
- Data export: Users can export lead data in various formats for further analysis or integration with other tools.
Pricing
Free plan - available (5 Phone credits, 5 Direct email credits and 10 Export credits)
Paid plan - available from 45€ per licence, per month
Business Value
In essence, Kaspr aims to simplify the process of finding and connecting with potential customers, providing sales and recruiting professionals with the tools they need to succeed.
15. Apollo
Overview
Apollo focuses on empowering sales teams to boost productivity and revenue. It offers a comprehensive suite of tools.Key features
- Prospecting: Identifying potential customers and gathering relevant information.
- Engagement: Building relationships and nurturing leads through various channels.
- Data enrichment: Improving the quality and completeness of contact information.
- Automation: Streamlining sales processes and saving time.
Pricing
Free - available with 10,000 per month (per account)
Paid Plan - starting at $49 per month
Business Value
Apollo provides access to a massive database of verified contact information and powerful filters to find ideal prospects based on specific criteria. Apollo's data insights help identify the right leads and prioritise outreach efforts based on buying signals and firmographic/demographic data.
16. Orum
Overview
Orum is a sales acceleration platform that specialises in automating outbound calling processes.It leverages AI to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of sales teams.
Key Features
Orum allows sales reps to dial multiple numbers simultaneously, significantly increasing the number of calls made per hour.
- AI-Powered Lead Qualification: The platform uses AI to identify live humans and automatically disposition calls, saving time and effort.
- Call Recording and Analytics: Orum provides tools for recording calls and analysing performance metrics, enabling sales teams to improve their approach.
- Coaching and Feedback: The platform offers features to help managers coach their teams and provide feedback based on call performance.
Business Value
In essence, Orum aims to revolutionise outbound sales by automating time-consuming tasks, improving call efficiency, and providing data-driven insights to drive sales growth.
17. Salesloft
Overview
Salesloft is a robust platform designed to enhance sales productivity and efficiency. It serves as a centralised hub for sales teams to manage their entire sales process, from prospecting to closing deals.
Key Features
- Sales Engagement: Offers tools for email, calling, and LinkedIn outreach, including sequence building, cadence management, and performance analytics.
- Sales Enablement: Provides content libraries, coaching tools, and playbooks to equip sales reps with the necessary resources.
- Sales Analytics: Offers in-depth insights into sales performance, including pipeline analysis, forecasting, and win/loss analysis.
- CRM Integration: Seamlessly integrates with popular CRM systems like Salesforce to provide a unified view of customer data.
- AI-Powered Features: Leverages artificial intelligence to automate tasks, provide recommendations, and improve sales efficiency.
Pricing
Free Plan - not available
Paid Plan - upon request (not disclosed)
Business Value
Salesloft aims to transform the way sales teams operate by providing a comprehensive platform that empowers sales reps and drives revenue growth.
18. Crossbeam
Overview
Crossbeam is a powerful platform designed to help businesses leverage their partner ecosystems to drive growth.It focuses on connecting, collaborating, and optimising partnerships to uncover new opportunities and expand customer reach.
Key Features
- Account Mapping: Identifies shared customers and prospects between a company and its partners.
- Data Enrichment: Provides insights into partner ecosystems, including customer overlaps and complementary technologies.
- Partnership Orchestration: Facilitates collaboration and communication between partners.
- Data-Driven Insights: Offers analytics and reporting to measure the impact of partner programs.
Pricing
Free Plan - available up to 3 seats
Paid Plan - $150 per user / per month
Business Value
Crossbeam helps identify new sales opportunities through partner referrals and joint ventures.It empowers businesses to build stronger, more profitable partner ecosystems by providing the tools and insights needed to identify, collaborate, and scale partnerships.
19. Keyplay
Overview
Keyplay is a software solution designed to help businesses identify and prioritise their ideal customer profile (ICP). It focuses on providing accurate and actionable data to improve sales and marketing efficiency.
Key Features
- ICP Definition: Helps businesses clearly define their ideal customer profile based on specific criteria.
- Account Discovery: Identifies potential customers that match the defined ICP.
- Account Prioritisation: Ranks accounts based on various factors, such as firmographic data, technographics, and behavioural signals.
- Account Enrichment: Provides detailed information about target accounts, including company size, industry, and recent news.
- Data Accuracy: Ensures high-quality data to improve the effectiveness of sales and marketing efforts.
Pricing
Free Plan - available up to 25 credits available
Paid Plan - available from $12,000 per year
Business Value
Keyplay helps businesses work smarter by providing the tools and data needed to identify and engage their ideal customers.
20. Zaplify
Overview
Zaplify is a sales engagement platform designed to streamline the prospecting and outreach process. It leverages AI to automate various tasks, allowing sales professionals to focus on building relationships and closing deals.
Key Features
- Prospecting: Access to a vast database of potential leads with advanced search filters.
- AI-Powered Outreach: Generates personalised email and LinkedIn messages based on prospect data.
- Automation: Automates follow-ups, scheduling, and other time-consuming tasks.
- Performance Analytics: Tracks campaign performance and provides insights for optimisation.
The meaning behind the key lead generation terms
Outbound Lead Generation
Outbound lead generation is a proactive approach where sales teams directly reach out to potential customers. While often associated with B2B sales, it can be effective for B2C businesses as well. This method demands more effort but guarantees direct exposure to your target audience. Common outbound tactics include cold calling, email outreach, direct mail, and attending industry events. Tools like sales dialers, CRM systems, and email automation software can streamline this process.
Inbound Lead Generation
Inbound lead generation focuses on attracting potential customers to your business through valuable content and online marketing. This strategy is particularly popular in B2C markets but can also be successful in B2B. While it generally requires a longer sales cycle, it often yields higher quality leads. Key inbound tactics include creating blog posts, SEO optimization, social media marketing, and building landing pages. Tools like content management systems, email marketing software, and analytics platforms are essential for inbound success.
Essentially, outbound lead generation is about pushing your product or service to potential customers, while inbound lead generation is about drawing customers to you.
Partner lead generation
It leverages existing relationships with complementary businesses to expand market reach and generate high-quality leads. By collaborating with partners who share a similar target audience, companies can tap into new customer segments, increase brand visibility, and boost sales. Effective partner programs involve careful selection of partners, joint marketing initiatives, lead sharing, and performance tracking to maximise the benefits for both parties. PRM software is specifically designed to manage partner relationships, including lead sharing, performance tracking, and collaboration.
Final thoughts
By incorporating lead generation software equipped with essential features like lead capture, management, scoring, and integration capabilities, businesses can significantly enhance their lead generation efforts. These tools empower organisations to increase lead volume, improve lead quality, and ultimately drive sales efficiency. Through data-driven insights and streamlined processes, businesses can make informed decisions to optimise their marketing and sales strategies.
The right lead generation software is essential for building a robust pipeline and achieving sustainable growth. To select the optimal tool for your business, carefully evaluate your specific needs and consider factors such as lead capture capabilities, contact management efficiency, lead scoring accuracy, integration with existing systems, and robust analytics. By aligning the software's features with your sales and marketing goals, you can effectively nurture leads, improve conversion rates, and drive revenue growth. Remember to prioritise user-friendliness, scalability, and affordability when making your decision.
Ultimately, the best lead generation software is one that empowers your team to identify, qualify, and convert prospects into loyal customers.
