To achieve sustainable business success, you need a marketing funnel that finds, acquires, and converts leads. For your funnel to operate efficiently, you need qualified leads that have directly expressed interest in your products and services — and you need them at scale. The solution? Digital marketers know that it’s all about using the right lead generation software.

Why You Need Lead Generation Software

Recently, more than 61% of marketers said lead generation was the most significant challenge they were facing this year. Converting leads is essential — 74% of companies put lead conversion as their top priority. 

However, salespeople’s days working a phone bank to canvas leads have dwindled into the distant past. Now, 80% of marketers employed automation software to improve lead generation. Advances in technology have made this the best option, as 77% of marketers saw a higher conversion rate than those who didn’t use software solutions.

Lead generation software has a wide variety of applications in marketing strategy. It allows users to access a larger audience and identify new prospects by properly segmenting it. Many lead generation solutions offer lead scoring and management, so you can track which leads are most likely to result in a conversion. Lead generation software also provides the ability to improve data accuracy for both new and existing accounts.

Lead generation software can be used by any company with a dedicated marketing strategy, from small businesses to global corporations. Certain tools require varying levels of technical know-how, but there are software options to fit every user. For that reason, it’s helpful to have a basic understanding of the different types of lead generation software available. 

Types of Lead Generation Software

Businesses can acquire quality leads from any number of touchpoints on their customer’s journey. Here’s are examples of the main types of lead generation software and their capabilities:

Calendar Scheduling – Saves you the hassle of scheduling lead meetings or demos by allowing leads to easily book a time that suits them best.

Contests – Runs brand awareness-boosting, inexpensive contests to encourage people to sign up for your mailing list. Includes pre-made templates, sharing options, and simple creative processes.

Customer Research/Survey – Asks your target audience and visitors pertinent questions to gain valuable data like web usage, budget, and their experience with your website.

Social Media & Forum – Streamlines lead generation on social networks through accurate search filtering and expanded personal details for prospective leads.

Live Chat – Funnels site visitors’ attention with a chat bubble visible on individual pages, allowing quicker direct contact with potential leads.

Process Automation – Saves time by automating routine actions and tasks like sending messages/emails, uploading posts, and responding to comments. 

Email Marketing – Creates and optimize email marketing campaigns. Useful for sorting email lists, educating leads, and sending offers that could convert to sales.

Complete Marketing Automation – Offers a complete package of marketing tools on a single platform. Includes email, social, and landing pages. 

Landing Page Creation & Capture – Designs and launches landing pages. Includes A/B testing, integration with other marketing tools, and accurate lead capture reports.

Form & Email Collection – Gathers emails on your site to build your email list for future campaigns and overall content promotion.

Email Follow-up – Sends emails and follow-up to leads. Improves your open, reply, and conversion rates. 

Email Look-up – Employs pattern-breaking algorithms and past data to identify emails using names, companies, and websites.

Lead Data Collection – Collects various data points from your visitors to discern personal details like company, email, name, and others.

There are even more niche tools available for every lead generation need. Keeping these tool types in mind, here is a collection of our 14 favorite lead generation tools to help your business grow.

Top 14 Lead Generation Software Solutions

1. Acquire

Acquire.io is a live chat solution adaptable to any customer support team. Its chat function gives you the ability to communicate and answer customers’ and prospects’ questions in real-time. Employing included tools like a lead bot will allow you to automate at least a portion of the chat process. A chatbot can be an efficient way to qualify and convert your leads.

One manager highlighted the real-time capabilities, even initiating a chat with a site visitor to make sure you don’t miss a single potential lead. 

Pricing starts at $300 as a monthly fixed platform fee and $40/month per user.

2. Oktopost – The People Database

Oktopost’s social media management platform includes the People Database. This social and forum tool captures all brand interactions across your social media platforms. It can also track those leads and even match and sync personal data to existing ones in your database. This data helps to personalize your buyer’s journey while improving your communication strategies for current and future leads.

Several reviewers appreciated the ability “to track the social journey of a lead from initial engagement all the way to conversion.” 

Oktopost’s pricing is upon request.

3. LinkedIn Sales Navigator

LinkedIn’s homegrown social media & forum software offering is exceptionally adept at improving qualified lead finding on the platform. It offers marketers multiple advanced search filters to find potential leads. It also provides in-depth information on those leads, such as job positions and phone numbers. 

Many mid to senior-level sales and business development professionals lauded the software as “perfect for prospecting and gaining knowledge of companies before you even talk to someone.” 

Pricing starts at $64.99/month. 

4. Marketo

Marketo is an all-in-one marketing solution that offers a wide selection of tools and features for lead generation and management. These include landing pages, marketing automation, email marketing, CRM integration, and more. This software suite is geared more towards larger entities as it is relatively costly.

One particular enterprise customer highlighted that Marketo “helps us route leads accordingly in the CRM, and we are able to stay on top of our customers.” 

Recently acquired by Adobe, pricing is now upon request.

5. Clickfunnels

ClickFunnels is a do-it-all sales funnel and landing page builder. You can select many different sales funnels and build your landing pages for each accordingly to encompass your entire online campaign. It is perfect for entrepreneurs or small-to-midsize businesses looking to maximize landing page effectiveness and personalization.

Multiple business owners lauded the community aspect of ClickFunnels as well as the capability of the software to “automate the entire sales funnel & follow-up process.” 

Pricing begins at $97/month.

6. OptinMonster

OptinMonster is a widely lauded form and email collection tool. It has visually engaging and customizable templates, A/B testing, and geolocated targeting. It’s Exit-Intent Technology feature tracks visitors’ mouse movements on-page — and sends a targeted message when they are about to leave. OptinMonster is ideal for bloggers, eCommerce, small businesses, and marketing agencies.

Several mid to high-level managers appreciated the high-quality and smart forms with expansive functionality. 

Pricing begins at $19/month.

7. Prospect.io

Prospect.io is an email look-up and follow-up combo tool. It contains useful sales automation features to improve your prospecting results. Prospect.io searches for and verifies emails for potential leads while tracking the data from all interactions. 

One head of marketing said the software could replace a team member who would have to gather and then send emails and follow-ups. 

Pricing starts at $89/month.

8. Qualaroo

Qualaroo is a customer research and survey tool that provides many tools for gathering small business customer and prospect feedback. It also generates leads by including a survey question that leaves a way for visitors to choose to be contacted or leave their email. 

Users repeatedly discussed the ease of use and praised the included templates.  

Pricing for Qualaroo begins at $50 per month for 50,000 tracked pageviews.

9. Rafflecopter

If you want simple, easy-to-make yet high-quality contests, Rafflecopter is one of the best choices available. With options for creating contests on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest, it’s equally valuable for entrepreneurs and enterprises alike. 

The standout aspect of Rafflecopter across the board for users is that you can have a contest up and running within minutes. 

Pricing starts at $13/month, and there’s also a free plan.

10. Sendinblue

Sendinblue is an all-in-one marketing automation tool that helps optimize your customer journey from the very first click. Sendinblue has solutions for both small businesses and enterprises, including email and SMS marketing, real-time chat features, built-in CRM, and more.

Customers repeatedly mentioned the low cost and comparatively great benefits and features offered by their paid plans. 

Pricing starts at $25/month, with a limited free plan available.

11. Sleeknote

Sleeknote is a form and email collection tool that has put a spin on traditional on-site gathering methods. Sleeknote replaces traditional popups with smart messages tied to triggers like scroll, exit intent, and page level. You can also create custom-tailored options for your business.

Customers repeatedly praised the slide-in messages and overall great conversion results. 

Pricing for Sleeknote starts at €62/month.

12. Unbounce

Unbounce is a multi-faceted landing page builder that offers a simple drag-and-drop creator and numerous pre-made templates. It includes opt-in popups and an A/B testing tool. Unbounce also supports visitor stat tracking and AdWords integration, making it an all-around option for on-site lead generation.

One mid-sized company lauded the tool that stating, “In ~2 hours, I can go from ideation to delivery of a responsive, attractive, and customized landing page.” 

Pricing for Unbounce starts at $80/month.

13. Voila Norbert

Voila Norbert is an email look-up tool that offers to find anyone’s email as long as you have their name and company. It also hosts a bulk identification feature for larger projects. 

Many of the long-term users lauded the accuracy and clean interface. 

Pricing for Voila Norbert starts at $49/month, with a pay-as-you-go option for flexible usage.

14. Zapier

Zapier is not necessarily the first thing that comes to mind when you think of lead generation software, but it is a valuable tool in your kit. Zapier allows you to connect over 1500 various business services into a potent lead and marketing machine. It can chain together multiple automated processes, like having any new email added instantly to a self-updating spreadsheet and then triggering an alert in Slack.

For most users, Zapier “changed the way [they] deal with apps and tasks” with its streamlined automation chains. 

Pricing starts at $19.99/month.

The Power of Automated Lead Generation

Lead generation can be tricky, but by using the right tools to power your funnel, you can increase your opportunities to find leads for your business. Each business has different lead generation tactics and needs, so ensure the tool you choose supports your goals. Employing the power of automated systems to increase qualified leads while saving time and money is a sure path to business success in the coming year.