INTRODUCTION
Lead generation, or lead generation for it companies, is a very important part of your lead generation strategy. But did you know that even though it’s an important part, many people are going about it the wrong way? Or at least the most ineffective way? Here, I’ll show you what you need to do instead.
Lead generation for it companies? What does that even mean? We’re glad you asked! In this post, we’ll go into depth on what lead generation is, why it’s important to set goals, and how to optimize your processes.
There are various tools out there which purport to help in generating leads generation. The options of tools are many and varied, but which one is best suited to your needs? this article outlines the main different types of tools used for IT lead generation.
What Is a Lead Generation Software/Tool?
Lead generation tools and software help you easily capture contact information from people interested in your company’s product or service. These are called “leads” and usually come from your website or other online sources.
The key to lead generation software is that leads are collected without any ongoing manual work from you. Essentially, these tools automate the process so you can focus on other areas of your business. Usually, this is done by offering a freebie (like a coupon, downloadable, or other enticing items) in exchange for an email address.
Lead generation tools will then collect the email address so you can follow up with your leads and begin the process to convert them into paying customers.
If you are struggling to collect leads, it’s time to bring in a new lead generation software… or past time to upgrade what you currently have. We’ve worked with loads of companies just like yours, and we’ve identified the key drivers of successful lead generation campaigns.
Why is this important? Well, you can focus on the things that really matter instead of wasting time trying to fix all of your lead generation problems yourself.
What Types of Lead Generation Software/Tools Are There?
Lead generation isn’t a “one size fits all” process. In fact, there are many different ways (and tools) to generate leads. They include:
- On-page Lead Generation: Drives leads directly from your website through optin forms and campaigns
- Email Marketing: Nurture those leads with campaigns to keep them engaged with your brand
- Email Address Finders: Connect with people who aren’t on your email list
- Prospecting and Outreach: Collect contact on anonymous visitors and reach out to potential leads
- Customer Relationship Management Tools: Connect and track leads throughout the sales funnel
- Sales Tools: Turn leads into paying customers while also staying in touch with existing customers
- Communication Tools: People love to chat and communicate. Use this to your business’ benefits to help generate leads
- Advertising Tools: Drive traffic to your site from places like social media and through paid ads
We know, it’s a lot. But you don’t have to use all of them to have a successful lead generation campaign.
It all comes down to the type of tools that make sense for you and the type of campaigns you want to run.
So, are you ready to get started? Let’s dive straight into our list.
Best Lead Generation Tools
Here’s a table of contents to help you navigate through this post:
- On-Page Lead Generation & Email Marketing
- Email Address Finders
- Prospecting and Outreach Tools
- CRM Tools
- Sales Tools
- Communication Tools
- Advertising Tools
- Other Lead Generation Software & Tools
That way, you can find what you’re looking for FAST.
Let’s start with the best tools for lead generation and email marketing.
On-Page Lead Generation and Email Marketing
You can’t beat on-page lead generation and email marketing for online lead generation.
If visitors are already looking at your website, they are already interested in your services or products. So, strike while they are on your site and collect that lead!
The stats show that most people welcome emails (even cold emails if they’re done right and follow the rules) from the companies they want to connect with.
That makes the combination of on-page lead generation and email marketing software the best lead generation duo. Here are some tools we recommend.
1. OptinMonster
OptinMonster is the best lead generation tool that makes it easy to convert your visitors into leads and customers.
It doesn’t matter what kind of website you run and what kind of leads you’re looking for. OptinMonster comes with the right solution for building campaigns to collect quality leads for your unique needs.
OptinMonster gives you the creative control to create eye-catching on-site lead generation campaigns like popups, slide-in windows, and gamified spin-to-win wheels. Even better? You can do it with a beginner-friendly and easy-to-use builder.
Plus, OptinMonster’s powerful personalization and targeting display rules put your campaigns in front of the right people at the right time.
In fact, OptinMonster is how AtHoc increased sales qualified leads by 141% and how SnackNation adds 1200 segmented leads every week.
Key Features:
- Reduce cart abandonment: Offer abandoning visitors a custom-tailored offer before they leave your site with Exit-Intent® Technology.
- Increase conversions and sales: Create upsell, downsell, and cross-sell offers to boost your customers’ average order value (AOV).
- Show targeted promotions: Show free shipping bars, share discount codes, promote flash sales, and more based on referral source, geo-location, previous on-site behavior, user’s device, etc.
- Targeted offers: Use what you already know about your visitors to run OnSite Retargeting® campaigns and improve conversions.
- Grow your email list: Integrate with your favorite email marketing, content management, and CRM platforms to automate your business.
Pricing: OptinMonster pricing starts at $9/month for our Basic plan, $19/month for Plus, $29/month for Pro (our most popular plan), and $49/month for Growth.Get Started With OptinMonster Today!
BONUS: Done-For-You Campaign Setup ($297 value)
Our conversion experts will design 1 free campaign for you to get maximum results – absolutely FREE! Click here to get started →
2. TrustPulse
TrustPulse is the market’s best social proof notification plugin.
Wait, social proof? Weren’t we talking about lead generation? Yes. But without trust, you will never collect leads. Social proof builds that trust.
In fact, adding social proof notifications is one of the most effective lead generation marketing tactics requiring the least amount of effort. TrustPulse will show notifications of activities taken by real people on your site, like viewing or buying products, signing up for newsletters, and more.
By displaying actual activity from real people, you will build trust with visitors.
Key Features:
- Real-time event tracking
- Smart targeting to boost conversions using advanced targeting rules and timing control
- Flexible design options to match your site’s branding
- Actionable analytics to get the stats you need to boost conversions
- Easy setup on any website with no coding needed
Pricing: The pricing plans start at $5/month for up to 2,500 sessions!
3. SeedProd
SeedProd is the best landing page builder on the market. Create beautiful landing pages using only a drag and drop builder (and no coding) in only a few minutes.
With a beginner-friendly drag and drop builder, you can create various pages for your site. Whether it’s for sales, maintenance, webinar, or optin campaigns, SeedProd has your back. But, with 150+ landing page templates, you don’t even need to worry about designing responsive and mobile-ready pages. All the hard work is already done for you.
SeedProd strong arms the conversion game by integrating with many email service providers and protecting your pages from spam, bots, and other fraudulent entries.
Key Features:
- Edit content in real-time and preview your website exactly as your visitors would with its live preview
- Put your website into coming soon, 404, or maintenance mode and go live whenever you’re ready, all with one click
- Compatible with any WordPress theme and helps you ensure your website matches your branding
Pricing: SeedProd’s yearly pricing starts at $39.50 for their Basic package, $89.55 for their Plus package, and $159.60 for their Pro package.
4. WPForms
WPForms is an easy-to-use form builder that adds simple lead generation forms to your website.
With 300+ pre-built templates, you can get the proper form on your site in just a few clicks.
While forms are limited in targeting rules as opposed to tools like OptinMonster’s popups, they are still an excellent and reliable way to generate leads.
Key Features:
- Drag and drop builder to make customization easy
- Mobile-friendly forms let you collect leads from any type of visitor
- Instant notifications allow you quickly respond to leads
- Smart conditional logic guides you through creating high-performing forms
Pricing: WPForm’s yearly pricing starts at $39.50 for their Basic package, $99.50 for their Plus package, $199.50 for their Pro package, and $299.50 for their Elite package.
5. Constant Contact
If you have a more extensive contact list or simply prefer a MailChimp alternative, try Constant Contact. It’s a fantastic email marketing platform that will help you stay connected with your leads.
Constant Contact has an incredibly easy-to-use and lightweight interface. And, as one of the largest email marketing services globally, Constant Contact can offer great deliverability rates.
Their drag and drop editor and email newsletter templates give your emails a polished and professional look, impressing your leads.
Key Features:
- Integrates with other lead generating tools, so you start emailing leads right away
- Marketing automation sends pre-designed emails to increase engagement and drive sales
- Easy-to-read reports track email success in real-time
- Simple contact management tools give you the power to sort, add, and manage your email contacts
Pricing: Constant Contact’s email marketing pricing ranges from $20/month for Email to $45/month for Email Plus. They do offer a free trial.
6. Sendinblue
Sendinblue is a complete marketing automation platform that combines both email marketing services and SMS messages. In addition, they offer a drag & drop builder that you can use to create highly-engaging emails, build automated workflows, and segment users.
Sendinblue can be your home for almost anything email marketing. From automation, segmentation, and email design tools, Sendinblue has it all.
It also offers builders for Facebook ads, landing pages, and signup forms.
Key Features:
- Customizable dashboard based on your business
- All-in-one marketing suite
- Email heat maps so you can visualize how your contacts engage with your email
- A/B testing so you can test different emails to see which resonates best with your contacts
Pricing: Sendinblue does offer a free plan for unlimited contacts and up to 300 emails a day. Their paid plans range from $25/month for their Lite package to $65/month for the Premium package.
Once you’ve chosen your email marketing tool, make sure to check out our email marketing guide to get started with email lead generation.
6 Lead Generation Strategies for Tech Companies
For companies working in technology, lead generation is an essential part of the marketing process. Put some of these strategies in place to get the most out of your audience.
1. Build interactive landing pages
One of the goals of any ad or campaign, whether online or off, is to motivate people to take action. When a viewer or follower clicks a link to your site, do they know what they’re supposed to do? Landing pages built specifically for your different campaigns will let them know—and bring in more leads in the process.
Put a simple design together that highlights your company, the product you’re promoting and the call to action. This could be a request for more information, a downloadable document or a free trial (more on that later). Whatever it is, make sure it includes an interactive form on which visitors submit their names, email addresses and other key information that allows you to follow up.
2. Offer free trials
No one wants to buy a product without knowing it will work for them. That’s why car dealerships offer test drives, clothing stores offer changing rooms, and tech companies offer free trial periods. It’s also a terrific way to generate leads for your business.
Consider making a free demo the primary offer on a landing page, or offer it directly on your homepage. Simple products such as video games are better offered over short trial periods, an hour or so, while more complex products could either be offered in full for shorter periods or indefinitely but with limited features. Once potential customers know what the products will do for them, they’ll consider buying.
3. Host webinars
Your tech company exists to meet a particular need. Presumably, you know enough about this need to tell others how to address it—even without the help of your products and services. Provide this information through a series of webinars, which will not only educate potential leads and position your company as a thought leader, but also pique their interest in your products.
At first glance, this might look like a one-time opportunity to capture new leads from your attendee list. And while this is true for live in-person events, online events can be recorded and archived for future viewings, meaning you can continue registering new attendees—and generating leads—for days or even weeks after the event. Don’t forget to follow up after the event to keep these new leads engaged in your business.
2.4 Billion
IN CLIENT REVENUE
6.3 Million
Leads for our Clients
4 Million
Client phone calls
Our digital marketing campaigns
impact the metrics that matter most! Learn More
4. Ask for referrals from current customers
If one customer has a need or interest in one of your products, there’s a good chance he or she knows someone else who would be interested as well. Ideally, the customer is satisfied enough to refer friends and colleagues to your business. Instead of simply hoping they do, be proactive and ask them to do it.
Create a “Refer a Friend” page on your website, where visitors provide a name and email address for potential new leads. Include a similar feature anywhere else you’re trying to generate leads. When offering product demos or event registrations, for instance, ask if anyone else would be interested. That one new lead could turn into several new leads—and more potential business from one communication.
5. Work with influencers
No matter how great your products and services are, a marketing campaign only goes so far in assuring potential customers of their worth. At some point, you need someone else to advocate for them. Turn to reviewers and key influencers in your industry to provide this.
Send out the product to key influencers before launching, along with links to landing pages. If they like it, their reviews and opinions alone could create demand for it and boost the effectiveness of other lead generation efforts.
6. Send out surveys
What do tech buyers want? What are they looking for when they investigate a new software platform? Are they looking to save time and money or improve service delivery? Market research could tell you, but so could a survey that asks respondents to tell you.
Avoid questions about a particular product or about your company. Instead, ask what respondents are dealing with at home or in their organizations. Ask them what they look for in a software platform. Ask them what they would pay for a particular solution.
Put this survey on your website, and share the link across multiple channels. These surveys will not only bring in new names, but also give you an idea of what types of offers to make in the future.
CONCLUSION
1. Build interactive landing pages
One of the goals of any ad or campaign, whether online or off, is to motivate people to take action. When a viewer or follower clicks a link to your site, do they know what they’re supposed to do? Landing pages built specifically for your different campaigns will let them know—and bring in more leads in the process.
Put a simple design together that highlights your company, the product you’re promoting and the call to action. This could be a request for more information, a downloadable document or a free trial (more on that later). Whatever it is, make sure it includes an interactive form on which visitors submit their names, email addresses and other key information that allows you to follow up.
2. Offer free trials
No one wants to buy a product without knowing it will work for them. That’s why car dealerships offer test drives, clothing stores offer changing rooms, and tech companies offer free trial periods. It’s also a terrific way to generate leads for your business.
Consider making a free demo the primary offer on a landing page, or offer it directly on your homepage. Simple products such as video games are better offered over short trial periods, an hour or so, while more complex products could either be offered in full for shorter periods or indefinitely but with limited features. Once potential customers know what the products will do for them, they’ll consider buying.
3. Host webinars
Your tech company exists to meet a particular need. Presumably, you know enough about this need to tell others how to address it—even without the help of your products and services. Provide this information through a series of webinars, which will not only educate potential leads and position your company as a thought leader, but also pique their interest in your products.
At first glance, this might look like a one-time opportunity to capture new leads from your attendee list. And while this is true for live in-person events, online events can be recorded and archived for future viewings, meaning you can continue registering new attendees—and generating leads—for days or even weeks after the event. Don’t forget to follow up after the event to keep these new leads engaged in your business.
2.4 Billion
IN CLIENT REVENUE
6.3 Million
Leads for our Clients
4 Million
Client phone calls
Our digital marketing campaigns
impact the metrics that matter most! Learn More
4. Ask for referrals from current customers
If one customer has a need or interest in one of your products, there’s a good chance he or she knows someone else who would be interested as well. Ideally, the customer is satisfied enough to refer friends and colleagues to your business. Instead of simply hoping they do, be proactive and ask them to do it.
Create a “Refer a Friend” page on your website, where visitors provide a name and email address for potential new leads. Include a similar feature anywhere else you’re trying to generate leads. When offering product demos or event registrations, for instance, ask if anyone else would be interested. That one new lead could turn into several new leads—and more potential business from one communication.
5. Work with influencers
No matter how great your products and services are, a marketing campaign only goes so far in assuring potential customers of their worth. At some point, you need someone else to advocate for them. Turn to reviewers and key influencers in your industry to provide this.
Send out the product to key influencers before launching, along with links to landing pages. If they like it, their reviews and opinions alone could create demand for it and boost the effectiveness of other lead generation efforts.
6. Send out surveys
What do tech buyers want? What are they looking for when they investigate a new software platform? Are they looking to save time and money or improve service delivery? Market research could tell you, but so could a survey that asks respondents to tell you.
Avoid questions about a particular product or about your company. Instead, ask what respondents are dealing with at home or in their organizations. Ask them what they look for in a software platform. Ask them what they would pay for a particular solution.
Put this survey on your website, and share the link across multiple channels. These surveys will not only bring in new names, but also give you an idea of what types of offers to make in the future.
1. Build interactive landing pages
One of the goals of any ad or campaign, whether online or off, is to motivate people to take action. When a viewer or follower clicks a link to your site, do they know what they’re supposed to do? Landing pages built specifically for your different campaigns will let them know—and bring in more leads in the process.
Put a simple design together that highlights your company, the product you’re promoting and the call to action. This could be a request for more information, a downloadable document or a free trial (more on that later). Whatever it is, make sure it includes an interactive form on which visitors submit their names, email addresses and other key information that allows you to follow up.
2. Offer free trials
No one wants to buy a product without knowing it will work for them. That’s why car dealerships offer test drives, clothing stores offer changing rooms, and tech companies offer free trial periods. It’s also a terrific way to generate leads for your business.
Consider making a free demo the primary offer on a landing page, or offer it directly on your homepage. Simple products such as video games are better offered over short trial periods, an hour or so, while more complex products could either be offered in full for shorter periods or indefinitely but with limited features. Once potential customers know what the products will do for them, they’ll consider buying.
3. Host webinars
Your tech company exists to meet a particular need. Presumably, you know enough about this need to tell others how to address it—even without the help of your products and services. Provide this information through a series of webinars, which will not only educate potential leads and position your company as a thought leader, but also pique their interest in your products.
At first glance, this might look like a one-time opportunity to capture new leads from your attendee list. And while this is true for live in-person events, online events can be recorded and archived for future viewings, meaning you can continue registering new attendees—and generating leads—for days or even weeks after the event. Don’t forget to follow up after the event to keep these new leads engaged in your business.
2.4 Billion
IN CLIENT REVENUE
6.3 Million
Leads for our Clients
4 Million
Client phone calls
Our digital marketing campaigns
impact the metrics that matter most! Learn More
4. Ask for referrals from current customers
If one customer has a need or interest in one of your products, there’s a good chance he or she knows someone else who would be interested as well. Ideally, the customer is satisfied enough to refer friends and colleagues to your business. Instead of simply hoping they do, be proactive and ask them to do it.
Create a “Refer a Friend” page on your website, where visitors provide a name and email address for potential new leads. Include a similar feature anywhere else you’re trying to generate leads. When offering product demos or event registrations, for instance, ask if anyone else would be interested. That one new lead could turn into several new leads—and more potential business from one communication.
5. Work with influencers
No matter how great your products and services are, a marketing campaign only goes so far in assuring potential customers of their worth. At some point, you need someone else to advocate for them. Turn to reviewers and key influencers in your industry to provide this.
Send out the product to key influencers before launching, along with links to landing pages. If they like it, their reviews and opinions alone could create demand for it and boost the effectiveness of other lead generation efforts.
6. Send out surveys
What do tech buyers want? What are they looking for when they investigate a new software platform? Are they looking to save time and money or improve service delivery? Market research could tell you, but so could a survey that asks respondents to tell you.
Avoid questions about a particular product or about your company. Instead, ask what respondents are dealing with at home or in their organizations. Ask them what they look for in a software platform. Ask them what they would pay for a particular solution.
CONCLUSION
Put this survey on your website, and share the link across multiple channels. These surveys will not only bring in new names, but also give you an idea of what types of offers to make in the future.
The Internet is full of sites offering IT support services, but what if you could get your website a top spot above the crowd using proven web marketing tactics? The web is a big place, and getting your site in front of the right people can be tough. But with our proven lead generation methods, we can help you win more customers.