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The Best Lead Generation Service Companies of 2021
How We Chose the Best Lead Generation Services
Lead generation helps attract and convert prospects into potential buyers — an important part of the sales process for businesses seeking new customers to sign up for services or purchase products. Lead generation services strive to deliver warmed up, qualified leads directly to these businesses. There are many companies touting lead generation services with multiple features, so we created our list by focusing on important aspects like service lines, firm size, and industry focus.
Multiple Service Lines
Lead generation experts specialize in sales and marketing activities that generate leads for all types of businesses. There are many different services a lead generation service may provide to accomplish this goal and provide more and better qualified leads to its clients. Every business has different lead generation needs, so we chose firms that offered a multitude of service lines from outbound and inbound sales development representative (SDR) to various marketing endeavors and customer relationship management (CRM) migration.
Size of Firm
Large firms with more than 250 employees and small firms with two to 50 employees often employ different tactics to achieve the same results. While larger firms may access newer technologies to generate leads, smaller firms tend to provide a more personalized experience. There are advantages and disadvantages of working with a large or small firm, including the number of employees and costs involved. We selected lead generation services of varying sizes to meet the needs of multiple small businesses.
Industry Focus
Most lead generation services work with companies in various industries, but they tend to have niche industries they specialize in. Choosing a service with in-depth knowledge of a specific industry typically provides leads more in line with the type of customers a business seeks. We focused on firms that cover a wide range of industries to cover as many small businesses’ needs as possible.
The 14 Best Lead Generation Services of 2021
| Company | Price | Service Lines | More |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belkins | <$25/hour | Marketing strategy Digital strategy Appointment setting Lead research Email deliverability services LinkedIn Influencer Program | Visit Belkins |
| Callbox | <$25/hour | Voice services Nonvoice business process outsourcing (BPO)/back-office services CRM integration Contacts management Managed leads and appointments Personalized communications | Visit Callbox |
| CIENCE Technologies | <$25/hour | Voice services Direct marketing Digital strategy Sales researchers Outbound SDR Inbound SDR CRM migration | Visit CIENCE Technologies |
| LeadGeneration.com | $50-$99/hour | SEO Paid search marketing Email marketing Lead nurturing Landing page creation Call tracking Appointment setting Lead follow-up | Visit LeadGeneration.com |
| Martal Group | $25-$49/hour | Voice services Email marketing Content marketing Outbound lead generation Inbound lead generation | Visit Martal Group |
| OpGen Media | $25-$49/hour | Advertising Direct marketing Media planning and buying Call patching Order processing Disaster recovery Virtual private branch exchange (PBX) Voicemail Live chat | Visit OpGen Media |
| Overdrive Interactive | $25-$49/hour | Email marketing Inbound marketing Account-based marketing and custom audience media programs Paid search marketing SEO Retargeting and programmatic display Landing page development Mobile and click-to-call advertising | Visit Overdrive Interactive |
| SalesRoads | <$25/hour | Voice services Digital strategy Business consulting Business-to-business (B2B) appointment setting B2B lead generation SDR outsourcing | Visit SalesRoads |
| Smith.ai | $100-$140/hour | Conversion optimization 24/7 answering service 24/7 website chat Short message service (SMS) text answering Facebook messages Lead screening and intake Appointment scheduling | Visit Smith.ai |
| Strategic Sales & Marketing | <$25/hour | Voice services Nonvoice BPO/back office services Appointment setting Inbound lead qualification Marketing research and surveys Phone customer satisfaction surveys Lead management Social media lead generation Sales coaching Website lead generation | Visit Strategic Sales & Marketing |
| Unity Communications | Starting at $9/hour | Voice services Nonvoice BPO/back office services Information technology (IT) staff augmentation E-commerce support Telecom and carrier sales Technology tier 1 support Helpdesk and customer service support Healthcare BPO | Visit Unity Communications |
| Upcall | $25/hour | Voice services Appointment scheduling and confirmation Outbound call center Lead generation Sales outsourcing Lead qualification Facebook leads Lead nurturing Customer follow-up SMS conversations | Visit Upcall |
| VoiceNation | $25/hour | Voice services Mobile app Call patching Order processing On-call scheduling Call screening Live chat Online dashboard | Visit VoiceNation |
| VSA Prospecting | $25-$49/hour | Voice service Event marketing and planning Market research Appointment setting Lead generation Market research List building Call center | Visit VSA Prospecting |
Belkins
Belkins is a B2B lead generation and appointment scheduling agency with a comprehensive mixture of sales and business development processes. It handles every aspect of its clients’ top-of-the-sales-funnel needs, including targeted database building, company research, lead qualification, B2B outreach programs, and appointment scheduling with qualified prospects. Belkins has a presence in more than 30 countries and operates in 25 industries. Primary features include:
- Lead generation and research to provide accurate, up-to-date databases with a directory of prospects not found in ready-made lists
- Email deliverability services to ensure a company’s clients receive email correspondence, instead of emails ending up in spam folders, for consistent returns on email marketing dollars
- Appointment setting to book up a company’s calendar with qualified appointments by engaging with prospects via email and LinkedIn
- Influencer marketing on LinkedIn to transform companies into LinkedIn social influencers by creating content and providing outreach that ensure more visibility, connections, and sales
| Price | Service Lines | Details |
|---|---|---|
| <$25/hour | Voice services and marketing strategy Digital strategy Appointment setting Lead research Email deliverability services LinkedIn Influencer Program | >Number of employees: 50-249 >Notable clients: Knovio, Viral Nation, BrandStar, Digital Knights, and Binarapp >Industries served: Information technology (IT), business services, advertising, and marketing >More features at Belkins |
What Customers Are Saying
Customers frequently comment on Belkins’ attention to detail, expertise in specific niches, and thorough marketing reports. One customer said, “The most impressive about Belkins is that they are very detail-oriented. They measure every part of the funnel and provide very detailed marketing reports.”
Callbox
Callbox is a B2B lead generation service that provides a full range of lead generation and appointment setting solutions using a multitouch, multichannel strategy to reach target customers. It warms up prospects and delivers leads by connecting with decision-makers through live, one-on-one conversations enhanced through search, email, direct marketing, and social media throughout various points of the conversion cycle. Callbox utilizes an account-based marketing approach to identify, engage, and convert targeted prospects. Key features include:
- Sending personalized, event-triggered, and follow-up emails
- Opening calls from intro and follow-up emails
- Inviting connections through social media
- Creating display banner ads to target prospects
- Examining website visits to identify prospects
- Promoting and facilitating webinars
- Measuring performance of webinars
- Providing 24/7 sales chat support
- Following up with warm prospects through emails or calls
- Forwarding qualified leads
Callbox employs more than 700 marketing professionals and has three offices in Encino, California, and two locations in the Philippines.
| Price | Service Lines | Details |
|---|---|---|
| <$25/hour | Voice services Nonvoice BPO/back-office services CRM integration Contacts management Managed leads and appointments Personalized communications Relevant reporting | >Number of employees: 250-999 >Industries served: IT, business services, advertising, and marketing >More features at Callbox |
What Customers Are Saying
“They have done a great job of helping us target prospects within the markets we serve as well as qualify leads and set up appointments with decision-makers,” one customer said. Clients also talk about its value compared to other vendors and how it consistently exceeds expected leads each week.
CIENCE Technologies
CIENCE Technologies is a comprehensive B2B lead generation company that helps companies grow through multichannel prospecting. It uses highly accurate research to initiate lead generation and outbound sales processes and deliver qualified appointments with targeted customers. CIENCE clients benefit from more targeted leads within a predictable pipeline that enhances revenue through its people-as-a-service (PaaS) model. Its solutions include:
- Sales researchers with rigorous training and extensive lead generation knowledge bases
- Outbound SDR with dedicated teams that launch sequenced campaigns to targeted audiences through outbound phone calls and personalized emails
- Inbound SDR with real-time chat client, human response to online forms, enrichment of data through CRM and marketing automation platforms (MAP) and preliminary qualification with marketing qualified leads (MQLs)-to-sales qualified leads (SQLs)
- CRM services with migration technology that utilizes onboarding, positioning, executing, collaborating, and tracking process to create a more efficient record system
CIENCE leverages cutting-edge tools like its own AI-driven platform to optimize outreach and help ensure sales success.
| Price | Service Lines | Details |
|---|---|---|
| <$25/hour | Voice services Direct marketing Digital strategy Sales researchers Outbound SDR Inbound SDR CRM migration | >Number of employees: 25 999 >Notable clients: Google, SOC Telemed, Square, Uber, and Classy >Industries served: IT, business services, advertising, and marketing >More features at CIENCE Technologies |
What Customers Are Saying
CIENCE customers boast about its detail-oriented, forward-thinking, results-driven service that generates top-notch lead lists. One customer said, “They very quickly understand the goals at hand, regardless of the market or customer base. They have a toolkit of solutions to provide everything from lead generation to website creation.”
LeadGeneration.com
LeadGeneration.com develops campaigns that generate qualified leads to maximize return on investment (ROI). It utilizes an array of online marketing strategies to develop opportunities from multiple channels. Key strategies include:
- SEO: Drive traffic to clients’ websites with targeted keywords and phrases
- Social media: Drive social-referral traffic to websites by developing brand strategies and amplifying reach
- PR/brand awareness: Gain exposure by building brand visibility and credibility through internal expert resources
- Email marketing: Create tailored approaches like identifying marketing lists and implementing tools to automate lead nurturing
- Lead nurturing: Guide leads to purchase decisions through engagement and education
- Appointment setting: Engage new prospects to commit to appointments with sales professionals
- Lead follow-up: Get returns on leads through immediate follow-up and nurturing
Other strategies include paid search marketing, website development, call tracking, custom platform development, creative services, landing page creation, content distribution, and whitepaper creation.
| Price | Service Lines | Details |
|---|---|---|
| $50-$99/hour | SEO Paid search marketing Email marketing Lead nurturing Landing page creation Call tracking Appointment setting Lead follow-up | >Number of employees: 11-50 >Notable clients: Good Look Ink, JGI Supply, Wesley College, AirFlow Pump Corp., and Unique Venues >Industries served: Business services >More features at LeadGeneration.com |
What Customers Are Saying
Customers often remark about LeadGeneration.com’s level of service and fast response rate. One customer said, “Their team is forward-thinking, responsive, and always asking the right questions to understand our needs.”
Martal Group
Martal Group is a lead generation and sales agency for B2B companies that specialize in creating leads for IT services, software-as-a-service (SaaS), and Internet-of-Things (IoT) vendors. It provides outbound lead generation to find new customers and inbound lead generation to maximize online presence and build brand awareness. Martal Group utilizes account-based marketing to provide individually personalized outreach. Throughout the lead generation and sales process, some key solutions include:
- Facilitates direct sales and channel partnerships
- Finalizes target customer profiles, qualification questions, and call scripts for campaigns
- Creates customized target lists and marketing campaigns
- Creates personal messaging templates
- Monitors prospects’ engagement
- Initializes outbound calls and email outreach
- Delivers qualified leads to CRM
- Performs appointment booking, discovery calls, and sales demos
- Provides key performance indicators (KPIs) and conversion tracking analytics
- Creates content that builds backlinks and increases website SEO and foot traffic
- Responds to LinkedIn invitations and messaging
- Attends conferences and sets appointments at trade shows
| Price | Service Lines | Details |
|---|---|---|
| $25-$49/hour | Voice services Email marketing Content marketing Outbound lead generation Inbound lead generation | >Number of employees: 10-49 >Notable clients: Fullscreen, Jedox, Clickworker, QuaeNet, and Certainty Software >Industries served: IT and other >More features at Martal Group |
What Customers Are Saying
“The team was small but effective, which helped speed communications and improve workflow with potential partners and investors. We were very happy with how quickly the Martal team was able to grasp the technical concepts behind our products,” one customer said. Customers also like its attention to detail, adaptability, and creativity.
OpGen Media
OpGen Media is a demand generation and marketing operations agency that generates leads and prompt revenue growth for B2B tech companies. It executes campaigns across all stages of the sales funnel with unique marketing programs to scale leads. OpGen Media helps companies build, execute, and measure lead generation campaigns on a cost-per-lead basis with guaranteed accuracy and targeting. It provides weekly reports on campaign performance and results with qualifying leads synced directly to clients’ marketing automation platform. Key strategies include:
- Personalized and relevant campaigns to target ideal B2B decision-makers
- Expansion of markets across all verticals and geographies
- Leads delivered with as many data points as needed to qualify and close deals
- Enterprise pipeline growth
OpGen offers a free consultation to learn more about the client’s business and their lead generation goals to discover opportunities for growth. Campaigns are designed to target and engage ideal buyers and fulfill revenue goals.
| Price | Service Lines | Details |
|---|---|---|
| $25-$49/hour | Advertising Direct marketing Media planning and buying Call patching Order processing Disaster recovery Virtual PBX Voicemail Live chat | >Number of employees: 2-9 >Notable clients: Oracle, HP, DocuSign, OpenText, and Citrix >Industries served: Business services >More features at OpGen Media |
What Customers Are Saying
OpGen customers tout its expertise, professionalism, communication skills, and ability to meet tough deadlines. One customer said, “The OpGen team is hyper helpful and showcases their nimbleness whenever we have questions or needs. They’ve been reliable to communicate and answer thoroughly and honestly from day one.”
Overdrive Interactive
Overdrive Interactive is an end-to-end lead and demand generation that helps enterprise-level clients grow their revenue by maintaining and optimizing always-on lead and demand generation channels. It combines crucial elements to convert prospects to sales with late funnel metrics that measure lead volume and lead quality. Overdrive Interactive’s programs include:
- Account-based marketing
- Custom audience media programs
- Marketing automation and end-to-end nurture campaign development
- Content development and cost-per-lead content syndication
- SEO
- Paid search marketing
- Social media and inbound marketing
- Paid social media management
- Retargeting and programmatic display
- Email list rental and newsletter sponsorship campaigns
- Trade and consumer media planning and management
- Digital PR and native advertising
- Mobile and click-to-call advertising
- Landing page development and testing
- Dashboard development and reporting
Overdrive Interactive delivers fully staffed lead generation programs that include a customized mix of talent, media channels, and tech services that complement each client’s exact needs.
| Price | Service Lines | Details |
|---|---|---|
| $25-$49/hour | Email marketing Inbound marketing Account-based marketing and custom audience media programs Paid search marketing SEO Retargeting and programmatic display Landing page development Mobile and click-to-call advertising | >Number of employees: 50-249 >Notable clients: Dynatrace, SculpSure, Carlisle, GE Healthcare, and Spectrum >Industries served: Business services, Financial services, Healthcare, and medical >More features at Overdrive Interactive |
What Customers Are Saying
Customers appreciate Overdrive Interactive’s dedication throughout the lead generation process, including one customer who said that it had an “incredibly smart team of forward-thinking marketers whose 14 years of award-winning work has consistently raised the bar for other agencies.”
SalesRoads
SalesRoads’ solutions include appointment setting, SDR outsourcing, lead generation, and full-cycle sales. It develops Opportunity IQ Lead Generation campaigns to uncover information to ensure its clients are targeting the right person at the right business and at the right time. Opportunity IQ data includes:
- Decision-makers
- Competitive landscape
- Pain points
- Market penetration
- Solution gaps
- Price tolerance
- Product interest
- Willingness for follow-up
Opportunity IQ Lead Generation campaigns provide lists of businesses and intelligent data to leverage during prospecting to create the greatest ROI. Each client’s lead generation campaign includes trained lead generation representatives, a defined point of contact, data team, quality control, and executive oversight. Daily run sheets and weekly reports ensure clients are kept up to date on campaign performance, which can be integrated with CRM.
| Price | Service Lines | Details |
|---|---|---|
| <$25/hour | Voice services Digital strategy Business consulting B2B appointment setting B2B lead generation SDR outsourcing | >Number of employees: 50-249 >Notable clients: Microsoft, Kuebix, Parker Hannifin, Shell, and Revel Mobile >Industries served: Business services, manufacturing, and education >More features at SalesRoads |
What Customers Are Saying
“SalesRoads’ attention to detail and flexibility when it comes to designing an outreach campaign is unmatched. They are quick to alter the strategy based on early results and found an optimal solution for our specific application,” one customer said. Clients also like SalesRoads’ responsiveness and drive to be successful.
Smith.ai
Smith.ai is a 24/7 omnichannel receptionist service that specializes in converting potential customers who visit a company’s website or call, text, or send a social media message. Receptionists answer calls and website chats as well as screen and intake clients, schedule appointments, and follow up with online leads to provide unified solutions that act on every lead. Smith.ai takes over call handling, screens prospects, and sends prequalified leads directly to a company’s sales team. This frees up sales staff from regular call handling duties so that they can focus on closing sales with potential clients who were vetted fully upfront. Other key services include:
- New client intake to compile business-specific or custom information
- One-step screening and scheduling to book qualified leads directly to the sales calendar
- Appointment reminders to reduce no-shows
- Appointment rescheduling when pre-set appointments need to be rebooked
- Lead nurturing including appointment follow-ups via email and/or text messages
| Price | Service Lines | Details |
|---|---|---|
| $100-$140/hour | Voice services Conversion optimization Artificial intelligence 24/7 answering service 24/7 website chat SMS text answering Facebook messages Lead screening and intake Appointment scheduling | >Number of employees: 50-249 >Notable clients: Hacking Law Practice, Wondermint, Fagan & Davis, Merchbar, and Watchman Monitoring >Industries served: Legal, advertising and marketing, and other >More features at Smith.ai |
What Customers Are Saying
Customers like how Smith.ai ensures their business never misses a phone call or an opportunity to convert a lead into a client. One customer said, “Smith.AI chat has demonstrated a way to engage prospective clients during the time they choose and help them see we are interested in helping [them].”
Strategic Sales & Marketing
Strategic Sales & Marketing is a lead generation company that specializes in B2B appointment setting, lead generation, and managing sales leads in multiple industry sectors. It also delivers sophisticated B2B marketing consulting services that provide marketing communication, sales coaching, and sales strategy to build a more efficient sales pipeline. Strategic Sales & Marketing has roots in B2B sales management, so it understands motivations with appointment setting and lead generation programs created by salespeople for salespeople. Other key services include:
- Inbound lead qualification services
- Website lead generation
- Social media lead generation
- Lead management
- Email programs
- Marketing research and surveys
- Phone customer satisfaction surveys
- Specialty services
Strategic Sales & Marketing has helped thousands of companies create more sales leads, improve qualifications of business leads, and boost conversion rates throughout the sales process. Its proven lead generation process qualifies sales leads while helping companies increase sales and revenue and reduce costs per sale.
| Price | Service Lines | Details |
|---|---|---|
| <$25/hour | Voice services Nonvoice BPO/back office services Appointment setting Inbound lead qualification Marketing research and surveys Phone customer satisfaction surveys Lead management Social media lead generation Sales coaching Website lead generation | >Number of employees: 50-249 >Notable clients: BestHire, Connecticut Technology Council, FFF Associates, Karen Spencer Design, and Outdoor Brokers >Industries served: Business services, financial services, and IT >More features at Strategic Sales & Marketing |
What Customers Are Saying
“SSM provides superior, highly targeted lead generation. Through SSM’s efforts, my firm has gained new clients … and entry into other large corporate settings that I am certain I would not have been able to get into on my own,” one customer said. Customers also like its attentiveness and results.
Unity Communications
Unity Communications is a business process outsourcing and call center firm offering lead generation and qualification outsourcing services. It helps companies take customer relationships and brand reputations to the next level with cost-effective ways to enhance business revenue through sales teams that funnel prospects, nurture leads, and generate quality leads ready for conversion. Unity Communications also provides appointment setting services to help companies increase business deals, market shares, and growth through a team of experts focused on increasing profitability. Its customer follow-ups and confirmations help improve ROI and the company’s bottom line. Other key services include:
- Live 24/7 answering service with transfer options
- Telemarketing
- Live operators for inbound and outbound customer service and sales
- Order taking and upselling
- E-commerce call center services
- After-sales and technical support
- Help desk services
- Multichannel support
- Healthcare billing and insurance verification
| Price | Service Lines | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Starting at $9/hour | Voice services Nonvoice BPO/Back-office services IT staff augmentation E-commerce support Telecom and carrier sales Technology tier 1 support Helpdesk and customer service support Healthcare BPO | >Number of employees: 250-999 >Notable clients: ATT, RingCentral, and Wireless Watchdogs >Industries served: Business services, telecommunications, and e-commerce >More features at Unity Communications |
What Customers Are Saying
Customers appreciate Unity Communications’ organization, thoroughness, and flexibility when taking on crucial business responsibilities. One customer proclaimed, “Unity Communications contributed to a record-breaking number of leads, and sales doubled. The team delivered impressive results and had a positive influence on the sales process overall.”
Upcall
Upcall is a collaborative outbound call service that provides lead generation, lead qualification, and surveys. Its fully trained sales assistants talk to, screen, and qualify every lead to separate good leads from dead ones and get the best ROI. Sales reps only talk to qualified leads, which helps improve close rates. Specific tasks performed by Upcall assistants include:
- Engaging leads who don’t answer emails
- Verifying contact information
- Collecting answers to qualifying questions
- Organizing and filtering leads based on set criteria
- Setting appointments in the company’s calendar
- Following up with every single lead
- Delivering prequalified leads
Upcall allows its customers to build lead conversion capabilities directly into their sales solution with integration through Zapier and application programming interfaces (APIs), which can be customized for each customer. It also offers real-time dashboards with up-to-date reporting and free script consultations to create smart outbound call campaigns in minutes.
| Price | Service Lines | Details |
|---|---|---|
| $25/hour | Voice services Appointment scheduling and confirmation Outbound call center Lead generation Sales outsourcing Lead qualification Facebook leads Lead nurturing Customer follow-up SMS conversations | >Number of employees: 2-9 >Notable clients: LG, HotelTonight, Munchery, 99designs, and Sotheby's >Industries served: Business services, consumer products, and other industries >More features at Upcall |
What Customers Are Saying
“Upcall has a great interface and in-house B2B database, a transparent workflow, and friendly, client-oriented managers. Another great feature is their local Caller ID presence,” one customer said. Customers also praise its innovative and intuitive platform and the team’s effectiveness and accuracy.
VoiceNation
VoiceNation is a live phone answering and chat provider that delivers 24/7/365 services with custom scripting and bilingual operators available. Operators tag and sort all calls that so companies can prioritize callbacks and manage leads. Reporting features also allow companies to turn call data into valuable analytics to market their businesses better. Key features and services include:
- Call screening: Eliminate robocalls and solicitations to cut call clutter during business hours
- Appointment setting: Book appointments with linked calendars
- On-call scheduling: Ensure after-hours calls reach the right person with customizable on-call schedules for every team member
- Call patching: Forward calls to the business owner or designated employees
- Emergency dispatching: Forward urgent calls immediately to appropriate staff
- Order processing: Take orders via phone or online
- Reports & analytics: Identify target audience and view call lengths, types, locations, and volume
- Dashboard or mobile app: Manage calls, message, leads, reports, analytics, and scripts
| Price | Service Lines | Details |
|---|---|---|
| $25/hour | Voice services Mobile app Call patching Order processing On-call scheduling Call screening Live chat Online dashboard | >Number of employees: 50-249 >Notable clients: Adobe, McDonald’s, Dell, Hyundai, and Rolls-Royce >Industries served: Financial services, Healthcare and medical, and IT >More features at VoiceNation |
What Customers Are Saying
Customers praise VoiceNation’s customer services and increased revenue because their company never misses a call. One customer said, “To have a service like this available 24/7 as our personal answering service is invaluable for our business, and our clients know that they will always get the support they need.”
VSA Prospecting
VSA Prospecting is a lead generation firm that specializes in designing customized programs to meet various in-house challenges. It has developed a proprietary method for customizing its lead generation programs to provide a positive ROI. This method supports marketing, sales, and customer service professionals who outsource inbound and outbound customer service calls and appointment setting. VSA Prospecting uses a collaborative and detailed onboarding process to ensure it understands how clients want prospects qualified. It provides comprehensive notes for each call, meets weekly to discuss continual improvements, and delivers reports to track KPI progress.
VSA has the tech staff and know-how to build custom vetted lists and in-house writers to craft phone scripts that capture prospects’ attention within seconds. It also provides market research and call center services. Its business development representatives have experience in a variety of industries with in-depth knowledge in the healthcare, education, manufacturing, and technology fields.
| Price | Service Lines | Details |
|---|---|---|
| $25-$49/hour | Voice service Event marketing and planning Market research Appointment setting Lead generation Market research List building Call center | >Number of employees: 50-249 >Notable clients: Healthcare Administrative Partners, Care Logistics, Edwards Lifesciences, School Wise Press, and GrapeSEED Media >Industries served: Healthcare and medical, manufacturing, and other industries >More features at VSA Prospecting |
What Customers Are Saying
“We quickly saw a positive ROI from our investment with VSA. Their team is very proactive and solicits our feedback to get better results. We see prospect appointments that VSA sets up for us turn into closed sales,” one customer said. Customers also like VSA Prospecting’s professionalism, experience, and competitive pricing.
What Are Lead Generation Services?
Lead generation is a marketing technique used to acquire new clients, and marketers use the term to refer to the process of generating opportunities to sell products or services. Providers of lead generation services obtain leads for their clients by managing campaigns to discover and qualify customers for the companies utilizing their services. These services fill a company’s sales pipeline with potential customers or prospects. Many lead generation firms establish the initial communication with these prospective customers, build interest in the brand, and set up appointments with qualified leads for their clients’ sales teams. Specific tasks a lead generation service may provide include:
- Customer profile creation to understand a company’s ideal target customer better
- Inbound lead generation through marketing services and outbound lead generation tactics
- Organizing and filtering leads based on qualifying criteria to find legitimate sales opportunities
- Appointment setting to book a company’s calendar with qualified appointments
- Delivering lists of verified prequalified leads
- Lead nurturing, including campaign and appointment follow-ups
Good lead generation services should be able to show clients concrete results within 30 to 60 days by creating a solid lead infrastructure and delivering high-quality leads that offer noticeable conversion rates.
Benefits of Lead Generation Services
Working with lead generation services eliminates the guesswork of sales cold calls and streamlines sales and marketing strategies, which makes reaching sales quotas easier. Outsourcing lead generation also saves companies time and money on several activities within the sales process because you have a whole team of professionals prospecting, identifying the most qualified leads, nurturing leads, and scheduling prequalified leads for you. This allows your sales team to continue serving current customers and only delivering detailed sales pitches to prospective customers who’ve already been vetted. Paying for lead generation often costs less than other marketing endeavors and frequently provides a better ROI. Other benefits include:
- Increasing sales and profits through more efficient lead generation and better-qualified sales leads
- Collecting important information about prospective customers that can be used for future lead nurturing and lead scoring strategies
- Giving your company a competitive edge with a fresh pipeline of sales leads
- Controlling costs by saving on lead generation training and technology
- Keeping your in-house sales team focused on closing sales, instead of drumming up new leads
- Increasing brand awareness and improving the loyalty of those already using the brand
What to Look for in a Lead Generation Service
There are certain aspects you should look for in a lead generation service to get the best results in a timely manner. Industry focus is a vital aspect to explore. While most lead generation services work with companies in a wide variety of industries, some industries fare better when a firm has roots in that trade. Firms that focus on beauty supplies or various consumer goods probably don’t have the in-depth knowledge that tech industries and software providers need from a lead generation service. While many firms pride themselves on learning a company’s trade, it’s best to look for a lead generation service with a solid background in your field to avoid a learning curve that could slow results.
While you want a lead generation service that specializes in the sales and marketing activities that generate quality leads, other services could also be beneficial. One of the most beneficial services is appointment setting, which means the service sets up appointments on your calendar with prequalified leads for your sales department. Other services that can be perks include public relations and brand awareness, website development, content creation, marketing research, customer surveys, and email and social media marketing.
The Cost of Lead Generation Services
Acquiring a team and the tools required to prospect and identify qualified leads in-house generally costs more than outsourcing to a reputable lead generation service. The keyword is reputable. You should never pay for a list of contacts with no interest in your company or its products. To ensure that’s not what you’re getting, only contract with companies that charge for marketing qualified leads or sales qualified leads.
MQLs are contacts who match your target customer but who haven’t specifically expressed interest in buying from you yet. SQLs are even better because these contacts match your target customer profile and have shown interest in buying your products or services. Lead generation services that deliver SQLs generally cost more than those that deliver MQLs, but make sure you know what you’re paying for.
The services on our list run the gamut on pricing, with many in the $25 to $49 per hour range, but a few of them charge between $50 and $149 per hour. While the higher range services may provide SQLs, verify it before signing a contract. Don’t forget to read the fine print. Some companies with extra services also have additional fees, sometimes for beneficial services like appointment setting.