Lead Generation has never been for the faint of heart, but recent innovations have made the game even more competitive. Clients are much more demanding and have higher standards than ever for both lead volume and quality.
If you’re part of a lead generation agency, you’re certainly more than familiar with this new reality. Modern problems require modern solutions, and fortunately for you, tons of these modern solutions are available to help you meet (and even exceed) client demand. However, choosing the right tool for your business is no easy task.
1. Instantly
Instantly is the most complete cold email tool in the industry, boasting every feature a lead generation agency could require. Most relevant is its massive database of over 450 million leads, providing access to potential leads in nearly every professional field, demographic, and interest group.
Instantly Key Features
- Deliverability Dashboard: See all your metrics, scheduling, and suggestions in one unified interface.
- Clone Clients: Identify potential leads similar to existing customers for your clients, improving deliverability and response rates.
- Advanced Filters: Unmatched precision when selecting warm leads from Instantly’s massive B2B database.
- 1-Click Outreach: Reach out to every lead on your list of prospects in one easy gesture.
Instantly Pricing
- 14-day free trial available
- Growth: $37/month
- Hypergrowth: $97/month
- Lightspeed: $358/month.
Instantly Pros
- Full profile enrichment for all leads.
- All leads in the contact database are verified.
- Powerful keyword search for precise lead targeting.
- Exports contact data to major CRMs and outreach service providers.
Instantly Cons
- Slight learning curve for team members switching from other tools.
2. Apollo
Apollo is set up as a lead generation railroad, with its Pipeline Builder offering comprehensive tools and features for lead generation. It also delivers real-time data enrichment by automatically updating CRM records with key business information.
Apollo Key Features
- Search: Use over 65 different fine-tuned precision filters to search through Apollo’s lead database.
- Pre-meeting insights: Get all the information you need on your leads before reaching out to them.
- Account-based prospecting: Pinpoint important leads within an account and get personalized outreach suggestions.
Apollo Pricing
- Free: $0/month
- Basic: $59/month
- Professional: $99/month
- Organization: $149/month
Apollo Pros
- AI insights for effortless lead selection and more.
- Free plan for testing its features before committing to a subscription.
Apollo Cons
- Starts free but becomes more expensive than competitors for scaling businesses.
- Requires technical expertise to properly use the large number of filters in the database.
3. Clay
Clay focuses on maximizing lead generation through its Total Addressable Market Sourcing, offering users an aggregated database of leads from more than 100 different providers with robust verification. Clay goes all in to ensure you don’t miss any prospective leads, ever.
Clay Key Features
- Waterfall data enrichment: Clay leverages its 100+ sources to help enrich existing lead data, in addition to generating new leads.
- Claygent: Built-in AI helps you pull up any information you require about a lead with a simple request.
- Formula generator: Allows users to give instructions in plain English and converts those to a workflow formula that helps address leads.
Clay Pricing
- Free plan available
- Starter: $149/month
- Explorer: $349/month
- Pro: $800/month
- Custom: Request a custom price quote
Clay Pros
- Massive list of integrations with other cold email services.
- Offers unlimited users across all plans, including its free plan.
Clay Cons
- Lacks advanced outreach tools focusing only on lead generation.
- Clay’s premium plans are very expensive, especially for smaller agencies.
4. Mailshake
If your clients are all about professional leads, then you’ll probably love Mailshake. It’s a lead generation tool with a unique focus: leveraging its LinkedIn Automation tool to provide B2B customers with more value when generating leads and running outreach campaigns through a multi-channel approach.
Mailshake Key Features
- Data finder: Enrich all your leads with ease, getting emails and other details your clients require.
- Mail merge: Aggregate all your lead lists in one place and send outreach all at once, while still showing up as 1-1 emails.
- Lead catcher: Easily manage all your leads in one place, with one-click tools for outreach.
Mailshake Pricing
- Starter: $29/month
- Email Outreach: $49/month
- Sales Engagement: $99/month
Mailshake Pros
- Robust Chrome extension with integrations for lead generation and enrichment.
- Offers some features, such as Data Finder, as single-use subscriptions or enrichment for other services.
Mailshake Cons
- Doesn’t offer any free version or a limited trial for user evaluation.
- Falls behind in value for campaigns that don’t need LinkedIn integration.
5. Smartreach
Smartreach offers a comprehensive service package with specialized tools designed for agencies. One of the most impressive features is Smartreach’s ESP Matching function, which detects a lead’s email service provider and sends cold emails using the same provider to ensure maximum deliverability.
Smartreach Feature Highlights
- Leads Finder: Find leads with a large database with a focus on company leads for B2B lead generation.
- Unified Inbox: Manage emails from multiple campaigns in one easy-to-use interface.
- Inbox Rotation: Allows for automatic inbox rotation for campaigns, which pairs well with the unlimited email feature.
Smartreach Pricing
- 14-day free trial available
- Email Outreach Basic: $29/month
- Email Outreach Plus: $89/month
- Email Outreach Pro: $199/month
- Email Outreach Scale: $499/month
Smartreach Pros
- Specialized agency panel for interrupt-free onboarding.
- Multichannel automation across email, LinkedIn, WhatsApp, and phone.
Smartreach Cons
- The premium Agency packages are expensive compared to competitors.
- Leads have to be manually verified within the platform, even if they were initially prospected in Smartreach.
Read More: 6 B2B Lead Finder Tools You Can Use to Generate Leads
Key Takeaways
Your agency has several powerful tools to choose from for lead generation and outreach. Clay offers a comprehensive go-to-market platform, while Smartreach specializes in outbound campaigns. Apollo provides versatile functionality across multiple areas, and Mailshake excels at targeted, industry-specific lead generation.
Traditionally, you’d need to evaluate each platform’s strengths and limitations before selecting the best fit for your needs. However, there’s now a solution that eliminates these difficult trade-offs entirely.
Instantly delivers the comprehensive capabilities your agency needs to serve clients across any industry at full capacity. This modern platform streamlines your lead generation process, removing the complexity and limitations that have held your agency back.
