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I suppose you must have come in search of information, be it Lead generation tools or LinkedIn automation tools. Just to make sure this will be a worthwhile read and not just another tech blog, let's not only talk about tools and features; instead, let me take you through the journey of how I came across these tools, what made me choose/reject them, when or when not one should opt for these tools.
Effective all-in-one lead generation tools are a rare find, particularly when it comes to B2B lead generation tools, most marketers will need a combination of several resources to meet their goals.
These tools come primarily in the form of apps and software that help automate everything from content creation, website design, social media management to SEO. These tools not only make lead generation an easy task but also enhance the funnel flow.
It all started a year back for us. We are a product based company where we need to generate a lot of inbound leads daily. We want to capture our incoming website traffic and use email list building tools to do so, but there is more to it – and many more channels to prospect on. We need to get information like contact emails, LinkedIn, company name, contact number, and other related details.
We did extensive research and created a list of all the tools that we needed to evaluate to solve your problem.
In this blog we will cover:
Lead generation tools are crucial for any business looking to drive growth. Here are the 20 best lead generation and automation tools to streamline your marketing efforts and increase your conversion rates today.
So what comes to your mind when you hear the word Hunter, one who hunts others? Exactly this is what Hunter.io does, hunt the contact details for you. We found it during the research only. Web-based email search and verification tool that helps find and verify professional email addresses from companies and domains.
Features
When to use: Recommended tool for generating email addresses, and email verification, also provides the sources it has been scrapping domain search.
When not to use: Doesn’t provide any insight or analytics on data management, costlier than other tools. Bulk email scraping becomes a tedious task sometimes.
As the name suggests Skrapp is used for fetching data. It is indeed powerful and extensively useful. Finding new business leads is the essential value add of Skrapp, and it helps in B2B lead generation in every category and supports over 30 countries. A free trial of Skrapp is available for Windows and Mac OS.
Features
When to use: You can use this tool when huge scrapping has to be done, and the bounce rate of the email address is not a significant criterion. The tool is particularly useful in cases when employee headcount, country, and designation are under consideration.
When not to use: We didn’t go for the tool as scrapping cannot be done at once for all the result pages on Sales Navigator, and the bounce rate we are getting for the scrapped emails was high.
Another tool that we took for testing is LeadLeaper. It helps us in generating email addresses on LinkedIn contact groups lead tracking.
One has to go on the profiles and then get the details from the chrome extension which Leadleaper provides, and the database contains all the vital information that is required.
Features
When to use: When selected contact information needs to be collected, it can be a useful tool as it is present as a side tool on LinkedIn itself so no need to hover anywhere.
When not to use: Bulk contact extraction can be a tedious task using this tool, and no automation is provided at that front.
Bulk scrapping is still a problem for us; we need to solve it. Skrapp is undoubtedly a solution to it but the accuracy of the details it provides in terms of the email address is something we are worried about. The next tool exploration that we undertook is SalesQL.
Features
When to use: Bulk scrapping needs to be, automated page visiting. The bounce rate is comparably low. Easy to use, the list can be created for better understanding. Database is large
When not to use: When the contact number is essential as provides a general number as desk/company rather than POCs.
We kept looking into better b2b lead generation tools even after we found the right perspective in terms of SalesQL. We thrive on making this process more comfortable and automated to reduce the time consumed. Aeroleads is one such tool that helps you do so. Aeroleads helps you to find an email address and build an email list in real time for your business.
Features
When to use: Bulk scrapping needs to be, automated page visiting. Bounce rate is comparably low. Easy to use, the list can be created for better understanding. The database is large and has an additional advantage over Hunter, with team collaboration and CRM integration.
When not to use: Lead Nurturing is something missing out in Aeroleads.Import/export of databases facility is also not available.
After we figure out how to get an email address, we still need to figure out how to get the contact number of the leads we are generating. It has to be something which can be easily used on LinkedIn itself. That’s when we discovered Lusha.
The features that pursued me in taking the trial of this tool.
When to use: Phone number is the primary concern. Have accuracy in terms of providing data—a handy tool for companies looking for selected contacts to reach out.
When not to use: Specific LinkedIn accounts have to be visited personally, and data is scrapped which is a time taking task, comparatively costly than other such tools.
Another tool that we came across during this research period of us is Seamless.Ai, another powerful b2b lead generation tool. It comes with the Sales Navigator like dashboard which has somewhat filtered the same as the navigator and thus makes the search process more manageable.
When to use: As the name suggests, it is undoubtedly seamless when it comes to database creation.Can be used both ways with or without a Sales navigator. The bounce rate is low as compared to many such tools.
When not to use: The accuracy in terms of phone numbers is some of the disadvantages.
Our data enrichment problem has not been solved yet; it’s still a long way to go in terms of exploration. The next tool we hit is ClearBit.
ClearBit comes with extensive features as Data Enrichment, B2B audience targeting and many more.
When to use: If you are looking for accuracy and reliability in terms of Data Enrichment, Lead generation, web traffic tracking. Easy integration with many CRM like HubSpot, Salesforce, Fresh contacts etc
When not to use: The one disadvantage which I find while exploring clear bit is its price which is relatively high in its segment. Moreover, Zoominfo by discovery org has an upper hand contact details availability.
Many people will wonder why Leadworkx is here, but it can be a handy tool in terms of lead generation from web traffic. User behaviour can be studied using this tool, what they are looking for when they visit the website. A lot of filtering can be done in terms of incoming traffic. For example, any company that visits my pricing page from the United States has more than 1000 employees attach their email to the HubSpot or salesforce.
When to use: This can be a useful tool when one has to track the audience who are visiting the website, give a good insight into the traffic sources so that time distribution can be done properly. The user interface is smooth, well-considered, and easy on the eyes. Most software programs struggle with the balance of form and function, especially those with heavy data reliance. But Leadworx has done a beautiful job striking the right balance between the two.
When not to use: The company domain which Leadworx provides many a time makes it a problem to target the right audience. Even the integration with CRMs and other lead-generation tools is limited.
Finder.io is an email finder and verifier tool that offers a unique approach to email verification. It employs a monthly updated database of over 430 million email addresses to discover and validate leads. Businesses trying to grow their email lists and launch outreach efforts may find this to be a useful tool.
Features
When to use
This tool works well for searching, verifying, and checking business email addresses. Small and medium-sized enterprises can access more than 500 million emails by using this email checker. Imagine what it would be like to find such a large amount all at once. One can completely respond to this email lookup tool, which has special lead creation features, to generate B2B sales.
When not to use
There are certain situations where it may not be appropriate to use this service. Here are some scenarios where it is not advisable to use Finder.io:
Email spamming
Stalking or harassment
Violating privacy laws
Targeting vulnerable individuals
Another lead generation tool we discovered during this phase is Hoovers.D&B Hoovers is a sales acceleration solution that provides a path from prospect to a profitable relationship by leveraging data and analytics. B2B sales professionals can engage with customers to grow their business.D&B Hoovers combines commercial databases from Dun & Bradstreet with analytics to deliver a sales intelligence solution packed with insight.
When to use: Structure of database and Company Data points are good. I can use Hoovers to build a client profile by looking up customers. I can use this to analyse past customers and make a list of "good fit" for future prospects. Estimated data points are average at best (sales revenue, number of employees, square footage). Overall the database and data structure of a company's profile is one of the best out there. The ability to see data before exporting is incredible, it gives you a great preview before spending purchased credits. Overall, I am confident, from my use and experience, they have the majority of midsize-large businesses in the United States.
When not to use: contacts are average at best. Some data is old and without a phone number where a simple google search brings up a phone number. Cannot remove companies within the same building (suite or floor numbers). The ability to append data through a website would be a great feature that is currently missing. The list match feature requires a lot of info to get a match. Some small companies are missing.
Integration between HubSpot Marketing hub and Xoxoday helps you improve your campaign response rate by engaging prospects and customers with personalised rewards, incentives, gift cards, etc. The seamless integration between the two platforms allows you to analyse and track details like the number of campaigns running, the number of gift coupons sent, etc. from either platform, without having to juggle between the two.
How to Get Started with Integration.
Our next focus is to get the data enriched from time to time and also to increase lead generation. Process and also decrease the time taken in the process. We tried 4-5 tools for the same purpose. The first tool is Snov.io.
When to use: Direct domain search can be done, Works independent without the need for third-party tools as we need SalesQL for Lusha, technographic features which allow us to find which company is using what in terms of technology.
When not to use: Lack features like Calendar management, Social media integration, Task Management which one find in tools in this range.
I got to know about Full contact on the recommendation of one of the colleagues at work. It helps in gaining unparalleled recognition and insights by mapping fragmented identities into a persistent Person ID with our person-first identity graph.
When to use: One of the best tools for data enrichment, integration is easy to CRM likes HubSpot, Salesforce, etc., to keep updating both contact and company details. Email verification is also present.
When not to use: Data enrichment in terms of contact properties such as social media profiles(LinkedIn, Facebook) is still on a case to case basis and not a proper solution is there.
Another tool I took an interest in regarding solving the given problem is Zoominfo.
When to use: Cloud-based lead generation platform that helps businesses of all sizes streamline workflow processes and improve marketing operations with database administration, task assignment and more. Have an advantage over Snov.io in terms of data enrichment in CRM as well as scoops which are insightful to track potential buyers.
When not to use: Cannot be used when lead nurturing, lead verification, lead validation is the use case.
Data enrichment is still something we have found a satisfactory result. We are looking for something that appends and updates existing and incoming prospect data in real-time to ensure information stored within your applications is always current and accurate.
Another tool I'd like to talk about is SalesIntel, though it has limited presence but some features make it a stand out tool.
When to use: Need competitors' insight as to which company is using your competitors’ product, and want an independent tool which can be used to generate data without third-party tools like sales navigator.
When not to use: Presence is limited so won’t recommend people who have TGs in a location other than the US, Canada.
Minelead is a powerful platform designed to generate email addresses and verify their authenticity. With Minelead, you can effortlessly generate targeted email addresses, ensure their validity through verification, and access valuable information about the domains they originate from. Experience the convenience and efficiency of Minelead as you streamline your email marketing efforts.
When to use: Minelead is the perfect solution for various situations where you need to generate, verify, and explore email addresses. Whether you are an email marketer looking to build targeted campaigns, a sales professional searching for leads, or a researcher in need of accurate contact information, Minelead offers valuable tools to streamline your efforts.
When not to use: When using Minelead to scrape emails from LinkedIn profiles, it is important to note that specific LinkedIn accounts must be visited individually, and the process needs to be done manually.
VoilaNorbert helps you find any email address, manage your leads and save a lot of time otherwise spent on creating an email list. It allows you to find leads, email addresses and contact information on any websites simply by clicking on a button. All your leads can then be exported, added into custom-made lists and/or contacted directly from Norbert with advanced tracking tools to know if they opened or even clicked on your emails.
- email finding and verifying in bulk
- email enrichment
- lead generation and lead management
- first 50 searches are free
When to use: Easy to use, user-friendly interface. It always runs the found email address through an email verification process to validate its accuracy. Each email is then equipped with a "certainty score" that tells you how sure Norbert is that he found the right email address for you.
When not to use: Rarely Norbert can’t find an accurate email address, so it doesn’t suggest you any.
Who doesn’t use LinkedIn these days? So let me directly dive into the automation related to LinkedIn. We do a lot of stuff on LinkedIn - send invites, connect, build valuable connections, so why not to decrease the manual work and automate it completely. Our next research is based on this.
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One of the powerful social media tools in today’s time is LinkedIn; hence LinkedIn automation is one of the top priorities for me. When I talk about automation, I talk about automation in terms of connects, invites, messages, group posting. The first tool I explored is Linked Helper.
When to use: I highly recommend this tool for all kinds of LinkedIn automation as it is cheap as compared to other tools with the same or fewer features. Deliver almost everything that it claims.
When not to use: Bulk automation shouldn’t be done using these tools as this may hamper one’s LinkedIn account, may lead to restriction.
Precaution: 25-50 new connect/messages should be done per day.
Linkedin Automation in terms of connects, invites, group messages,1st message. The only advantage over linked helper is it allows triggered messages as in if someone accepts the connect request you can trigger the first message after x amount of time according to your preference.
When to use: Triggered Messaging is when required, it can be an excellent tool, i.e. messaging as soon as someone accepts the connection, it need not be automated again.
When not to use: The tools come with a hefty price as compared to Linked Helper and deliver almost the same as it except one additional feature which I talked about.
Another powerful linkedin automation tool which we found while seeking a solution for linkedin automation is Dux-Soup.An easy to use tool, Dux-Soup, makes finding leads, nurturing them, and getting them close to conversion, seem like a smoothly streamlined exercise.Communicating with your prospects on LinkedIn becomes a more organized and chaos-free task with Dux-Soup.
When to use:Setting up a drip campaign for LinkedIn is very easy compared to others, using Dux Soup. These campaigns automatically when your prospects respond.Their support team is a fantastic bunch. They also provide live chat support during EU and US business hours, which is an impressive effort towards faster and better customer query resolution.
When not to use: Your device might slow down when you install Dux Soup as a chrome extension, and your LinkedIn account will load very slowly. This makes the overall experience bad.The interface is clunky and not intuitive. It takes time to learn how to use the tool properly.
These are our thoughts over the different lead generation tools which we discovered. Do let us know if we have missed something or should have tried some other fantastic tools in the market.
