Top 15 B2B Lead Generation Companies (We’ve Tried Them All)
Okay, so I’m going to take a bit of a different take on the definition of “lead generation companies”. When I think of the term “B2B Lead Generation Companies” it’s a combination of software, tools, businesses, and agencies that are super important for closing B2B deals. As an agency ourselves here at Lead PPC, I’ve tried to think through which tools actually help me drive the most deals and that I actually use day in and day out or have had great success with in the past and then work backwards to other companies from there.
#1 – Google Ads
At the end of the day running Google Ads along with writing quality SEO content for your website are better than just about anything that you can do to drive quality leads. Before you jump into using any other software tool or lead generation company, I’d highly recommend getting your PPC ads dialed in with Google Ads as well as making sure that you’re publishing quality keyword specific content on your website for SEO before doing anything else. To be honest, I wish that I would have started writing 1-10 articles per day years ago for my business. Google SEO as well as Google Ads are by far our biggest drivers of real sales outside of customer referrals. Heck, Google even makes Google Sheets, which is a great free alternative to using a CRM if you’re on a really tight budget.
#2 – Calendly
It may sound kind of dumb, but Calendly has probably helped us close more deals here at Lead PPC than anything else. Simply send your leads to Calendly to book an appointment with you directly after they fill out your web form, and watch your calendar fill up with quality leads. For us here at Lead PPC, about 95% of our inbound leads book a call with us on Calendly, and it’s been an absolute game changer for us.
#3 – Unbounce
Okay, so outside of Google Ads and Calendly, Unbounce is the #1 company that we use here at Lead PPC that helps with lead generation. In fact, it works so well that we use it for lead generation for all of our hundreds of clients as well. Although there are other great platforms out there like Click Funnels, for us Unbounce is just so easy to use and setup even for hundreds of clients that we can’t even do without it anymore.
#4 – Salesforce
I used to be a CRM consultant back in the day where I would setup marketing automation and email marketing sequences across all sorts of CRMs. After all of that consulting, the CRM that I actually use myself here at Lead PPC is Salesforce. I’ve used it for about 10 years now, and I’ve never looked back. The dashboards and reports that you can setup without any custom programming really sets it apart. After Salesforce, I would say either Zoho or Hubspot would be best. The downside of Salesforce is that if you have multiple sales reps that each need their own account, it can get super pricey fast. If pricing is an issue, then go with Zoho or even just Google Sheets.
#5 – Jasper.ai
I originally had another agency on this list, but I’m swapping it out for Jasper.ai. Having something like Chat GPT or Jasper to help you write content is an absolute must. I use it to help write parts of my articles when I run out of ideas. And, it’s helped me go from writing a few articles a year to over 300 per year now. Very very helpful.
#6 – Call Tracking Metrics
I’m going to go with Call Tracking Metrics as the next most important company that helps with lead generation. Another similar alternative would be Call Rail. I like Call Tracking Metrics because it records everything, integrates with Salesforce nicely, can do dynamic phone numbers on landing pages, and can even do a decent job guessing which keyword in Google Ads drove each phone call. It’s not perfect at matching the correct GCLID 100% of the time, but it’s pretty darn close.
#7 – Lead PPC
So, I need to include at least 1 marketing agency on this list as it seems to be dominated mainly by tools and software. And, since we are a b2b lead generation company ourselves, I thought that I would include ourselves on this list. Of course, this is highly biased, but this is my article, so I get to be lol. If you’ve liked this article and would like to hop on a call to see how we might be able to help you with Google Ads and Meta Ads to help drive more leads for your b2b business, then please use our contact us form to reach out to us and schedule a call online.
#8 – Meta Ads
Using Facebook and Instagram for lead generation works for many businesses. The one downside of Meta Ads is that if your audiences are really small where you’re only going after a few thousand people, then Meta Ads will probably work really well for you for a couple of weeks and then stop driving many leads at a good price. Audience burnout can be a huge problem for Meta Ads, especially for B2B lead generation, but as long as your audience size is big enough, then it can oftentimes pace with Google Ads for lead flow.
#9 – Hubspot
While I don’t use Hubspot myself, so many of our clients do for marketing automation that this company definitely needs to be included in this list. Hubspot is kind of like Salesforce and Marketo mixed into one with a little bit of Unbounce as well for landing pages. It really is the ultimate marketing tool. However, the price tag on it is extremely expensive at $800 / mo. for professional and $3,600 / mo. for Enterprise. That’s why we don’t use it here at Lead PPC. But, down the road, it’s on my wishlist to use eventually to some degree. I’m not 100% sold on it, but it does have a lot of bells and whistles on it.
#10 – Intercom
Intercom is the best live chat software that we’ve ever used here at Lead PPC. The only reason that I ended up getting away from it is that my landing pages started converting into booked appointments at a much higher rate, so I decided to funnel all of our leads through Unbounce instead. But, if you can’t seem to get your landing pages to convert for you the way you think they should, using Intercom is a great way to engage directly with website visitors to find out what they’re looking for and to make sure that your SEO content, ads, and other marketing initiatives are actually going after the right types of keywords and people.
#11 – MailChimp
There are many great email marketing platforms out there such as Constant Contact and Keap, but MailChimp is still probably the most affordable and easy to use email marketing platform out there. And, they keep improving their software to get better and better at things like list segmentation via AI.
#12 – Salesloft
We started using Salesloft Cadence since it first initially came onto the marketplace. What’s nice about it is that you can plug it in with your Gmail account had send ~200 outbound emails per day to anybody that you want to. It can also help you find the contact info of people on LinkedIn that you don’t have email addresses for. For us here at Lead PPC, inbound marketing as a whole through SEO Content and PPC Ads ended up outperforming our outbound efforts, but if we were to go back to doing more outbound lead generation, Salesloft would be one of the first tools we would use.
#13 – LinkedIn Sales Navigator
As far as outbound sales and lead generation goes, LinkedIn Sales Navigator is a staple and is an easy tool for any Sales Development Representative (SDR) to use out the gate to start driving quality leads today. Pricing is extremely reasonable at $80 / mo. for Sales Navigator Core or $135 / mo. for Sales Navigator Advanced.
#14 – ZoomInfo
If you’re looking for a step beyond LinkedIn Sales Navigator that allows you to do outbound email marketing, cold calls, and direct mail, then ZoomInfo would be the next major company to consider engaging with for purchasing quality lists. The pricing on lists is extremely fair, and they keep the contacts within those lists pretty up to date so that you’re not just wasting the time of your sales team. We’ve used ZoomInfo for many of our outbound campaigns and had success with it.
#15 – Leverly (Formerly Speak2Leads)
One of the things that we see a lot of our clients here at Lead PPC struggle with us calling their leads back in time. Leverly takes web form leads when they come in and calls them and then you immediately so that those web form leads become phone calls right away. For myself, I still prefer to have a scheduled appointment via Calendly so that my day isn’t disrupted for sales calls all day long, but if I had more dedicated sales reps and needed to keep them busy then I would use Leverly. We recommend it for a lot of our clients in the franchising space.
B2B Lead Generation Strategies: A Quick Start Guide
In the challenging landscape of B2B marketing, lead generation stands as a pivotal point in the overall success of your business. Laying the foundation for a robust sales funnel, it’s the process of identifying and cultivating potential customers, a crucial step in your company’s growth and sustainability.
Understanding B2B Lead Generation
Before delving into the strategies, it’s important to understand what B2B lead generation entails. It’s more than just a numbers game. Quality, here, often trumps quantity. A solid lead generation strategy focuses on attracting prospective leads that are genuinely interested in your products or services and have a higher likelihood of becoming paying customers.
B2B Lead Generation Strategies
Let’s explore some proven strategies to boost your B2B lead generation efforts:
- Content Marketing: Content is king, and it reigns supreme in the world of B2B marketing. High-quality, relevant content not only attracts leads but also positions your company as a thought leader in your industry. This includes blog posts, e-books, white papers, webinars, and more.
- SEO: Search engine optimization is a long-term investment but has an exceptional return. By optimizing your website and content for search engines, you organically attract potential leads that are actively looking for products or services like yours.
- LinkedIn Marketing: As a B2B company, LinkedIn is a goldmine for generating high-quality leads. You can leverage sponsored content, InMail, dynamic ads, and more to reach your ideal audience. Regularly posting valuable content and participating in relevant groups can also boost your visibility.
- Email Marketing: Despite the rise of social media, email remains one of the most effective channels for B2B lead generation. Personalized, targeted email campaigns can deliver your message directly to your prospects and nurture them through the sales funnel.
- PPC Advertising: Pay-per-click advertising, particularly on platforms like Google Ads, allows you to reach potential clients at the exact moment they’re searching for your offering online.
Remember, a successful B2B lead generation strategy is one that is diverse and multifaceted, tapping into various modes of reaching potential clients. As you explore these strategies, bear in mind that the goal is not just to generate leads but to generate the right leads.
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Entrepreneur with a focus on Lead Generation, Google Adwords, Bing Ads, and Conversion.
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