AI Lead Generation Software: Finding Your Soul Customers

You could have just created the most groundbreaking, innovative product that ever was, but without the correct customers, it would just go unappreciated. 

Do you want all of this hard work to go to waste? Of course not. So get prepared to harness the power of artificial intelligence (AI) lead generation tools. 

Finding sales leads is like finding the butter to your bread. Here is what you should know about lead generation tools and how they will completely bring your company into the light with the help of AI. 

Why you should care about lead generation

Having a lead means you’ve locked down a customer who has a good chance of loving what you do. They will buy your products and use your services because you have taken the time to get to know them. 

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It doesn’t end there. Once you generate leads, you have to give customers a reason to stay by guiding them through the sales funnel, step by step. When they have made a purchase, they are classified as highly qualified leads. 

To find these wonderful people, you must use lead gen tools, especially AI-powered ones. For increased accuracy, automation, and efficiency, it only makes sense to harness the future of technology and give your business the best outreach possible.

Here are just some of the many benefits of lead generation. 

Builds a solid customer base

When you find high quality leads, you have to work to earn their loyalty. But once you have it, they won’t leave anytime soon. A strong customer base provides a stable foundation for: 

• Growing as a company 
• Increasing revenue 
• Improving customer retention
• Having an advantage over competitors. 

Effective marketing

If you don’t have a clear idea of which customers to target, you may as well be throwing money down the drain when it comes to campaigns. Lead generation allows sales and marketing teams to understand their target audience better and tailor marketing efforts accordingly. 

Knowing specifics within demographics, behavior, and interests is essential for targeting marketing email campaigns that really resonate with people. 

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Gives a competitive advantage

You will definitely stand out among those who haven’t carried out lead generation. Why? Because it is obvious to potential customers when a business has put the most time into their lead generation efforts to understand what they want. This is different from telling customers what they want, which many companies do. 

Doing this research also puts you in a great position to get ahead of market trends, and be one step ahead of competitors. 

Grows the business

It’s probably not surprising, but having loyal customers is key to sustainable long-term growth. You can rely on steady, high revenue and conversion rates because you have established trust, built relationships, and demonstrated why you’re worth it. 

Not only will your leads be loyal, but they will stay that way and refer you to their friends, family, and social media followers. The lead generation process is key to any business or startup.

Using AI for lead generation

Finding high-quality leads sounds like a lot of work, right? And it is, which is why AI has accepted the task. Here are 5 ways it can help.

1. Predict customer behavior

Leveraging advanced algorithms and machine learning models gives you the ability to see things traditional methods can’t, including what hasn’t happened yet. No employee is thatgood. 

Creating a positive customer experience is a goal of any business, but we can do one better. As well as predicting customer behavior, AI can warn you of any potential problems. It won’t leave you in the dark though, and will develop a marketing strategy to guide you through it. 

Another advantage of AI-powered lead generation tools is their ability to analyze large amounts of data quickly in real time. Traditional lead nurturing methods often involve manual analysis, which can be time-consuming and error-prone. 

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2. Personalized customer interactions

For successful conversions, it is important to tailor each customer interaction to be personal and relevant to them. 

If a user is spending a particularly long time on a product page, AI can target this event and send a personalized message to fit the occasion. You can make customers feel listened to and valued with the products you recommend to them and follow ups. This can be done via email, social media, or chatbots. 

3. Automation

Using AI can automate many parts of the overall process and remove a lot of the hassle. It can automatically collect data from websites, social media, and customer databases which would have originally been done by human marketing teams. 

One of the most valuable aspects of automation is lead scoring. This is done using machine learning, and essentially assigns a score to leads based on their likelihood to convert into sales. This helps you to concentrate on leads that are definitely going to count. 

4. API Integration

A business is like a machine: if one bit fails, the rest is thrown out of whack. That’s why having tools integrated with one another is so important. AI lead generation tools are pros at sliding into your current model and acting like they were there the whole time. 

You can use other business systems and platforms, such as customer relationship management (CRM) tools, to provide a seamless lead generation and sales process. Keep in mind that using too many tools in your business can slow things down. But a small collection of the right ones will make all the difference in communicating with customers and optimizing your workflow.  

5. Increased efficiency and accuracy

Taking into consideration the previous points as to why AI should be used in lead generation tools, it all points to one thing: an increase in efficiency and accuracy. This is what makes them so valuable and a league above traditional tools (including humans in some cases). 

AI can automatically take care of lead scoring and be much more accurate as it does so. This is because it can analyze huge amounts of data, therefore coming to a clear conclusion as to how valuable each lead is and how to best engage with them. 

With AI taking care of this part of the business, you and your team can pay attention to creating products you know customers will love. 

Best AI lead generation tools

With the ability to automate time-consuming tasks, analyze large amounts of data, and provide personalized recommendations, there’s no doubt you will benefit from an AI lead generation tool. Now that you’re aware of what your business has been missing, here are some of the best ones for scooping up customers left and right. 

Drift

If you want to fly high with the businesses that saw lead and pipeline conversion rates increase by 100%, do what they did and use Drift. With the power of AI, this marketing platform can engage with website visitors and identify leads among them. 

One of the main features of Drift is its chatbots. They are essential for personalizing the experience for each user based on their information, including the pages they are interacting with and what stage of the sales funnel they are in.

What makes Drift unique is that it focuses its attention on having conversations that actually mean something to users. The chatbots aren’t just talking at the customer, going through their rota, but instead are listening and producing unique responses in real-time.  

Due to this proactive approach, the chances of customers engaging with the business increase and therefore make the experience more impactful and rewarding. Making your business stand out in a sea of many is half the battle. 

As well as capturing leads, Drift makes other important areas of your business much easier to navigate. It integrates seamlessly with CRM systems, analytical platforms, and marketing automation tools to fully streamline your workflow and keep everything running smoothly. 

Pricing

Drift has flexible pricing plans accessible for businesses big and small. As with all software packages, the features you have access to will differ depending on how much money you pay. 

Try their free plan to get a taste of what Drift is capable of. If you love it, it’s worth expanding the budget a bit for Drift as they claim to produce a 670% return on investment (ROI). 

Depending on your business and needs, they can customize pricing plans and packages if you contact them.

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HubSpot

If you’re looking for an all-in-one inbound marketing and sales platform offering a range of AI-powered lead generation tools, then you should install HubSpot right this minute. 

• Lead scores: One of the best things about this platform is that it takes its job seriously and never misses a potential customer. It works by assigning a lead score to users depending on what you are looking for in a customer, allowing you to focus on lucrative marketing campaigns. 
• Predictive AI: Another way that HubSpot collects leads is with predictive AI. Machine learning algorithms are used to analyze previous information and find patterns indicating which leads are likely to convert into sales. Without wasting time on guesswork, you can save on risk, money, and time. 

• Customer information: Much like Drift, HubSpot deploys chatbots to gather vital information about customers. They answer user questions and recommend products they are sure to love. 
• Personalized emails: Email marketing is a powerful method for retaining customers. Depending on what products and services they interact with most in the company, HubSpot can send personalized emails about promotions, new releases, and reminders if they have yet to checkout with items in their basket.
• SEO optimization: Optimizing your overall website will help it organically rank higher in search results, bringing more traffic (leads) and increasing conversion rates. HubSpot will be your little assistant, and have a good look through your website before pointing out areas that need adjusting. 

Pricing

HubSpot’s pricing is known to fluctuate here and there due to promotions and discounts, so it’s worth keeping your finger on the pulse and checking back for a good deal. 

With all these tools, we recommend you try the free plan before committing to a purchase. Luckily, HubSpot provides one that allows you to try their contact, tasks, and deal management system. 

If it works for your business, have a look at the different pricing plans below. 

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LinkedIn Sales Navigator

This powerful sales and lead generation tool is designed specifically for LinkedIn users. Building quality professional relationships is the backbone of LinkedIn, and with this tool you can target the right people using advanced search filters such as company size, job title, industry, and more. 

• AI lead generation: It uses AI to power many of its features that help businesses identify and interact with high-quality leads. This ensures that you’re not wasting your time with dead ends because all that time reaching out to people can add up and leave you exactly where you started. 
• Profile views: One of the best things about LinkedIn Sales Navigator is that it shows you who has looked at your profile. It’s not just about being nosy. Following up on this passive interaction will likely create a professional relationship where you are connected and mutually assisted within the industry. 
• Activity tracking: You can also save these accounts and their leads to stay updated on their activity. LinkedIn Sales Navigator will alert you if there are any new engagement opportunities. With insights, LinkedIn’s AI can provide businesses with detailed information about a lead’s activity on the platform. This includes their recent posts and interactions, which helps businesses personalize their outreach and engage with leads more effectively. 
• Personalized messaging: Even if leads are not in your network, you can use the InMail feature to message potential prospects. The messages are private and provide the opportunity to start a conversation.

All in all, anyone wishing to leverage the power of LinkedIn for B2B lead generation efforts and develop professional relationships should use LinkedIn Sales Navigator. With its advanced search filters, lead and account saving features, and InMail messaging capabilities, you will grow your business in no time. 

Pricing

You can get a 25% discount on LinkedIn Sales Navigator pricing if you pay for it annually instead of monthly. To really see if this tool is worth the investment, here are the monthly pricing plans you can try. 

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Salesflare

Imagine effortlessly capturing and tracking lead qualifications, managing customer interactions, and automating tedious admin tasks with just a few clicks. That’s exactly what Salesflare offers, and it does so with a level of sophistication and user-friendliness that sets it apart from other sales software on the market. 

• Analyzes customer data: One of the things that makes Salesflare so effective is its use of AI algorithms to understand customer data. This includes predicting trends, patterns, and customer behavior. All of this information is then presented to you in an easy-to-understand way, giving you the power to tailor your sales approach for the best results.
• Seamless integration: Salesflare also integrates with other business tools like email lists and CRM software. You can now easily manage all customer interactions from a single platform without having to switch back and forth between applications.
• Sales gamification: Just because you have a business doesn’t mean you have to find sales fun. Luckily, Salesflare understands this and has found a way to make the process much more engaging. It adopts gamification to make it personalized and enjoyable to be a part of. You probably never would’ve imagined associating sales with fun, but if you use Salesflare, it’s surprising how much more productive and motivated you and your team will be. 

Pricing

If you like the sound of Salesflare, go ahead and give it a spin with the free trial. After you fall head over heels in love with it, you can commit to a pricing plan, as shown below. 

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Lusha

This AI-powered lead generation tool can help you find and engage with your target customers like never before. With its advanced features and user-friendly interface, Lusha is a game changer for businesses to grow their customer base and increase revenue.

• Collects user data: Lusha uses its algorithms to scour social media platforms and the web to find relevant, up-to-date information such as phone numbers and email addresses of leads. This user data can then be implemented for outreach. You need to ensure that your messages don’t end up in the ‘spam’ folder by making them personalized and written in a way for leads to resonate with. 
• User-friendly: It’s super easy to get set up with Lusha. It can integrate with HubSpot and Salesforce to make important leads and contact information much more accessible for beginners. Having all of this data in one place results in an optimized workflow and no crossed wires. 

Pricing

As with LinkedIn Sales Navigator, you can save 25% if you pay for Lusha annually instead of monthly. As a comparison, here are the monthly price packages. If any of these plans don’t sound quite right, Lusha is more than happy to cater a package just for you. 

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ZoomInfo

ZoomInfo is a great tool for any business looking to make their B2B sales and marketing really count. It creates an in-depth company or ideal customer profile based on multiple different sources, including news articles, social media platforms, and company websites. 

• Large data set: This huge database of profiles is updated in real-time, giving your business the enormous advantage of being constantly relevant and up-to-date. It’s also easy to filter through these valuable data sets with search features for segmentation by age, purchasing history, and more. 
• Web scraping: Its main method of gathering data is done via ‘web scraping’ technology which is able to access data that the public cannot.
• Free contact information: ZoomInfo offers a free feature called ‘Community Edition’ which lets you into a world of wonder, AKA a huge database of business contacts big and small, including startups. Better yet, this data is constantly kept up to date. Having all this data at your fingertips is a blessing, as it would’ve taken weeks or months to collect it, so take the plunge and get connected to new leads that matter. 

Pricing

ZoomInfo is a little bit secretive about its pricing compared to the other AI lead generation tools in this article. You have to submit your email before you learn any more about how much they will quote you. However, with the magic of the internet, we can show you their pricing here. 

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Choosing the right AI lead generation software for your business

It doesn’t make sense to get every tool on this list, even if they are some of the best. Every business is different regarding budget, industry, and intent. 

For example, Salesforce could be the best decision ever made for one company, but a huge money drain for another. So, to avoid this, here are some things you should keep in mind. 

Needs

The first thing you should think about is the needs of your business. Are you trying to find more people to contact as a B2B? Do you already have the contacts, but need the means to send them all personalized messages as a B2C?

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Whatever your needs and goals, the lead generation process must work with you to meet them. This is not to say that they will magically fix everything within the first minute of installation. You need to take a bit of time to get to grips with how it works and how to customize it to fit your processes. This includes integrating it with your other software. 

Integration

To save you a headache as well as time and money, the tool you choose should integrate flawlessly with your current marketing technology. Otherwise, you can expect to have to transfer the data manually and constantly switch between applications. 

Budget

Next up is your budget. Even though there is a big chance that (if used correctly) AI lead generation tools will return on investment and then some, you still need to stay within your means – especially when you are just starting out. 

Depending on the apps you choose, they will fluctuate in pricing quite dramatically while offering different features in return. Go in with a clear idea of what you want from your AI technology, and you can contact the sales team and customize a perfect plan. 

Usability

When you introduce new software to your business, it is important that everyone knows how to use it. Taking on board a difficult, time-consuming platform to learn will only waste time and still has a chance of being used incorrectly. 

Consider your experience level and how your overall business operates when it comes to lead generation strategies. You will be grateful that you picked the responsive, user-friendly, and fun option. 

Are you struggling with finding the right customers for your products? Head over to Top Apps to discover how AI tools can make sure you get noticed.