We are all in a time of uncertainty - trying to think 20 steps ahead on how to stay ahead in business. There are various tools that could be used now to help expand your sales development acuity. This blog will be expanded to cover more sales development tools that Concept has researched and our recommendations.
The first software/tool we focused on are sales intelligence tools to assist in prospecting leads. With all of the sales intelligence tools out there, we spent some time diving in to provide some practical feedback including pros and cons. Concept has spent a couple thousand hours trialing which tools (the free version of each tool) work best to uncover those qualified leads to help build your sales pipeline. Through this research we have been able to identify four prospecting lead tools. Let’s discuss the pros, cons, and our recommendation for these tools.
LinkedIn Sales Navigator allows sales teams to widen their search for potential customers by identifying and leveraging the website’s network of organizations and individuals in that organization. This tool allows you to save leads, set alerts, and more to maximize your ability to follow up and find a quality lead.
| PROS | CONS |
| Sales Navigator comes out on top in its ability to not limit the number of searches you are able to complete. | In order to get Salesforce integration, you need the enterprise level paid version of LinkedIn Sales Navigator |
| OUR RECOMMENDATION |
| Sales Navigator comes out on top in its ability to not limit the amount of searches you are able to complete. |
Hunter is a prospecting tool that has the ability to find any email address. In addition to these email addresses, Hunter gives you access to names, job titles, social networks, and phone numbers.
| PROS | CONS |
| It confirms the deliverability of any email address, ensuring that your email can get where it needs to go. | It is not able to fully sync with Salesforce as well as the limit it places on your ability to do searches. With these limits, you must be conscious about what businesses you're searching for and know when it isn't a good fit. |
| OUR RECOMMENDATION |
| This tool comes out in the middle because of its ability to verify email deliverability and its ability to sync with some CRM software. |
GetProspect is advertised as a tool where you can simply input your search criteria and the extractor will provide a list of names with corporate emails, position, LinkedIn profile URL, company name, industry, website and more.
| PROS | CONS |
| This tool’s integration with LinkedIn allows you to check a box next to their name with the plug-in and it searches for and reports an email address if there is one associated with the LinkedIn page. | One of the cons of this tool, like others, is the limit of searches you are allowed to perform per month. |
| OUR RECOMMENDATION |
| This tool comes out more towards the bottom because of its limit on searches per month, but it also offers search filters to better narrow potential leads in bulk based on various search criteria items. |
Manta is a strong prospecting tool for smaller businesses. It allows access to the name of an owner or sometimes a manager and checks the address and phone number of the business to create that connection.
| PROS | CONS |
| Manta business pages give you a bit of insight into the size of the company and allow you a way to check that you have the right contact information. | Some cons of this tool include the limited abilities it holds but it has been found to be extremely useful in smaller business and organizations. |
| OUR RECOMMENDATION |
| If you’re targeting a small businesses, this is a good option for you to help uncover leads. |