Best prospecting tools

Effective sales prospecting is a multistep process that requires systematic prospect discovery, qualification, and outreach. In this post, you’ll see the best sales prospecting tools to help you engage with your ideal prospects.

From software that leverages your partner ecosystem to prospect databases, every tool on this list can help you fill your sales pipeline. But first, we’ll dive into the benefits sales prospecting tools have for your organization.

What is a sales prospecting tool?

A sales prospecting tool is software designed to simplify, optimize, and automate one or more steps in the sales prospecting process. Sales prospecting software includes niche tools designed for a single step in the process and comprehensive solutions.

Whatever you’re looking for, a sales prospecting tool will help you do one or more of the following:

• Identify high-quality prospects.
• Qualify and prioritize these prospects.
• Find accurate contact data for your prospects.
• Engage with your prospects.

The Benefits of Sales Prospecting Tools

While sales prospecting can be conducted manually, sales prospecting tools provide unique advantages. See common benefits below.

You’ll boost sales prospecting efficiency.

In 2022, 29% of salespeople reported that improving sales process efficiency was their top goal, according to research.

To create a more efficient sales process, teams need to focus on all stages of the sales lifecycle. That includes how prospects are identified.

Unlike manual prospecting, sales prospecting software allows you to quickly identify potential customers. You can automate parts of the search process to save time and resources.

Prospect and data quality will improve.

A 2022 Sales Strategy Survey found that 18% of salespeople cite a lack of high-quality leads as their top challenge. Your team may also struggle to find high-caliber prospects, which results in low-quality leads.

Even in instances where salespeople can identify interested customers, 19% of salespeople struggle with getting in direct contact with decision-makers.

Sales prospecting software solves both of these problems by helping salespeople find, qualify, and prioritize leads. Additionally, these solutions help teams find accurate contact data and manage outreach.

You can conduct sales prospecting at scale.

Meeting sales quotas is a top challenge for 20% of salespeople. In fact, 26% of salespeople only get between 1 to 10 new leads a week.

For most salespeople, exceeding this number is nearly impossible with manual prospecting.

When each stage of the prospecting process is automated (whether in part or fully), your team can speed up the discovery, qualification, and outreach process. Many sales prospecting tools also provide access to prospect databases, which can be filtered and sorted based on your ideal customer profile.

Looking for a sales prospecting solution, but not sure where to start? Find the best sales prospecting tools below.