B2B Sales Archives

Chat GPT infiltrated many aspects of our lives, whether we like it or not.

While some are panicking about Chat GPT taking over their jobs, others found ways to use it to be more effective in their everyday tasks.

You’ve probably already heard that Chat GPT, among other fields, proved itself to be very useful for lead generation, sales, and cold outreach overall.

Basically, as a language model based on artificial intelligence, Chat GPT can be a powerful tool for writing highly personalized sales templates that get replies and help you book meetings.

But, pretty much like with people, it only works if you know how to “converse” with it, that is, to give precise and correct prompts.

In this blog, we will show you how to use Chat GPT for sales, or, more precisely:

Converse with Chat GPT to get the most effective cold templates for sales;
Give feedback to Chat GPT for sales to adjust the answers to be more effective;
Create hyper-personalized sales messages by uploading your leads’ LinkedIn profiles;
Put together messages to use in sales automation tools;
And will give you ideas on when (and how) to use Chat GPT for sales to save time and create messages that get replies.

Basics of using Chat GPT for sales

Not everyone knows how to communicate with Chat GPT, which is the key factor in successfully using this very advanced chatbot.

Basically, the better prompts you give, the more satisfying results Chat GPT will bring back.

However, bear in mind that the prompt you give doesn’t need to be final.

Once you give the initial prompt to Chat GPT, you can always adjust its answers in 3 ways:

by giving another prompt(s) a try;
by feedbacking the answer and giving additional prompts to make Chat GPT adjust the answer;
by editing the answer manually to fit your need, especially if it needs a small tweak.

Additionally, you can use Chat GPT for sales in combination with a LinkedIn automation tool and cold email software, such as Skylead, to create sales messages for emails, InMails, regular LinkedIn messages, any follow-ups, or even create entire outreach branches in Smart sequences in case your lead doesn’t answer [see the image below].

Furthermore, Skylead allows you to A/B test LinkedIn connection requests, subject lines for emails and InMails, and any message body copy, so you can consider more than one input when using Chat GPT for sales.

Skylead’s advanced reporting system allows you, aside from other analytics, to review A/B testing step by step and make data-driven decisions on what sales message worked best for your target leads.

Now, let’s go ahead and show you a practical example of how to use Chat GPT for sales.

How to give prompts to Chat GPT for sales messages

In this chapter, we will show you how to use Chat GPT to write a cold email.

For the best results, we always advise our users to give precise instructions on the types of sales messages they want Chat GPT to write.

Also, sometimes you need to emphasize that you need Chat GPT to generate both a cold email and a corresponding subject line, and sometimes by simply asking it to write an email, it will suggest the subject line as well.

Chat GPT is not perfect, and it cannot read your thoughts (thank God!), so always strive to be as precise as possible when giving prompts.

The more detail you provide, the more satisfying the result will be.

So, let’s go ahead and see different ways to converse with Chat GPT for sales.

Way #1 Copy & paste information and give a prompt.

So, to start, assemble the following on a sheet of paper:

The characteristics of your ICP and Buyer Persona(s) within;
Pain points of your Buyer Persona and how your problem solves those pain points;
Unique selling proposition of your product or service.

Then, you can copy and paste the relevant information, such as the desired length of your email, your Buyer's Personas goals and pain points, how your product solves them, and/or your product's USP.

So, this was my initial prompt.

This is what I got.

I personally found this email to be a bit too salesy and kind of “dry”. And this is exactly what I mentioned as a feedback.

So, there’s no need to write an entirely new prompt. You can give honest feedback to Chat GPT.

Here’s what I’ve got.

As you may see, you can go on and on like this.

You can give feedback to Chat GPT on any part of the sales message you get or even edit the initial prompt until you find the most satisfying results.

Here’s where you can edit your prompt.

I will again remind you that, sometimes, it’s easier and better to edit the email manually or even mix and match different parts of different sales messages generated by Chat GPT.

Way #2 Copy & paste information and give a prompt to use messages in a sales automation tool.

You can apply the same principle (or any other below) to prepare sales messages to use in sales automation software.

Just make sure you tell chat GPT which variables (placeholders) you would like it to use so that the sales automation tool you’re using can personalize your outreach at scale.

I used the same prompt as above, just changed the instructions part.

Here’s the prompt.

This is what I got.

I liked the answer, but I noticed it was above 80 words. (again, always check cause Chat GPT is not perfect!)

So, I gave feedback and got another result.

(Also, by clicking the “Regenerate response” button, you can probably go on and get new solutions for on and on.)

Way #3 Upload your lead's LinkedIn profile and give a prompt.

You can upload your lead’s LinkedIn profile and give the same instructions as above to write a more personalized message.

#1 Go to your lead’s LinkedIn profile and download it in PDF format.

Upload it to your drive, then open the document, and click Share > Anyone with the link.

You cannot just copy & paste someone's LinkedIn URL because Chat GPT is not "on LinkedIn", and what's on social media is not considered publicly available information for Chat GPT.

Copy and paste the link into Chat GPT, and give instructions.

This is what I’ve got.

I wasn’t very happy with the result, so I asked Chat GPT to give me a few other solutions.

And another one.

And another solution.

Remember that you can also combine the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd ways to give prompts for more precise instructions.

That is, upload your lead’s CV and then write their pain points, goals, and your product's unique selling points in the prompt.

Way #4 Use LinkedIn posts to personalize icebreakers in your cold emails.

A great way to instantly connect with your leads and increase your response rates is to make a reference to their LinkedIn post that resonated with you and that (ideally) you can tie to your product or service.

Just copy and paste the post to Chat GPT and give a prompt to use it in the introduction of your cold email.

The reason why you cannot just copy and paste the link to the blog to Chat GPT is that the Chat GPT can only use publicly available information, and therefore it cannot access LinkedIn and other people’s profiles.

Here’s what my prompt looked like.

This is what I’ve got.

I have to be honest; I was pretty happy with it right away.

Way #5 Use Chat GPT to fight the most common objections.

The simplest way to use Chat GPT to fight the most common objections handling situations to cold emails is to upload the email you’ve sent, your lead’s objection, and give instructions to Chat GPT to answer it.

You can copy/paste the majority of the information.

Here’s what my prompt looked like.

This is what I got from Chat GPT.

I felt as if it was selling right off the bat a bit, so I gave another prompt.

Way #6 Use Chat GPT to write follow-ups after no response.

Following the previous example, you can also ask Chat GPT to write a follow-up email after no response.

The easiest way to give a prompt to Chat GPT is to copy/paste the email and give instructions.

Of course, if you need something more specific, make sure you include details too.

My prompt was very simple this time.

This is what I got.

I didn’t like the answer because I wanted my lead to answer or start a conversation with me instead of pushing for a sales pitch.

How to give prompts to Chat GPT for sales subject lines

Whether writing an email or InMail, subject lines are the key factor to a higher open rate.

In this blog, we will show you 3 ways how to use Chat GPT for sales subject lines.

Way #1 Copy & paste your cold email and give a prompt.

Copy and paste the email to Chat GPT and ask it to suggest subject lines.

Here’s what my prompt looked like.

This is what I’ve got.

You can go ahead and play with it just like we did in the previous examples.

I asked Chat GPT to make the subject lines shorter, for example.

Way #2 Insert keywords and important information and give a prompt.

Describe your product (you can also copy and paste information regarding your ICP and Buyer Persona that you think should be included in your subject line) and give a prompt to Chat GPT.

Here’s my prompt.

Here’s what I’ve got.

Frequently asked questions

How can one integrate Chat GPT with CRM software to streamline the sales process further?

Integrating Chat GPT with CRM software can be achieved through APIs or webhook integrations. This allows automated data exchange, enabling Chat GPT to personalize communications based on CRM data, improving the sales process by offering tailored interactions and insights.

What are the limitations of Chat GPT in understanding and responding to complex sales scenarios or objections?

Chat GPT's limitations include difficulty in understanding nuances, emotional cues, and highly complex scenarios specific to certain industries. Its responses might lack the depth that comes from human experience and intuition, potentially misinterpreting intricate customer objections or specialized queries.

Can Chat GPT be used to generate not just initial outreach messages but also to automate ongoing communication based on recipient responses?

Yes, Chat GPT can be used for more than initial outreach; it can automate ongoing communication by analyzing recipient responses and generating follow-up messages. However, this requires sophisticated setup to interpret responses accurately and respond appropriately, maintaining a balance between automation and personal touch.

Summary

As you may see, your options for using Chat GPT for sales are infinite.

Our only advice is not to be afraid to experiment and to give new prompts and feedback until you are completely satisfied with the result.

Also, keep in mind that you can always manually adjust any solution Chat GPT suggests.

And if you wish to test out 7 days for free how to combine Chat GPT with Skylead, a LinkedIn automation tool and cold email software, check out this link.

Launch your first outreach campaign today!

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Everyone is talking about the Social Selling Index and with good reason. LinkedIn SSI score came into our lives to explain and answer our questions like why my posts have fewer impressions, what I am doing wrong in my outreach, and how my LinkedIn profile can get more integrity in the eyes of the algorithm. Moreover, social selling leaders have 45% more sales opportunities than the ones with a lower LinkedIn SSI score.

That said, if you haven’t already, it’s best to jump into this story and boost your LinkedIn SSI score immediately. However, if you don’t know where to start or what to improve first, don’t despair. We are here to give you tips and pointers from our first-hand experience on improving your LinkedIn SSI score and making this platform work to your advantage.

What is the LinkedIn SSI score?

Social Selling Index is LinkedIn’s measurement of how effective you and your profile are at building your brand. In other words, finding the right people, engaging with insights, and establishing relationships.

Users with a higher LinkedIn SSI score are better positioned to become thought leaders, do LinkedIn lead generation and therefore more likely to succeed in closing the deal. This is LinkedIn’s way of awarding those with high social selling skills.

Where to find LinkedIn SSI score?

SSI is available to everyone, whether using a free or paid LinkedIn account. (If you are not sure where to find it, copy and paste this 👉 www.linkedin.com/sales/ssi in your browser’s search engine. Go ahead and check it. This is your first step towards knowing what you are doing right and what needs a little extra push.

This is what you can expect.

Founded on the above four sections, LinkedIn SSI score shows your success as a salesperson and how effectively you are using the platform.

Each of the segments can grow up to 25 points, with the total score anywhere between 0 and 100. This implies that all four sections are equally valued when measuring your Social Selling Index on LinkedIn.

Tips to increase LinkedIn SSI score

Tip #1: Complete your LinkedIn profile

If you want to boost your personal brand and Social Selling Index, you need to first complete your LinkedIn profile.

Yes, your personal brand starts with a neat and complete LinkedIn profile. The way you communicate with your leads, the way you nurture them, the type of content you post, they all add up. But first and foremost, your profile.

It’s just like in the real world. It takes only a few seconds for someone to form the first impression. And they get attracted or rejected by your looks, not your brains. Sorry, it’s just the way it works.

That said, there are many steps that you can follow to improve the Social Selling Index pillar #1 “Establish your professional brand”. Here is what we did and saw an immediate increase in SSI:

Upload a professional profile picture that gives the impression of you being a reliable, yet approachable expert in the field.
Write a catchy LinkedIn headline that sums up what your career is all about.
Dedicate time to a summary that will make your profile stand out and grab the visitors’ attention.
Fill out your professional achievements, but don’t overwhelm us. It’s like sending a CV to a recruiter. Only career highlights, please.
List your fortes.
Ask for recommendations (from people you worked and had a close bond with).
Endorse others and others will endorse you. The law of reciprocity rocks.

While striving to fully complete your LinkedIn profile, always have in mind the keywords you would like to be connected with and searched by. Just like you are optimizing your content to show up on Google, you are optimizing yourself to show up in your leads’ search engines.

If you’re still unsure how to set up your entire profile, check out our masterclass. 👇

Tip #2 Find the right people

Speaking of search engines, who is showing up in yours?

As mentioned above, LinkedIn was created to suit business needs. Not personal. Read that again.

Don’t invite people to connect because you like their looks. There are other platforms designed for that.

For you to improve the LinkedIn SSI score pillar #2 “Find the right people”, focus on expanding your network according to the following parameters:

People you already know in person.
Users that are from the same industry, are industry thought-leaders, or share an interest in the same industry as you.
LinkedIn members from adjacent industries.
Audiences that you think (or even better: you researched) would be interested in your product or service.

Fortunately for all of us, LinkedIn has developed plans, each of them with different perks, depending on what you’re expecting from the platform.

LinkedIn Premium Business, for example, has the same filtering options as LinkedIn basic. However, it does give you unlimited profile search and views, together with 15 Paid and 800 free monthly LinkedIn InMail credits.

On the other hand, Sales Navigator, designed in particular for salespeople, has numerous other options that will make your life easier while searching for that perfect lead. Aside from Sales Navigator advanced filters, it has Lead Lists, Saved Searches, and 20 Paid and 800 free monthly InMail credits.

You can improve the quality of your network and leads by:

Checking out LinkedIn groups of your interest.
Reaching out to people attending a certain LinkedIn event.
Using the Boolean Search to narrow down your audience with more precision.

Tip #3 Engage with insights

Don’t just stand there looking good. Say something. Post on LinkedIn and share your vision with the community. Don’t be afraid to speak up, as the world is full of people thinking differently. Luckily for you, there is plenty of fish in the sea and you will for sure find like-minded users. If that’s what’s worrying you.

For the LinkedIn algorithm to like you and for your Social Selling Index pillar #3 “Engage with insights” to grow, you need to:

Post engaging and valuable content.
React and comment on other people’s posts.
Reshare what you find worthy of resharing.

LinkedIn SSI score is not the only one benefiting from your engagement with insights.

LinkedIn pushes people who give value to the platform by sharing their insights, encouraging constructive criticism, and starting meaningful conversations. These users come up in the search results more often and get more exposure in comparison to inactive users.

That said, make every post count. From our experience, here is what made a difference:

Providing value,
And offer a solution to a pain point our network is struggling with.

By engaging with insights, you are telling people who you are and what you stand for. Consequently, you will start being surrounded by like-minded people.

A LinkedIn post can be an excellent source of leads. People who react and comment on a certain topic from your or your target industry are apparently interested in the subject. And are all gathered at one place. Whether picking them manually or scraping all of them by using a Sales Solutions, such as Skylead, making a reference to a certain post is a serious game-changer when it comes to acceptance rates.

Tip #4 Expand network and create relationships

You can have 500+ connections and not stand for a particularly “engaging” member of the LinkedIn community.

If you just had a LinkedIn profile long enough and behaved professionally you are likely to have gathered quite a lot of connections. There you go. But that doesn’t help the LinkedIn algorithm nor it grows your LinkedIn SSI score.

For you to improve pillar #4 “Establish relationships”, do the following:

Approach other users with a valid reason, be genuinely curious about their career path, ask business-related questions, be ready to reciprocate, and know when to stop (read: don’t spam them). You can use the following LinkedIn connection message template:

Hey {{firstName}},

I loved your {{topic}} post and followed every advice. So far, I have achieved {{achievedResult}}. Thank you so much! I would love to connect and exchange some experiences!

Comment on other people’s posts or on the comment someone else left. The only way to provide value and show integrity is to give your honest opinion instead of repeating what others said.
Introduce your connections. If you see that someone works in the same or adjacent industry, or they might benefit from each other, speak up. Not only will your connections appreciate it but they are more likely to return the favor.
Be responsive. Answer to messages, Invites to Connect, and post comments in a timely (and respectful) manner.

Briefly, you cannot go wrong with making a pleasant social interaction. In addition, what we found worked like magic was incorporating personalized images & GIFs in the outreach. It even increased our response rate to 63%.

Tip #5 Analyze LinkedIn SSI score and improve

Once you start improving your SSI, the job is not done. You need to keep track of your Social Selling Index score, analyze it and see what area you need to improve. From our experience, experimenting with different social selling strategies and monitoring your SSI changes usually does the trick.

Frequently asked questions

How frequently does LinkedIn update the SSI score, and can changes in my activities impact my score immediately?

LinkedIn updates the Social Selling Index (SSI) score daily, reflecting changes in user activities almost in real time. Engaging consistently in recommended activities—like making connections, sharing content, and interacting on the platform—can positively impact your score, demonstrating the dynamic nature of SSI.

Are there any known limitations or criticisms of the LinkedIn SSI score as a metric for evaluating social selling effectiveness?

The LinkedIn SSI score, while useful, is not without criticisms. Some argue it may not fully capture the quality of social selling efforts or the depth of relationships built. It's a quantitative metric that might overlook the qualitative aspects of networking and sales effectiveness.

How can companies or teams collectively improve their LinkedIn SSI scores, and does LinkedIn offer insights or tools for group performance enhancement?

Companies can improve their collective LinkedIn SSI scores by encouraging consistent, strategic activity on the platform, including content sharing, engaging with connections, and endorsing skills. LinkedIn does offer analytics and insights for company pages, which can guide teams in enhancing their overall social selling performance.

To sum up

In real life, you make sure you look professional, your network at events, you are kind and genuinely interested in other people, and you stand behind your values and opinions. Hopefully.

That’s LinkedIn in a nutshell. Just online.

If finding the right people and nurturing relationships is something you would like to take to another level, then start a 7-day Free Trial and see how Skylead can save you 11+ hours a day while generating 10 times more leads.

Launch your first outreach campaign today!

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Alongside your profile picture and LinkedIn headline, your LinkedIn cover photo plays a crucial part in your LinkedIn identity.

Not only does it contribute to your overall professional image, but it represents an important element in forming the first impression for your LinkedIn profile visitors.

As such, a LinkedIn background photo requires an equal amount of attention you would dedicate to any of the other sections of your LinkedIn header.

Therefore, in this blog, you’ll learn:

How to change your LinkedIn cover photo for personal & company pages on desktop and mobile;
The size of a LinkedIn background photo for personal & company pages;
What online tools to use to craft a perfect LinkedIn cover photo;
Top 17 LinkedIn cover photo ideas with real-life examples for any profession to make your profile stand out on the platform.

How do I change a LinkedIn cover photo?

Change LinkedIn background photo for LinkedIn personal profiles

On desktop

This is your LinkedIn background photo.

You can change it anytime and as many times as you wish.

#1 Click on the pencil icon in the top right corner of your LinkedIn profile’s header.

You will see two pencil icons, the lower one takes you to change your name, last name, headline, locations, etc., while the upper one takes you to change your LinkedIn cover photo.

#2 Click on the Pen icon to access the LinkedIn background photo editor.

Here you can:

Upload a new cover photo,
Crop it,
Apply filters,
Adjust brightness,
Rotate it,
Zoom it, etc.

By clicking the Adjust icon you can make additional corrections to your image, such as

Brightness
Contrast
Saturation
Vignette

On mobile

To change your LinkedIn background photo on mobile, go to your LinkedIn profile page and click the Pencil icon in the top right corner.

#2 In the bottom, you’ll find the options to edit, add a photo, or delete the existing one.

#4 Once you’ve uploaded the photo, you’ll get the same editing options as on the desktop.

Change LinkedIn background photo for LinkedIn company pages

On desktop

To change the LinkedIn background photo on your LinkedIn company page, you must either be the page’s admin or be given access to the page with editing permissions.

Then, go to the LinkedIn company page you’re managing, and click the Pen icon here.

You will get a dropdown menu to:

Upload a new cover image (check out LinkedIn cover photo size recommendations in this blog’s next section)
Adjust the current cover image;
Or, delete the current cover image.

Once you upload a new LinkedIn banner for your company page, or if you click to adjust the current one, the LinkedIn cover image editor will give you options to:

Upload a new cover photo,
Crop it,
Apply filters,
Adjust brightness,
Rotate it,
Zoom it, etc.

Also, by clicking the Adjust icon you can make additional corrections to your image, such as

Brightness
Contrast
Saturation
Vignette

What is the size of a LinkedIn cover photo?

In 2024, a LinkedIn cover photo size for personal profiles should be a maximum of 1584 x 396 px and a minimum of 1192 × 220 px, up to 8MB, and in JPEG, GIF, or PNG file formats.

When it comes to LinkedIn cover photo size for company pages, LinkedIn recommends a size of 1128 x 191 px, which is at the same time the minimum size, up to 8MB, and in JPEG, GIF, or PNG file formats.

Also, another thing to bear in mind is that LinkedIn cover photos are cropped differently on mobile and desktop devices. So, make sure to view your profile on both kinds of displays when setting up a new LinkedIn background photo. You don’t want important parts of your banner to be hidden or simply look bad.

Luckily, there are many online tools to help you make an ideal LinkedIn cover photo, and you don’t even need to be design-savvy.

Where can I find LinkedIn cover photo templates?

Nowadays, many online design tools have templates specifically for LinkedIn - such as posts, profile images, and background photos that require very little editing to look good.

Otherwise, if you wish to put in more effort, there are websites with free or paid stock images, or you can consider hiring a designer or someone design-savvy to do it for you.

Start with these.

paid stock image websites	free stock image websites	online graphic design platforms
iStockphoto.com	Vecteezy	Canva
Shutterstock.com	Freepik	Fotor
Envato.com	Morguefile	VistaCreate
Depositphotos.com	Pixabay	Freepick
StockAdobe.com	Stockvault
	Pexels
	Picjumbo
	Pikwizard
	Rawpixel
	Reshot

In our next section, you will find 10 ideas on different types of LinkedIn cover photos depending on the message you wish to get across with it.

Summary

Before diving into choosing your ideal LinkedIn cover photo, consider your focus — clients, yourself, workspace, or tools.

Which emotions do you wish to convey? Empowerment, trust, professionalism?

What kind of LinkedIn background photo would enhance your professional image while aligning seamlessly with your brand?

This strategic approach ensures your LinkedIn presence resonates effectively with your target audience while automating your LinkedIn lead generation activities through Skylead. All features are available for a 7-day FREE trial starting today! Don’t miss out!

Launch your first outreach campaign today!

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Nowadays, to get qualified prospects, you need a detailed plan and a few prospecting tools.

A detailed plan will make your lead generation smoother and increase conversion rates. At the same time, B2B sales prospecting tools help you speed up specific discovery and lead management tasks that would take up so much of your time otherwise.

The most widely-known prospecting tool is, for sure, LinkedIn, the #1 professional social media aimed at connecting companies from all over the world and encouraging them to make meaningful business-to-business connections. Even though LinkedIn prospecting is the best way to find new leads, there is still a lot of manual work, such as finding the leads’ contact information.

That said, here are 18 other B2B prospecting tools you should consider using. They are meant for sales teams doing in-house prospecting activities or for a prospecting company offering it as a service.

Why use B2B prospecting software & sales prospecting tools?

B2B prospecting software is designed to automate otherwise time-consuming prospecting activities, giving you more time to nurture qualified leads and close the deal.

In other words, these tools give you the following:

A way to get to your potential customers faster,
More time as they streamline the most tedious research tasks,
A way to create personalized emails or LinkedIn messages so you can reach more people genuinely.

All B2B prospecting tools listed below are software as a service (Saas), which means they are entirely delivered over the Internet and are accessible from anywhere on the planet.

This makes them suitable for anyone interested in sales and marketing automation - from cold email campaigns and messaging on LinkedIn, to email finder, data generator or any other step in the outbound marketing process and lead management overall.

18 best B2B prospecting tools you need in 2024 [Including free tools]

1. Skylead - LinkedIn prospecting tool

Skylead is one of the best sales outreach and prospecting tools on the market. To clarify, it is LinkedIn automation and cold email software as service (Saas). It helps you find your B2B leads’ data, maximize touchpoints with your leads and, therefore, reach your qualified prospects faster.

How? Firstly, Skylead supports Premium, LinkedIn Sales Navigator, and Recruiter URLs. So salespeople can search for your new prospects via these platforms and import them directly into your Skylead outreach campaign. Or you can import your sales leads via CSV.

Secondly, Skylead can find your qualified leads’ B2B contact data with native Email finder & verifier. This feature is unique on the market because you don’t need any 3rd-party tool or the need to connect with leads on LinkedIn first.

Moreover, Skylead combines LinkedIn connection requests, connection messages, free and paid InMails, and the View and Follow steps with cold emails into Smart sequences. This way, you can use multichannel outreach and maximize getting in touch with every lead.

Lastly, Skylead offers its users the Boost mode to bypass LinkedIn connection limits and send over 500 invites per week.

Skylead has an All-in-one pricing plan of $100 per seat/month. You can, though, test out all of Skylead’s features by signing up for a 7-day Free Trial.

2. LinkedIn Sales Navigator - Sales prospecting tool for lead generation

LinkedIn Sales Navigator is Premium built for salespeople to discover and connect with the most qualified leads for their business.

With Sales Navigator filters, you can see all targeted members’ LinkedIn profiles, but you can access a series of sales-oriented features. These features are perfect for handpicking high-quality prospects, getting company data, segment target accounts for different outreach, and so on.

It’s best when used with a LinkedIn automation tool and cold email software such as Skylead. To clarify, you can import leads through a Sales Navigator search result or Lead list. Once you do, you can create the outreach sequence with the highest number of touchpoints with your leads.

LinkedIn Sales Navigator has 3 pricing plans:

Core - $109 per month + VAT
Advanced - The pricing depends on your contract details, the number of seats, and your chosen features;
Advanced plus - You need to request a demo with LinkedIn for this information.

3. Hubspot - B2B prospecting tool with free plan

Another tool that is widely used for prospecting and lead management is Hubspot. They offer a free CRM solution to help anyone track their prospect lists and outreach stage.

This free CRM helps you take complete control of your sales process, starting with creating your prospect lists. Once you import new prospects, Hubspot’s enrichment feature will get you essential company insights.

Hubspot also has a paid version within its Sales Hub product. Its pricing goes for $500 a month per minimum of 5 users and includes the following main features:

Creating email sequences and email campaigns;
ABM tools & tools to automate lead generation;
Workflow integration with other apps;
Target accounts dashboard;
Identifying logged-in website visitors to send personalized emails or live chat replies;
Streamlining new lead assignation to your sales representatives;

4. Zoominfo

Zoominfo is a B2B database and a Chrome extension used by salespeople, marketing, and talent acquisition professionals. Accordingly, it has 3 pricing plans:

SalesOS - offers sales teams company data, such as insights, buying intent signals, and accurate emails and employees’ phone numbers.
MarketingOS gives contact information, advanced company insights, and digital marketing solutions for display advertising. What’s more, marketers gain access to plugins, website chat, and forms management for lead generation.
Lastly, TalentOS provides recruiters with advanced candidate search with accurate contact information, candidate alerts, and different engagement apps and integrations.

That said, to get pricing for each plan, you must leave your contact information and jump on a call with their sales representative. In addition, the word on the street is that Zoominfo makes contracts with companies, not single users, which implies the pricing height. So if a minimum of 3 seats per contract is not for you, you should consider using other solutions.

Keep in mind that it's not entirely necessary to buy contact data from companies such as Zoominfo. Instead, you can use Skylead's "Email finder & verifier" feature as part of your outreach workflow. This way, you can gather all B2B contact data such as company name, business email & domain.

5. Contactout - B2B prospecting tool with free plan

Inspired by Zoominfo, Contactout is a subscription-based, Chrome extension database suitable for occasional searches and long-term use.

Namely, it has a free plan that allows you to search up to 40 emails and 3 phone numbers and works for basic LinkedIn profiles only. Contactout’s free plan can also be an excellent way to test the database before committing to a paid pricing plan.

Speaking of pricing, Contactout has 3 paid plans, billed annually:

Sales plan costs $79 per user a month. In addition, it offers 6000 emails a year, 600 phone numbers, CRM integration, and connection to other apps through Zapier.

The Recruiter plan goes for $199 per user a month. This plan offers 12000 emails and 600 phone numbers a year. In addition, it can find prospects’ personal or business emails. Moreover, like the one before, this plan offers CRM integration and a chance to link Contactout with other apps.

Lastly, a customized plan, Team, offers everything in the Recruiter pricing plan plus volume discount and team collaboration. However, you need to contact their sales reps to get a quote on this one.

6. Lusha - B2B prospecting tool with free plan

Another solution similar to Zoominfo is Lusha. This B2B prospecting tool helps you find prospects that belong to your ideal customer profile and respective decision-makers.

Lush does this by accessing your LinkedIn account and using Chrome extension to scrape your leads’ contact information like company name or email. However, remember that Chrome extensions are not the safest since they inject code into this social media platform. In other words, LinkedIn can easily detect this code and get your LinkedIn account restricted.

Lusha has 4 pricing plans billed annually, with the following main features:

Free - 5 credits to enrich contacts and get phone numbers or email verifications.
Pro - Lusha charges $29 per user a month. It offers 480 credits and the ability to manage prospect lists.
Premium - Lusha estimates this plan at $51 per user a month. It offers 960 credits, 25 contacts enrichment per bulk, and prospect list management.
Scale - custom plan. It offers everything from the previous plan plus: 1000 contact enrichment in bulk, CSV enrichment, intent signals, CRM integration like Salesforce, and so on. However, Lusha requires you to schedule a call with their sales reps.

7. Clearbit - B2B prospecting tool with free plan

This is another database sales prospecting tool that lets you automate finding high-quality leads. Even though it helps sales teams find potential customers and enrich the data, Clearbit is more of an inbound lead generation solution for marketers.

To clarify, Clearbit turns your website visitors into a sales pipeline by automating autofill on website forms. Moreover, Clearbit ties anonymous visitors with accounts and can immediately enrich your contacts.

In addition, Clearbit gets more high-quality leads to your sales team by capturing intent. It does this by automating adding accounts and key buyer contacts to your CRM (Salesforce or Hubspot) from websites such as G2.

Lastly, it offers marketers a unified dash for Google, Facebook, or YouTube ads and can perform exclusion for people who don’t belong in your ideal customer profile.

Clearbit has 3 pricing plans:

Free - includes finding 100 emails through Chrome extension and enriching 50 domains and emails per month.
Business - includes data enrichment, lead scoring, form optimization, advanced personalization, and conversion targeting.
Powered by Clearbit - includes IP de-anonymization, company name and contact data, and free data credits.

However, you need to schedule a call with their salespeople to get to the price. This way, they can give you a custom quote based on the number of credits you need.

8. SalesIntel

Another database classified as a pretty good outbound sales prospecting tool is Salesintel. They provide 95% accurate and human-verified account and contact data so you can search through and find your ICP or a decision-maker.

They have 17 million contacts and 22 million company records and have 65% coverage of SaaS decision-makers. This is a nifty tool because you only need to insert the firmographic or demographic filters and let SalesIntel do its job. After you find your leads, you can import them to your outreach tool and send LinkedIn, multichannel, or email sequences.

SalesIntel has one pricing plan that offers:

Unlimited emails and phone numbers if you prefer cold calling;
Account and contact enrichments;
Unlimited saved searches;
Sales intelligence Account firmographic and technographic filters;
Buyer intent.

However, you’d need to contact their sales reps to get a custom quote.

9. Seamless AI - B2B prospecting tool with free plan

Like SalesIntel, this outbound B2B sales prospecting tool is a simple database solution to find new leads. Sales professionals use Seamless AI to get real-time data verification, such as social media profiles and company insights, and use email finder.

Salespeople can also use sales intelligence, aka buyer intent, to increase their prospecting efforts and determine their ICP’s needs. This way, they can write the right messaging and even follow-ups before the cold outreach.

Lastly, Seamless AI offers data for social media advertising via lookalike audiences and retargeting to drive inbound B2B leads.

Seamless AI has 4 pricing plans:

Free - up to 50 credits for emails or phone number search, AI Writer, and real-time search engine.
Basic - everything in Free, plus 250 monthly credits for finding emails or phone numbers and live training webinars.
Pro - everything in Basic plus daily credit refresh, integrations, job changes, buyer intent data, priority support, and dedicated success manager.
Enterprise - everything in Pro plus custom credits per user and phone support.

10. Leadfeeder - B2B prospecting tool with free plan

Leadfeeder is a prospecting software that helps ABM managers step up their lead generation game. To clarify, Leadfeeder has an IP enrichment API feature that can transform IP addresses into firmographic data in real time.

In other words, once a lead visits your website, Leadfeeder can recognize the companies and filter out the ones that are not interested. In addition, it can filter visitors by country, industry, or pages they visited. You can then use the Leadfeeder Contacts feature to identify decision-makers from that company. Or you can personalize your chat to send particular messages depending on their behavior.

Once you generate leads, you can integrate Leadfeeder with your CRM, such as Salesforce. This way, you can send potential customers along with the notification to your salespeople and help out their prospecting efforts.

Lastly, with the Leadfeeder, you can monitor the existing customers’ behavior. This way, if you see any anomaly, you can alert sales professionals, improve their sales process and prevent potential churn.

Leadfeeder has 2 pricing plans:

Free - no time limit, data from the last 7 days only, up to 100 companies identification.
Paid - starting at $199 per month and is paid annually. It includes 2500 credits, 3 seats, website visitor company identification, and other features listed above.

11. Aeroleads - B2B prospecting tool with free plan

If you primarily cold email outbound campaigns, then AeroLeads is for you. AeroLeads ease up your sales process with the email verification feature that can find business and personal emails. In addition, this tool can even find phone numbers if you prefer cold calling.

Only keep in mind that you’d need to use their Chrome extension to extract these emails from LinkedIn, Aeroleads search, and other websites. In addition, you can send your LinkedIn prospect to your CRM via plugin, thus sending a notification to your sales team.

Aeroleads has 4 pricing plans:

Free - 50 monthly credits, where credit means a record of sales leads and 100 verified emails. In addition, you get contact data such as company name, phone number, or title, email campaigns, integrations, and prospects discovery from LinkedIn, Crunchbase, etc.
Take off - goes for $49 a month. It offers everything in the Free plan, plus 2000 monthly credits and 2000 verified emails.
Climb - costs $149 for 5 users per month. It offers everything in the Free plan, plus 8000 monthly credits and 8000 verified emails.
Cruise - costs $499 a month for an unlimited number of users. It has everything like in the Free plan, plus 30K monthly credits and 30K emails verified.

12. Rocketreach

This is one of the best sales databases with 700M profiles and 35M companies that you can search by title, industry, and company details. In addition, with Rocketreach, you can find social media profiles and discover company connections from any platform.

Lastly, Rocketreach supports workflow integrations with CRM or any other app.

Rocketreach has 3 pricing plans:

The Essentials plan costs $53 per user per month with 125 monthly lookups, which is used like a credit in other B2B prospecting tools.
Pro is priced at $107 per user monthly with 300 monthly lookups.
The Ultimate plan costs $269 per user a month, with 833 lookups per user.

13. Salesloft

This is a sales engagement platform that can help you use a single app to:

Track your prospecting process,
Discover what stage your leads are in,
Find out the next steps you need to take
Calculate the closed deal value and LTV.

In addition, Salesloft makes it easy for you to make calls, create emails, follow-ups, and meetings through the platform, and it will automatically sync with your CRM.

Moreover, Salesloft can Identify sales leads’ buyer engagement on your website and in your communication so you can act on situations fast.

Lastly, you can create a library of email templates, and Salesloft will keep track of the number of emails sent, clicks, and replies. This way, you’ll know what follow-ups or cold email templates are a winner.

Salesloft has 3 pricing plans:

Essentials - You get automated workflows, sales pipeline performance data, insights, guidance, and conversation sales intelligence (call recordings and transcription integrated into your workflow).
Advanced - Everything in the Essentials plan, plus sales pipeline visibility (from prospecting to the conversation).
Premier - Everything in the Advanced plan, plus automatic forecast roll-up, submissions, and AI-driven next steps of the prospecting processes.

However, you need to schedule a call with their sales team to get the pricing for each.

14. Datanyze

The next tool that can help your prospecting process is Datanyze. Essentially, it's a Chrome extension to help you gather the sales lead info from LinkedIn and other company websites.

In addition, Datanyze provides ideas for icebreakers by what is happening in a prospect's world, curated from personal social media feeds, current weather, etc.

Datanyze has 3 clear pricing plans:

Free (limited) - You get 10 monthly credits to test the platform for 90 days.
Nyze Pro 1 - You get 80 credits per month. Additional credits are charged $0.363 per credit.
Nyze Pro 2 - You get 80 credits per month. Additional credits are charged $0.344 per credit.

15. Voila Norbert - B2B prospecting tool

Voila Norbert is an extension-based email finder tool that, in addition, offers email verification and enrichment services. In other words, if you want to collect data beyond emails, Voila Norbert can find the prospect’s location, job title, and social media profiles. All you need to start is a prospect’s name and company URL.

With a 98% success rate and ease of use, Voila Norbert can find any email provider including Gmail. And this is why it ranks among the best sales prospecting tools for lead generation.

This tool doesn’t have a free plan. However, it provides the first 50 emails free of charge. Speaking of costs, Voila Norbert has 4 basic pricing plans. Every plan includes 50 bulk workers and API usage, and:

Valet ($49 per month) offers 1000 leads per month;
Butler ($99 per month) provides 5000 leads per month;
With Advisor ($249 per month), you get up to 15000 leads per month;
Counselor costs $499, and it offers 50K leads a month.

However, verification and enrichment services are charged separately:

One verified email costs $0.003,
and email enrichment costs $0.04 per email.

16. Hunter - B2B prospecting tool with free plan

Another software on our best sales B2B prospecting tools list is Hunter. This is a Chrome extension tool that can find emails by company or name and verify them. It can also perform a domain search to find out who to contact within the company.

Even though they are an email outreach platform, they are still most used for email discovery. However, Hunter can automate sending cold email campaigns and follow-ups from your Gmail and Outlook accounts.
Lastly, you can integrate Hunter with any other tool and, for example, send your high-quality leads to your CRM.

Hunter has 4 pricing plans:

	Pricing	# Of Monthly searches	# Of Verifications	# Of Email Account Linked	# Of Recipients per Campaign
Free	0€	25	50	1	500
Starter	49€	500	1K	3	2500
Growth	149€	5K	10K	10	5K
Business	499€	50K	100K	20	10K

17. Evaboot - Sales prospecting tool with free plan

Evaboot is a Sales Navigator scraper. To clarify, it is a Chrome extension-based tool that finds emails using Sales Navigator and adds additional data such as name, company size, and job title. Then, you can later export data via CSV and use it elsewhere.

It can automatically clean the names, job titles, and company names of any emoji or symbols. Moreover, it can detect leads that are not your Buyer Persona and remove them automatically.

Evaboot has 3 subscription plans:

$49 a month for 2K export and email credits each;
$99 a month for 5K export and email credits each;
$199 a month for 50K export and email credits each.

However, if these plans do not suit your needs, you can always pay their one-time fee for different amounts of emails you want to find and export. Lastly, when you install their extension, you get one-time 1000 credits free to export leads.

18. GetProspect - B2B prospecting tool with free plan

Last but not least, we have GetProspect. This is a simple email finder solution that scrapes the contacts from LinkedIn using the Chrome extension.

Moreover, they have a B2B contact database, which you can access, find leads via 15 filtering options, and get real-time data and email verifications.

Lastly, you can link and sign up with your Gmail or Microsoft emails and try the tool for free.

GetProspect has 5 pricing plans, paid monthly or yearly:

Free for 50 emails and 100 verifications;
$49 for 1K emails a month and 2K verifications;
$99 for 5K emails and 10K verifications;
$199 for 20K valid emails and 40K verifications;
$399 for 50K emails and 100K verifications;

Frequently asked question

How do these tools ensure data privacy and comply with regulations like GDPR?

B2B prospecting tools prioritize data privacy and compliance with regulations like GDPR by implementing secure data handling practices and providing features for consent management.

What integration capabilities do these tools have with existing sales and marketing platforms?

These tools often feature robust integration capabilities with popular CRM, sales platforms, facilitating seamless data flow and activity tracking across sales ecosystems.

For businesses with global outreach, how do these tools handle and segment data across different regions and languages?

For global outreach, many B2B prospecting tools offer functionalities to segment and manage data by region and language, enabling businesses to tailor their strategies to diverse markets.

Wrap up and advice

Choosing the right B2B prospecting tools can be challenging. However, it doesn’t have to be hard - our advice is to start the research by defining what you need.

If, for example, you need an email finder only, then use tools such as Voila Norbert or GetProspect. However, if you need an entire database, check Salesintel or Contactout.

Lastly, if you find yourself in a situation where you need all the above and the multichannel solution, then choose Skylead. Simple as that. Just define what you want and then go for it.

Speaking of Skylead, wish to try it out for free? Then sign up for a 7-day free trial, and we’ll help you get onboard in no time. 😊

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The topic of how to cancel a LinkedIn invitation is rarely discussed, simply because people tend to leave invites pending for… Well, forever.

However, everyone should monitor their pending invites, especially if you are in sales or a recruiting business, as the integrity of your LinkedIn profile can get damaged. Yes, it’s that serious.

So to keep your integrity intact and help you reduce the number of pending invites in the first place, in this article, we’ll cover:

Why do you need to cancel your LinkedIn invite;
What you need to know about the cancellation process;
How to cancel LinkedIn invitations that are pending for a long time;
Why your LinkedIn invites aren’t getting accepted;
How to create engaging invitations that will increase your acceptance rate.

Why should you cancel your pending invitations?

You should cancel LinkedIn invite because of 3 reasons:

There’s a risk of getting your account restricted;
Your LinkedIn experience can get damaged;
LinkedIn won’t allow you to send new ones unless you clear the list.

Let’s clarify these statements.

Firstly, and most importantly, if you do not cancel your LinkedIn invite for a long time, you risk piling them up. It would be fine if LinkedIn didn’t have an eye out for suspicious activities. And, yes, LinkedIn does consider this suspicious.

In other words, if you do not withdraw your pending invites after a month or two and leave them piling up, LinkedIn can restrict your account. Moreover, you won’t be able to send any other connections until you clean out your pending invite list.

Secondly, if the connection doesn’t accept the invite for a while, the chances are they either are not interested, or they aren’t within your business industry.

To clarify. The quality of your network on LinkedIn plays a significant role in experiencing benefits while using this platform. So, one of the things that will boost your career is taking the effort and making a strategy to connect only with people related to you and your business, and cancel LinkedIn invites sent to those who are not.

Lastly, a word on the street is that if you have too many pending requests, LinkedIn won’t allow you to send new ones. Some people say they reached a whopping 3000 pending invites before LinkedIn restricted them from sending more invites. LinkedIn didn’t publish the precise number of how many pending requests you can have officially. However, to avoid this scenario some people experienced in the past, be sure to clean your list regularly.

What you need to know before proceeding to cancel LinkedIn invite?

Before you withdraw any of your LinkedIn invites, you should know a couple of things first.

You can’t cancel LinkedIn invites in bulk.

If you wish to cancel LinkedIn invites in bulk, you cannot do so within LinkedIn itself. However, keep on reading as we will explain how you can do it in bulk using a certain tool 😉 .

About the notification your pending connections receive.

If you send a LinkedIn connection request to a person, they will see the notification as soon as they log into their account. However, in case you cancel LinkedIn invite before the user sees it, they wouldn’t even know that you’ve sent it.

In addition, canceling an invite will stop the recipient from receiving further LinkedIn notifications or emails to remind them of the request.

When can you cancel your LinkedIn invite?

You can cancel LinkedIn invite you’ve sent accidentally or that you regret sending, as long as the LinkedIn member hasn’t accepted your invitation.

In case the LinkedIn user accepts your connection request, there is always an option to remove them from your connections.

If you withdraw your request, you will have a tiny restriction.

After you cancel your invite, you won’t be able to resend it to the same recipient for up to 3 weeks.

How to cancel LinkedIn invite in 5 simple steps?

In case you’ve sent the requests you wish to withdraw or are pending too long, here’s how you can do it.

Cancel LinkedIn invite via desktop

First, go to Linkedin, and click on My Network in the header bar.

Once you do, you will see the list of invites other people sent you. Hit See all # in the top right corner.

If you don't have any invites you need to approve on this page, the section will look slightly different. In this case, just click the Manage button.

Here, you can see all the invites people sent you. To find the ones you sent out, go to the Sent tab and click the Withdraw button to cancel the LinkedIn invite.

Lastly, LinkedIn will double-check if you wish to withdraw your invite with the notification. Continue the cancellation process, and you will be done.

Canceling invites via Android

You can withdraw invitations using your android phone too, and the process is not that different than the one using your PC.

First, go to your Network page, and click the Invitations button.

Next, click the Sent tab, and withdraw the invites you wish.

How to cancel LinkedIn invite on iOS

The process is somewhat different on iOS devices. So if, for example, you have an Apple phone, here is how you can cancel LinkedIn invite.

First, go to Notifications at the bottom of the screen. Then, click the Invitations button at the top. After the pop-up opens up, click View invitations you sent.

From there, choose the LinkedIn invites to withdraw and cancel them one by one.

Let Skylead do the withdrawal for you

Canceling LinkedIn invites, one by one, can work if you have just a few pending. However, what should sales managers or recruiters do when they have thousands of invites pending? Should they all cancel the thousands of invites manually? No.

Remember when we said you could not cancel LinkedIn invites in bulk on LinkedIn? The point still stands - you cannot withdraw them all at once… Within the LinkedIn platform, that is.

However, you can use an automation tool for LinkedIn and Email outreach, such as Skylead, to do it for you.

In other words, you can use our LinkedIn outreach tool and set how many pending connections you wish to have before Skylead starts removing them automatically to keep your account safe and healthy.

Why your LinkedIn invitations aren’t getting accepted

Speaking of connecting on LinkedIn, the best case practice is to connect with people related to you, your position, and your business industry. Naturally, if you are a salesperson or a recruiter using LinkedIn for lead generation, you’d go with your target group.

In the end, no matter who you wish to connect to and why, the goal is the same – to get the right message across and be accepted. However, there are numerous reasons why your LinkedIn invitations aren’t getting accepted or stay pending for a long time. So, to help you increase your acceptance rate, let’s first cover the possible reasons why this metric is not high at the moment.

1. Incomplete LinkedIn profile

Sending invitations actively to users without previously setting up your profile is a huge mistake.

There are many profiles on LinkedIn that look like this, and you don’t want yours to be one of them.

Start from yourself - would you accept an invite from this kind of profile? No, you wouldn’t.

If you have no photo, no description of any kind, and no experience details, no one on LinkedIn will take you seriously. Why would they want to connect with you without knowing who you are, right?

So if you send a request to someone with a profile like the one above, go back and cancel LinkedIn invite yourself. Then focus on setting up your LinkedIn profile first.

2. Someone is really not interested in accepting the invite

One reason may be that the user does not wish to connect with you and just prolongs declining your invite. I know - it’s like ripping off the band aid, but it had to be said.

3. Outreaching unknown people without context or common connections

This depends on the person, but some LinkedIn users don’t accept unfamiliar people. To clarify, those people sometimes see nothing they have in common with you, which makes them skeptical.

In this case, it’s good to have or reference a mutual connection, so they do not ignore your request.

4. Sending generic message requests

This mistake is the one that most LinkedIn users make. They think that writing something generic like “Hey, I’d like to connect with you” is enough to have their request accepted. Yeah, right!

These requests may be accepted in some cases, but not by a person who gets a lot of invites daily. Such people tend to get tons of messages that resemble yours and mostly ignore them. So, why would they make an exception for you?

What’s more, with this kind of message or no message at all, there is a chance the recipient can click the Ignore button and then the I don’t know this person option. With too many “I don’t know this person clicked“, you risk getting your account restricted by LinkedIn.

5. First touch selling

The chances of successfully selling something via the LinkedIn invitation request are close to zero.

You have probably received tons of invitation messages where someone is trying to sell insurance to you.

It is not the way sales work. Nowadays, it’s all about social selling.

In your invitation message, you should explain why you want to connect with the user you’re outreaching, but not by trying to sell something. First, focus on personalizing, building normal human connections, and providing value before they buy anything you’re selling.

How to create engaging LinkedIn invites and boost acceptance rate

We cannot stress this enough. Before you even start creating and sending out your invitations, you need to optimize your LinkedIn profile first.

Almost every LinkedIn user will check your profile before they decide whether they should accept or ignore your invitation. That’s why it’s in your interest to give them a strong reason to accept your invitation, get value from you, and create a relationship.

After you’ve taken care of your profile, you’re ready to start inviting other users to connect. Here is our advice on how to do it more efficiently.

Prepare the ground for an invitation

It’s easy to connect with your colleagues or someone you know because those people know you personally.

However, even if you don’t know someone, you can try to remove that obstacle by becoming more familiar with that person. In other words, it’s good to start engaging with the posts of those potential connections.

Start liking their posts, create meaningful comments, and try to make a connection with them before sending an invite.

This will pave the way for you to build a relationship, and those users will start to perceive you as someone who is a valuable connection. Consequently, you won’t get in a position to cancel a LinkedIn invite that has been pending for a long time.

Personalize your invite messages

Before sending an invitation, make your messages as personalized as you can. It is a must if you want to improve your acceptance rate.

Sending personalized messages helps you leave a good first impression. Also:

Addressing users by their names,
Referencing something familiar to them,
And avoiding generic phrases

play an important role in creating a strong relationship between you two.

Start by answering how you came across their profile and what made you want to connect. Don’t worry - the time you invest in LinkedIn prospecting your potential connection always pays off here.

Since you’re limited to 300 characters, you can use it to be more direct and honest.

Discover 20 ready-to-use connection invite templates with up to 78% acceptance rate.

Mention common interests

Adding many LinkedIn users who aren’t from your niche can decrease the quality of your LinkedIn feed and make it full of irrelevant content. That’s why connecting with someone that you share interests with is a great approach.

Mentioning the shared interests in your invite will show those users that you’ve invested some time into getting to know about them and their work. Moreover, you can mention the topic you wish to discuss with them. A message with these two elements will skyrocket your acceptance rate for sure. So, you won’t have to be in a position to cancel LinkedIn invite that has been pending for a long time. 😉

For example, start your message by commenting on your mutual job position, an event you both attended, or a post you both liked a while back.

Involve a little humor

It’s essential to have a professional tone of voice when you write your connection invite. However, “professional” doesn’t mean not having some sense of humor. You can always add a subtle joke here and there to make your invite stand out.

Moreover, using humor in your outreach is a nice pattern interrupt and has an immediate effect. Here is our example.

Check out our list of 35 position-related jokes ready to use in your outreach.

At the end of the day

We hope this article helped you understand why your requests have been pending for a long time and learn the tricks to improve the acceptance rate.

Remember: you must keep track of the request you sent and clear the list on time. This is just so you don’t land on the LinkedIn radar for suspicious activity and get restricted.

If you invest time in your connection message and LinkedIn profile, you won’t ever need to be in a situation where you have to cancel a LinkedIn invite. However, if you do, you can always use Skylead to automate your LinkedIn outreach process and make adjustments so it removes your pending request along the way.

Using Skylead makes it easy to get tons of new connections, personalize all your messages based on the interests of the people you want to connect with, and it only takes a few minutes to automate many of your LinkedIn lead generation processes.

Skylead does all the sales tasks for you while shortening the time you originally needed to make connections on LinkedIn. Try out Skylead, and let’s skyrocket your business together.

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We all know that LinkedIn is the #1 tool to find B2B sales leads. And with an impressive 810 million users, search filters, and many features such as business insights, how could it not be? However, finding leads who would be immensely interested in what you sell is not an easy task, even on LinkedIn.

So, here is the question: As your sales quota depends on the perfect targeting, would you lean on LinkedIn as your only lead source? Would you decide not to do extra targeting work and risk getting the wrong sales leads or wasting time building campaigns that won’t convert?

Fear not. There is a way you can take your prospecting up a notch. How - by searching the sales leads all over the internet and discovering the ones that will match your ICP or buyer persona perfectly.

That is why, in this article, we will go over a couple of places outside of LinkedIn where you can find sales leads and improve your prospecting efforts.

So let’s put our detective cap on, and jump to it.

What you need to do before searching for the leads online

Unveiling the bigger picture

If you plan to find sales leads and do cold outreach, you should go all in and be prepared.

Cold outreach, aka outbound, is a powerful way to build relationships and close more deals if done right. However, one should not forget that cold outreach is just a portion of the bigger picture. In other words, there are a lot of things that should be working in the background.

So before you start to find leads online, here are the 3 main things you should prepare first.

1. Build your inbound strategy

Imagine a scenario where you outreached the lead, and they visited the website to learn more about the product. Perhaps they wanted to see or download templates and documents or chat with support.

However, the website they land on has no blogs, educational content, lead generation forms, nor the possibility to book a demo, and the chat is just the thought of the future. I can go on, but you get the gist. Your cold outreach, in this case, won’t be successful as the lead will perceive you as unprofessional or not credible. Consequently, you will waste your lead.

Whether we would like to admit it or not, inbound and outbound are mutually beneficial. One affects the other, and you should have both prepared for the maximum results.

2. Define your ICP and buyer persona

Both Ideal Customer Profile and Buyer Persona are the documents that dictate what type of company or a person you are going to outreach. Thus, defining both should be your first step before finding sales leads.

To clarify, the Ideal Customer Profile describes the company that would benefit the most from your product or service. These companies should have the fastest conversion cycle, highest LTV, highest customer retention, and are willing to refer your product or service to others.

On the other hand, a Buyer Persona describes your perfect decision-maker. In other words, a Buyer Persona is a collection of a person’s data such as age, location, likes, dislikes, goals, wishes, challenges, and motivations.

Ideally, both Buyer Persona and ICP should be based on existing customers and the data, as it will help you define these documents more precisely.

Education alert! We prepared step-by-step guides on how to create your ICP and a Buyer Persona, as well as free templates to get you started, so be sure to check them out.

3. Create the sales leads personalization document

Social Selling is about building relationships and helping your sales leads reach their goals with your product.

However, before doing so, you need to catch their attention and find the means to start the conversation genuinely. So, the big part of your research is finding the sales leads' details to help you personalize your cold outreach.

To personalize your outreach at scale, you would need to get crafty. In other words, while finding the perfect sales leads, you would need to research what they do, the content they published, or get more personal by finding their hobby.

This is where you will feel like a true detective. Start by creating an Excel file with the columns such as:

First name;
Last name;
LinkedIn profile URL;
Company.

Then, continue by inserting information, such as:

The topic of the content they published;
What stood out for you the most from the particular post;
School they went to;
Field of study;
Jobs they posted;
Company growth information;
Personalized message intro (the message you can create based on above mentioned);

In other words, create a column for everything you can come across while researching. The reason for this document is every piece of this document becomes actionable in your outreach. So, read on to see how you can use this document and benefit from it.

Hint: Before you start your outreach be sure you have your LinkedIn prepared to sell for you.

Why should you use other ways to find sales leads?

LinkedIn is still our #1 platform to generate leads. However, by taking different approaches to find sales leads outside of LinkedIn, you will gain even deeper insights into your potential ICP or Buyer Persona, which will help you maximize your sales efforts and results.

In addition, we will still show how to use these approaches in combination with LinkedIn and even outreach on autopilot to save 11 hours a week so you can focus on closing the deals.

26 ways to find sales leads outside LinkedIn

We are all about practical education. Thus, the approaches we will mention below have their purpose and certain information they can give away, which you can use in your outreach.

The information can be the company changes or giving away certain buying impulses you can use as your upper hand. Let's get to it.

1. Find sales leads via the job search websites

When a company is hiring, it usually means one of these 3 things:

They gained a bigger budget for the department;
Something is not right in the current process;
Or a person from the team is leaving for some reason.

Nonetheless, job postings are the result of the department change, and you should seize that opportunity. This is where recruiters usually spill the beans, so keep a lookout on the department and industry of interest.

For example, let’s say you are selling team management software for remote teams. You can go to any job search website like Indeed and filter the jobs by industry, job type, and by remote work.

This is a great place to find your ICP and go from there. In addition, if you have a LinkedIn Premium account, you can check out the company’s growth insight on LinkedIn and move on to find your decision-maker.

You can, of course, do this process on LinkedIn, as well. However, keep in mind that if your ICP are small companies, you might not be able to see their job posts unless you are their 1st-degree connection or they promote these posts on LinkedIn.

2. Sales leads from the companies that got fundings

Another great way to find your ICP is to research what companies recently gained some sort of funding. Since they have got money to invest, be sure that these companies’ priority is growth. So this is something to keep in mind for your outreach.

So, to find these companies, you can choose one of two ways. Firstly, you can use company data websites, such as Fundz, TechCrunch, or Crunchbase. Crunchbase is easier to find the information as you can filter the companies using the free Funding Rounds feature.

Secondly, you can google the companies using Boolean search operators.

Whatever approach you choose, making the connection with the person from the company that just got the funding and building the relationship can result in a long-lasting partnership.

3. Facebook - Where all sales leads are secretly active

Bet you didn’t see this coming, eh? 🙂 All jokes aside, Facebook is a perfect place to find your Buyer Persona. However, you just need to dig a little deeper to find them, and join a couple of groups here and there.

The first thing you need to do is to research and find the Facebook groups your sales leads follow. Then, join these groups and wait for approval.

From there you can find your sales leads by posts they published. The only thing you need to do is search the group by the keyword.

To clarify, you can search sales leads by, for example, the exact pain point they experience, or goal they wish to achieve.

From there you can respond directly in the comments, go to the profile and check for the email, or simply find them on LinkedIn and prepare their profile for the outreach campaign.

4. Finding sales leads on Twitter

A simple search on Twitter can go a long way. However, you would first need to write down keywords and hashtags you need to search to laser-target your sales leads. In addition, make a note of the various topics prospects tweet about.

Once you find them, you can either engage with them by retweeting the post, writing a comment, or finding them on LinkedIn and preparing them for the outreach campaign.

The other thing you can try is to find a relevant post and see who reacted to it, as you would, for example, find people who reacted to certain LinkedIn posts.

You could also search posts by competitors’ mentions and reach out to people who are not satisfied with them.

5. Search YouTube comments to find sales leads

Let's continue with the Social Media trend. Apart from Facebook and Twitter, you can find sales leads in the YouTube comments section too.

All you need to do is find the videos your sales leads might be watching and look down in the comments. In other words, try to find someone with the full name and a profile picture, take a screenshot, and find them on LinkedIn to prepare them for your outreach. It is a simple yet effective strategy as this way, you will laser-target your sales leads who like to chat online and share their thoughts.

Let’s say your sales leads are SaaS founders. Consequently, you would find a video in relation to SaaS, such as this one.

Next, scroll down, check the comment section, and try to find a couple of profiles with the real picture and a name.

Lastly, take a screenshot, and try to find them on LinkedIn.

6. Review websites

Speaking of people who are not pleased with your competitors, you can find them on listing websites too.

If, for example, your competitor is a software tool, you can use any SaaS review website, including:

Simply go to the review website of choice, find your competitor, and then search for people who posted negative reviews. Here is an example of a person who is not satisfied with calendar software.

7. Sales leads in website community

Website communities such as GrowthHackers or SalesHackers are another place where you can find sales leads. With plenty of topics to search from, you will be pleased with how many discussions and users you will come across.

For example, the nice thing about the GrowthHackers community is that you can find the user, see their publications, and topics they follow, and choose to follow them or contact them directly.

So, hit the internet and find the website community from your target industry.

8. Slack communities that sales leads are a part of

Now, this is what sales dreams are made of. If you thought those website communities were interesting, you would be ecstatic with the Slack channels! What’s interesting is that you can contact each member privately via chat.

There are different communities all over Slack, and you can explore and find the ones your buyer persona joined. For example, a B2B content director must be following the content trends, so you will most likely find them in the Superpath slack community under content-b2b channel.

What’s best is that Slack channels like RevGenius or Trenches are very educational, supportive, and welcoming. Thus, apart from finding sales leads, you can enjoy your stay and learn something along the way.

9. Discord - Unexpected place where you can find sales leads

Speaking of app communities, have you ever thought about Discord? It is a place where people can communicate with each other via either text or voice chat. Unlike Slack, Discord was initially created as an informal place to hang out with your friends or even play massive multiplayer online games.

However, Discord grew to be so much more. Now, it is a new hotspot where people all around the world gather to share their experiences and thoughts on various topics. Thus many so-called Servers, aka groups, emerged, and you will be able to find one to which your sales leads belong.

For example, here is what the Salesforce discord channel looks like.

10. Discovering startups

If your ICP are mostly startups, look no further than the websites such as ProductHunt, BetaList, AngelList or Crunchbase. BetaList is the place for recently launched internet startups. It cleverly segments startups by industries, so there is no way you won’t find the one you need.

Another advantage is that you can contact the founder directly by finding their social media account on the profile listed beneath the company description.

11. Researching the niche platforms to find perfect sales leads

Not all companies are alike, and there are a lot of niche businesses whose Buyer Personas have unique jobs. So it is important never to stop researching and visiting platforms where the target audience has their profile.

For example, if your target group is videographers or graphic designers, you would most likely visit Behance or Vimeo. On the other hand, if your sales leads are music artists, then SoundCloud is the place for you. Looking for developers? Give Github a try.

If, for example, you are selling an invoice management tool and need to reach out to freelancers, go to Upwork. The more information you have on your sales leads, the easier it would be to start the conversation, such as:

Hey, 
I have seen the ratings on your Upwork profile, they are amazing. 
I bet you get a lot of work as a freelancer. I was just wondering what tool for the invoice you use?

The possibilities are pretty much endless here.

12. Medium

Many people of all occupations share their stories and thoughts on Medium, and your sales leads could be one of them. To clarify, Medium is a blogging platform with over 100 million readers and 175,000 authors who are thought-leaders, journalists, and experts, so you have a deep pool of sales leads to search from.

Moreover, Medium is pretty easy to use. You just need to type the topic of interest in the search bar and browse through articles.

Once you find an interesting post, go to the author's profile. You will usually see their LinkedIn profile or other Social Media URL in the About section, so it is easy to qualify sales leads right away.

In addition, you can also see the comments and the profile of the person who posted that comment. Thus your sales leads could be one of them.

13. Generate sales leads from your customers

One of the most powerful ways to find sales leads is by asking your clients. In other words, you can reach out to your best existing customers and ask them if any of their business contacts would be interested in your product or service.

To clarify, we say this is the best option as once they give you a contact, you can mention this mutual connection and gain higher credibility and trust from the start. This is the oldest “trick” in the book and never fails to show results.

However, never forget the person who gave you the contact. To show gratitude, you could offer some sort of discount or similar incentives.

Outreach the sales leads by streamlining the process

Remember when we mentioned the personalization document with actionable data? Well, this is where you are going to use it.

To streamline your process and outreach the sales leads you found, you can create a new CSV file out of the information you gathered or use the existing ones. The only condition here is to insert a person’s LinkedIn profile and email address. If, however, you cannot find the person’s email address, you can use one of these ways to find emails yourself or let Skylead take care of that.

Skylead already offers the following native variables for the message personalization based on the sales leads’ LinkedIn profiles:

First name
Last name
Current company
Years in current company
Total career positions count
Total years of experience
College name
Occupation

Nonetheless, you can insert other information divided into columns, and Skylead will recognize them as custom variables. To clarify, here is what our Ivana has to say on Custom Variables:

So, your end CSV file can look something like this:

Creating a CSV campaign in Skylead

Once you create your CSV file, it’s time to launch the campaign and reach out to the sales leads you found.

To do so, first, go to your Skylead dashboard and click the Create New Campaign button.

From there, choose the Import type campaign and upload your CSV file. Then, name your campaign and click Next.

Next, set up your additional settings, such as date or email tracking metrics, and proceed.

Now you need to create a coherent action path that Skylead will follow - aka Smart Sequence.

Simply drag and drop actions and use different conditions based on their behavior to maximize getting in touch with your leads.

Discover numerous templates and step-by-step multichannel outreach strategies that helped us grow Skylead from 2500 to 10 000+ users in just months. Download our Free eBook now.

Finally, do not forget to create personalized messages for the actions, such as an invite to connect, LinkedIn InMail, LinkedIn message, or Email message. Here is where you can use native and custom variables you created previously, making your message look something like this:

And this is just one way you can use to outreach your sales leads in Skylead!

In conclusion

The sales industry is ever-changing, and we always keep discovering new ways to improve our outreach efforts.

However, one thing is constant - you need to care for your sales leads and wish to help them. Only then will you be able to make something meaningful and close the deals.

So, what’s better than finding the perfect sales leads and gaining immediate insight so you can have something to kickstart the conversation and continue to build a relationship.

Finding your sales leads is one of the most important steps, as it can make or break your outreach. Thus, you should go the extra mile to find the right company or a person for your business.

To do so, here are a couple of things you need to do before finding the sales leads:

Build your inbound strategy
Define your ICP and Buyer Persona
Create Sales Leads personalization document

When you prepare these three things, only then will you be able to proceed to find your sales leads. And to get creative, use the following websites, databases and communities to find your perfect leads and more information about them.

And once you find the best sales leads, Skylead will always be here to help you streamline the most time-consuming part of the sales process and personalize your outreach at scale for maximum results.

Wish to see Skylead in action? Start your 7-day Free Trial!

Launch your first outreach campaign today!

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CRM software and tools are definitely here to stay. There is no doubt that, with the global CRM market growth projection of $128.97 billion worth in 2028, the substantial popularity of the best CRM software is yet to come.

And with the reason. Firstly, CRM offers a wide range of benefits, including centralized data and automation of tedious sales processes. Above all, a well-implemented CRM software can reach ROI up to $45 for each $1 spent.

We all wish to jump on this train. And some of us already did. But in the sea of CRM software, how would you know which one is the best for you? Whether you are starting out or considering changing your CRM software, we’ve got your back.

Therefore, in this article we will cover some of the best CRM software, why they are the best, and how to integrate them with other tools.

Furthermore, we will cover what CRM software is, if you need it and if you should buy it. Let’s get to it!

What is CRM?

Customer Relation Management, aka CRM software, is a tool that helps companies collect, organize and manage data and streamline processes related to customers’ lifecycle.

In other words, sales terms, CRM software helps teams visualize their pipeline and organize or perform tasks related to the buyer journey. Furthermore, it pinpoints the location of specific prospects in the sales funnel, their status, the next activity the sales team needs to perform, and potential value.

CRM software substitutes various spreadsheets and documents companies use to keep up with prospects’ or customers’ data. It stores all information in one place - such as messages, meetings, pain points, buyer persona type, and, in some cases, calls with customers - everything you need to know about specific leads to help you build a relationship and close deals. Lastly, CRM software shows how effective your sales strategy is and if something in your process needs improvement.

Customer-wise, CRM software provides information about each customer, their history, and any pending tasks related to nurturing and upselling.

Why is CRM one of the most valuable assets a company can acquire?

Why CRM? To clarify, let’s check out a couple of statistics first:

59% of companies tested say that CRM helped them improve Customer Retention and Satisfaction Rate by 47% and reduce lead costs by 27%. (FounderJar)

According to Salesforce, 81% of sales representatives emphasize the importance of having a view of data across the complete customer journey.

97% of sales professionals tested think that technology and CRM software are either essential or crucial for business. (LinkedIn)

Looking at the previous statistics and many more across the internet, CRM software is an essential tool for sales teams, and for good reason. To clarify, they are not just any tool on the market - they make building the relationship and social selling easier tasks and help the sales team be more customer-oriented - which is the core point of today’s sales.

Best CRM software can…

1. Centralize and label your data

CRM keeps track of all leads’ data. In other words, CRM’s centralized storage offers salespeople all the information on every individual prospect or customer at hand so they can build relationships and close deals faster.

In addition, since the prospect base can be distinct, the best CRM software also labels and sections your customer data. To clarify, you as a salesperson must know at any given time where your prospects are in the pipeline, on what note you ended the conversation, are they warmed up, or what is the next step towards closing the deal. CRM software does this for you by analyzing and labeling existing data in the system with various parameters you set. Therefore, you can be more customer-oriented by creating different messages depending on the buyer lifecycle and more personalized outreach.

2. Automate the process

With almost every piece of data being actionable, the best CRM software can automate some tedious parts of the process for salespeople, so they can focus on nurturing prospects through the pipeline. For example, appointment scheduling, assigning leads to different sales reps, or updating and importing the prospects’ data.

3. Offer analytics to close more deals and increase customer satisfaction

We can’t stress enough how important it is to conduct data analysis. Luckily, creators of the best CRM software out there share our opinion. Hence, every CRM has an analytics or reports page to help sales teams make data-driven decisions.

In other words, CRM can help you see how many deals you won or lost, what tactic you used, deal value, and much more. Thanks to this, salespeople can adjust their approach, close more deals and improve customer satisfaction and retention.

4. Remind salespeople of pending tasks

Sometimes we as people, amongst other work, forget to write a follow-up email or two, or simply a meeting slips out of our mind. It happens. However, forgetting such tasks can cause a lost prospect or a customer. However, CRM software offers a solution to this problem, and it is an option to alert you of actions needed for every customer in the pipeline to make sure these mistakes never happen.

To buy CRM software or to create a spreadsheet? That is the question.

Our experience says to buy. CRM software offers many useful features that you can use to streamline and automate processes and save you much more time than the spreadsheet one.

However, if you are just starting out, perhaps you don’t have the necessary budget or have a small company, you might want to consider creating a CRM in a spreadsheet for yourself. It can help you understand how CRMs work and how your business can benefit from them.

Additional tip: If you want to level up but are not ready to pay for the CRM itself, try out some CRM software with free plans, such as Bitrix24, Really Simple Systems, or EngageBay.

Nevertheless, if you or the company scales up, do not dwell on these spreadsheets or free plans (unless you want to), as you might miss out on the amazing features that some of the best CRM software have.

In case you wish to buy CRM software, here are the ten best CRM software currently on the market (people’s choice).

10 best CRM software for sales

CRM software is an essential tool for every sales team. However, as prospects differ, so do the salespeople. In other words, not every CRM suits every business's needs. So, how would you know which one is the best for your business needs?

Thus we present you with the top 10 list of highest-rated, best CRM software for the sales team from various listing websites. For this article, we are going to calculate the current average rating from the most popular review sites:

Furthermore, we will list who they are most suited for, advantages, disadvantages, pricing, and additional information to help you find the best CRM software for you. Let’s get started.

Salesmate - Best CRM software for cold calling

This CRM software is great for small and medium businesses who are cold calling. In addition, Salesmate has a relatively easy-to-use interface and quick access to the features you require.

Salesmate can be integrated with Gmail or Outlook. Furthermore, each sales member can centralize prospect data, including email messages, and share them with other team parties.

Salesmate also offers reports that enable business owners and managers to track sales reps’ productivity and achievements. Team leads can also listen to calls by using the call recording option.

Advantages:

Salesmate has an option to generate tasks for you automatically. If, for example, someone fills a form on your website, that lead can directly go into Salesmate, and it automatically creates the task to follow up with that lead.

Secondly, there are calling and texting features so the sales reps can contact leads. Thus, it eliminates the need for adding other tools and saves budget, in a way.

Disadvantages:

A couple of reviewers reported a periodical system lagging. Furthermore, since every text message and call minutes have an additional price, the amount billed each month increases by that sum. This can be a problem for some users, as the amount can escalate if not properly and regularly managed.

Price:

Starter: $15 per user / month or $144 billed annually
Growth: $30 per user / month or $288 billed annually
Boost: $50 per user / month or $480 billed annually

Listings rating: ⭐ 4.64

HubSpot CRM - Best CRM software for teams that are developing

There is no doubt that HubSpot surprised everyone with free access to the CRM software. However, the free version does come with its limitations.

In a free account, you get:

Contact management
Deal pipeline
Quotes
Meeting scheduling
Live chat
Reporting dashboard

If you wish for anything else, you need to upgrade to a paid version.

HubSpot CRM is perfect for individuals or companies that are just getting started with CRM software. Furthermore, it is useful for other medium-sized businesses that outgrew that phase.

Advantages:

HubSpot overall offers various nifty features, including sales playbooks, sequences, workflow automation, and reporting. In addition, this CRM can process up to 1,000,000 contacts and users for free and offers unlimited storage. Their Starters pricing plan is pretty fair and is somewhat beginners friendly, as opposed to other CRMs on the market.

Disadvantages:

If you wish for additional features, pricing for professional and enterprise packages is pretty steep. Furthermore, it does not directly support Dynamics 365, and pipeline and managing deals are not that intuitive.

Pricing:

Starter: $50 per 2 users / month or $540 yearly
Professional: $500 per 5 users / month or $5400 yearly
Enterprise: $1200 per 10 users / month, billed yearly

Listings rating: ⭐4.504

Salesforce Sales Cloud - Best CRM software for sales experts

This is a complex and useful CRM that allows sales professionals to manage and build relationships with their prospects and customers. Salesforce Sales Cloud helps you optimize your workload, maximize your budget, and offers real-time data all in your favor so you can close more deals.

This CRM is not for beginners. In other words, they offer features galore that can be useful to sales experts already using CRMs for a couple of years, but if you are a beginner, you might want to test out and use other systems for a while before jumping to Salesforce.

Advantages:

Salesforce’s various and unique features are actually its advantage. Furthermore, they offer mobile app for Android and iOS to let you do the work on the go.

Salesforce also possesses the visual workflow drag-and-drop feature and lets you create, do and change tasks fast. In addition, Salesforce Sales cloud integrated with Slack so you can engage with prospects and customers in real time.

Disadvantages:

Salesforce is not beginner friendly and it is billed annually.

Pricing:

Essential: $25 per user / month, billed annually
Professional:: $75 per user / month, billed annually
Enterprise: $150 user/month, billed annually
Unlimited: $300 per user / month, billed annually

Listings rating: ⭐4.5

Zoho CRM - Best CRM software companies interested in contact and pipeline management only

The core functionality of Zoho’s CRM is contact management, pipeline management, and purchase control. Its dashboard is customizable, and it allows users to brand it according to their business brand.

Advantages:

One of Zoho's biggest advantages is that it allows you to reach people who use Twitter and Facebook. Furthermore, Zoho CRM tracks their actions and categorizes them as contacts so you can connect with them.

Disadvantages:

Zoho is a kind of CRM with mixed feelings - its interface is a bit outdated, it doesn't work well with extensive outreach, features are sometimes not communicating between each other, and billing annually are perhaps the reasons why Zoho is so low on the list.

Pricing:

Free Edition: Free up to 3 Users.
Standard Edition: 20€ per user / month or 14€ per user / month but paid annually
Professional Edition: 35€ per user / month or 23€ per user / month but paid annually
Enterprise Edition: 50€ per user / month or 40€ per user / month but paid annually
Ultimate Edition: 65€ per user / month or 52€ per user / month but paid annually

Listings rating: ⭐4.292

Monday Sales CRM - Best CRM software for workflow

Before, Monday was a project management software, but now with its product development, it is much more. Now-developed Monday Sale is CRM software that centralizes your entire workflow and customer data. It allows tracking every aspect of the sales cycle, from lead generation to after-sale customer nurturing.

This CRM is best for small and medium-size businesses, and it is completely customizable.

Advantages:

Monday offers various templates that you can use for your workflow. In addition, the Monday.com dashboard is clean and straight-to-the-point, so you can easily spot any issues in your sales cycle.

Disadvantages:

Their pricing plan is confusing since they require a minimum of 3 seats, and you cannot use it as an individual (you can, but you need to pay for 3 seats). Furthermore, Monday Sell has issues with tablet and mobile device apps, and workflow automation needs additional manual work.

Pricing:

Individual: $0 free forever (up to 2 seats), billed annually
Basic: $8 / seat / month (3 seats minimum), billed annually
Standard: $10 seat / month (3 seats minimum), billed annually
Pro: $16 seat / month (3 seats minimum), billed annually
Enterprise: Contact Monday.com for a custom quote

Listings rating: ⭐ 4.675

Zendesk Sell - Best CRM software on a budget

Formerly Base, Zendesk Sell is a CRM software perfect for small and medium-sized businesses. It provides access to all channels the sales team uses for communication including SMS, voice calls, and emails.

With Zendesk Sell, it is pretty easy to gain a full insight into the specific lead, thanks to features such as funnel tracking, customizable lists, templates, and conversion rate tracking.

Advantages:

One of the best features Zendesk Sell has is a calendar-reminder system. In addition, Zendesk Sell can be linked with Microsoft Office and possesses one tool that automatically detects duplicate leads and task sequencing.

Disadvantages:

Zendesk users reported problems such as slow loading time, mistakes in automated data entry, and issues with customer support. In addition, subscriptions are billed annually, and users need to pay more for certain features.

Pricing:

Starter: $19 per user / month, billed annually
Professional: $49 per user / month, billed annually
Enterprise: $99 per user / month, billed annually

Listings rating: ⭐4.216

Copper - Best CRM software if you use Google Workspace

This is a CRM software with the main emphasis on Google Workspace. It has a well-designed UX/UI. What’s interesting about this CRM is that it contains in-app voice transcription, allowing you to take bullet points from the call right away.

Like other CRMs, Copper offers detailed reports and suggests improvements in workflow, while alerts keep you focused on the most important tasks. Furthermore, Copper is a nice CRM if you are a beginner or if you wish to change your current CRM.

Advantages:

The main advantage is that Copper integrates completely with Google Workspace - Gmail, Google Docs, and Google Sheets. In addition, the onboarding process is seamless and the system itself is simple to use.

Disadvantages:

Firstly, you are not able to attach files to emails you send in Copper. Secondly, workflow automation is a bit confusing since Copper uses rule-based workflow automation, and it may be time-consuming at first. Furthermore, another thing you might need to spend time with is filtering and extracting data.

Lastly, there is a lack of flexibility outside Google Workspace. To clarify, companies that use different email providers will not be able to integrate them with Copper.

Pricing:

Basic: $29 per user / month or $300 annually
Professional: $69 per user / month $708 annually
Business: $129 per user / month (with annual commitment) $1.428 annually

Listings rating: ⭐4.53

Pipedrive - Best CRM software for multiple pipelines and customization

CRM software, Pipedrive, handles all the essential sales CRM features. It is intuitive, and you can easily separate priority deals and create different strategies for each lead.

Advantages:

Firstly, Pipedrive lets you build multiple sales pipelines and customize stages which are great for sales reps or team leads who manage various pipelines at once.

Secondly, Pipedrive’s star feature is that you can create web forms and LeadBooster chatbot, a custom chatbot to pop up next to a webform. Pipedrive then automates the process and puts lead directly into your pipeline.

In addition, Pipedrive’s powerful AI understands leads’ behavioral patterns and can give you hints on how to close deals with them.

Disadvantages:

Pipedrive can’t send a follow-up message or birthday greetings based on a date at this moment in time. In addition, users noticed some lagging issues and poor mobile app experience. Lastly, customizable reports are not available.

Pricing:

Essential: $15 per user/month or $12.50 per user / monthly billed annually
Advanced: $29 per user/month or $ 24.90 per user / monthly billed annually
Professional: $59 per user/month or $49.90 per user / monthly billed annually
Enterprise: $119 per user/month or $99 per user / monthly billed annually

Listings rating: ⭐4.446

Salesflare - Best CRM software (people’s choice)

The best CRM software on our list is Salesflare. It is a CRM software primarily for startups and small businesses, but many agencies and enterprises use it. Salesflare is intuitive and easy to use and can be integrated with more than 400 other productivity tools like Trello, thanks to Zapier.

Salesflare offers automation features, such as an automated address book, timelines, file repository, and sending emails based on triggers. It can also provide task suggestions automatically.

Advantages:

The good thing about Salesflare is that they provide dedicated support no matter the plan you choose. In addition, for all technical advice, you can even talk to developers.

Furthermore, they have a mobile app, various team access levels, and a great data gathering system. Lastly, Salesflare will automatically log phone calls or meetings, and gather contact information from email signatures, and even social media profiles.

Disadvantages:

Fortunately, there aren't many disadvantages when we talk about Salesflare - the users seem pretty content. There are, however, a couple of suggestions from them: it would be nice to have email drip functionality, and email reporting needs improvement.

Pricing:

Growth: $29 per user / month (billed annually) or $35 billed monthly
Pro: $49 per user / month (billed annually) or $55 billed monthly
Enterprise: $99 per user / month (billed annually) or contact their support for custom plan

Listings rating: ⭐ 4.73

EngageBay - Best CRM software for enticing your sales team

Cloud-based CRM, EngageBay is a software that integrates sales, marketing, and finances on a single platform. The core function of this software is complete automation. Furthermore, it offers contact management tools specially designed to be simple to use. In addition, it can track web activity, email response, and analytics.

EngageBay easily Integrates with Gmail, Office 365, or any other service, with integration capabilities through Zapier or other similar integrations to further streamline your sales efforts.

Advantages:

The possibility to make a call from this CRM is a big plus, as well as an option for transcripts. In addition, what separates EngageBay from other systems is the possibility to gamify sales processes and thus keep your sales reps motivated.

Disadvantages:

A couple of lesser disadvantages came up with EngageBay. There is less troubleshooting documentation, email templates are limited, and the Chrome plugin doesn’t trigger an event, so automation needs to be done manually.

Pricing:

A free plan is available, limited to 1,000 contacts emails
Basic: $12.99 per user / month, $11.69 per user / month annually
Growth: $24.99 per user / per month, $22.49 per user / month annually
Pro: $49.99 per user / month, $44.99 per user / month annually

Listings rating: ⭐ 4.636

How to use CRM software with other tools?

We all know that only one tool won’t do if you wish to optimize your sales workflow as much as you can unless that one tool has everything you need, which is pretty rare.

So, in addition to CRM, you might be using sales engagement, meeting scheduling, or LinkedIn prospecting tools. So the question arises - is it possible to integrate them all? Short answer - yes.

Long answer? Let us show you how you can do it.

For example, let’s take our LinkedIn Automation and Cold Email software, Skylead. This tool enables you generate leads on LinkedIn, outreach them and take action depending on their behavior, all on autopilot. As Skylead fills your pipeline, it leaves you more room to concentrate on important matters such as building relationships and closing more deals.

In addition, you can connect Skylead with your CRM of choice by using webhooks. A webhook helps you transfer data to other applications immediately, when certain action happens. For example, as soon as the lead responds in a Skylead campaign, a webhook is triggered, and will automatically send lead’s data to your CRM.

Moreover, webhooks are the most common way to integrate tools directly into your CRM and push data about the leads in one place. You can create them by using tools such as Zapier. Check out our detailed step-by-step guide on integrating your CRM with Skylead using Webhooks here.

Apart from using webhooks, you can also push your prospects’ information to your CRM by using Skylead’s global BCC option. To use it, simply insert the email address you get from your CRM in Skylead’s Global BCC option. This option is available only if your CRM of choice doesn’t offer direct sync with your email but through BCC.

Example

Say, you are using the Pipedrive Essential plan. In this plan, you don’t have an option to sync your email with Pipedrive directly unless you upgrade. However, you can use their Smart BCC function to send all emails to Pipedrive.

Here is how it works: Go to Pipedrive Email Sync settings and find the Smart Email BCC address - your company account’s specific BCC address provided by Pipedrive.

So, to send every email to the Pipedrive inbox, you need to insert this email address in the BCC field of every email manually. However, you can do this automatically if you use Skylead for your outreach.

Firstly, go to your Skylead settings and click on the Integrations tab.

Then, scroll down to the global BCC option, take the email address from Pipedrive, and place it into the field.

In this way, for every outreach campaign you run in Skylead using the email step, you will be able to see separate emails in your Pipedrive inbox. Moreover, Pipedrive will automatically connect them with matching leads and deals in your pipeline.

The best CRM software in conclusion

With so many CRMs on the market, it can be daunting to go through every single one of them. But if we take software listing websites into the account you can more or less see the situation on the market.

So, let our list be your guide to narrow your choices, or figure out what other solutions are out there. Thus, here is the short overview of the best CRM software currently on the market.

CRM Software / Listing Website	G2	Capterra	GetApp	Software Advice	Software Suggest	Average Rating
Salesforce	4.2	4.4	N/A	4.25	4.9	= 4.5
Hubspot CRM	4.4	4.5	4.5	4.52	4.6	= 4.504
Salesmate	4.6	4.7	4.7	4.7	4.5	= 4.64
Zoho CRM	4.0	4.3	4.3	4.26	4.6	= 4.292
Monday	4.7	4.6	N/A	4.6	4.8	= 4.675
Zendesk Sell	4.2	4.3	4.3	4.28	4	= 4.216
Pipedrive	4.3	4.5	4.5	4.53	4.4	= 4.446
Copper	4.5	4.4	4.4	4.38	5	= 4.53
Salesflare	4.8	4.7	4.7	4.72	N/A	= 4.73
EngageBay	4.6	4.6	4.6	4.58	4.8	= 4.636

Wish to use an advanced outreach tool in combination with your CRM software and close even more deals? Then, try out Skylead for free - an outreach that thinks for you!

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What would you say is the first thing that catches your prospects' attention in their inbox? That is right, email subject lines. They are undoubtedly the most integral part of your cold email outreach. In just seconds, the faith of your outreach success is determined.

How? Well, if you do not create catchy email subject lines, you risk getting your email deleted, your open rate becomes much lower, and you will be disregarded as Spam. Consequently, this ultimately leads to a lower number of warmed-up leads and closed deals. Furthermore, effort and time spent will go to waste.

Don’t panic. We’ve got your back.

In this article, we are explaining what the subject line is and why it is important for your email outreach. Furthermore, we are digging deep into catchy email subject examples, why they work, and help you create your golden subject line that catches your prospects’ attention immediately.

What is an email subject line and why is it important?

Let’s start with the basics. When you open up email inbox, you can notice the 3 following components of the email message:

Senders’ name,
Subject Line,
And Preview text.

Email subject line is a text line next to the sender’s name, describing the title of the email message. In other words, it is an indication of what the message is about and why you should read it.

Email subject line communicates value, sets expectations, and entices recipients to discover more about the topic by reading the email message.

Getting your email subject line just right will make you stand out in the sea of other emails and increase the open rate. In sales terms, this means increasing the chances of getting your message across and warming up leads so you can close more deals.

Another thing worth mentioning is the importance of the Preview Text.

A preview text, aka preheader text, is a line next to the subject line that shows the beginning of your email message. In some cases, preview text can be custom-made if you use newsletter software or similar tools, but in most cases, it shows a preview of your message. That is why it is important to perceive them in synergy rather than separate components to make your outreach as effective as you can (but we will talk more about this below).

How to write catchy email subject lines: Tips to get started

Email subject lines’ first and foremost purpose is to get your prospects to open up your email. In other words, you need to catch their attention and entice them towards this action.

Therefore, make email subject lines mean something. Let’s go through a couple of steps to get started.

1. Determine the type of subject lines

As a salesperson, especially when doing a cold outreach, your job is to set the tone of the email subject lines. There are many ways to do it - making bold, sweet, or commanding statements - but first, you need to figure out the email content. After that, write down the email core meaning, and choose the type of tone which best fits your outreach message, personality, and prospects’ preferences.

The usual subject line types for sales are:

Email Subject Lines Types	Email Subject Lines Examples
Controversial	LinkedIn is not for outreach if…
Lack	Poor quality data costs you. Here’s why…
Personalized	Amy, this tip will improve your business
FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out)	Catch limited time offer
Guide	How to close deals in 3 days
Questioning	What is your top priority?
Sneak peek	A discount gift for you
Making an offer	10% off lifetime offer
Statistics	92% of salespeople swear by this strategy
Directive	Use this fantastic tip to improve sales
Pain point	If you struggle with wasting time, use this hack

2. Straight to the point

Be clear and concise about your email subject lines whenever you can. The reason is that often prospects prioritize the emails by their subject line and order of reading/replying. For this reason, the email subject line should communicate what the message is all about and its importance.

Avoid vague subject lines, such as “While I wait for your response”, that doesn't show anything about the email content as it will end up at the bottom of the priority list, and prospects will eventually forget it.

However, this doesn’t mean you can’t get crafty with it. You can create wordplay such as “Let’s Taco ‘bout your performance”, create a theme as “Let’s schedule a coffee chat”, or even use the power words to enhance your catchy email subject lines.

3. Power words in email subject lines

Specific words can trigger an emotion in us on a conscious or subconscious level. Let's take the word “happy” for instance. After reading it, you suddenly felt a slight uplift in your mood, didn’t you? What happens with the word “Sad”? You felt slightly down there, correct?

Words are indeed powerful. So using specific words in subject lines can do the same for your prospect. To be more precise, using Power words can really catch your prospects’ attention and activate an emotion. Furthermore, if you put the Power word at the subject line beginning, it will draw even more attention.

Here are power words example list to catch your prospects’ attention and get them to open up your email:

Providing value:
- Inspire
- Learn
- Guide
- Enjoy
- Proven
- Lifetime
- Discount
- Valuable
- Nifty
- Secret

Pain point focus:
- Ready
- Change
- Save
- Stop
- Avoid
- Easier
- Faster
- Improve
- Skyrocket
- Reach

Note: The important thing is to set expectations with power words, but be careful not to overpromise, as this will only annoy your prospects. And do not go overboard with them.

4. How long should email subject lines be

On average, email subject lines should ideally be 4 to 7 words. If you need more words, aim for a subject line no longer than 9 words, which is the upper limit. Furthermore, contemporary inboxes can reveal up to 60 characters on average, depending on the email provider.

Also, keep in mind that some people check their emails on mobile devices, which show only 41 to 50 characters. This roughly translates to 7 to 8 words. Therefore, to lower the number of characters, you need to remove any filler words, such as just, hi, thanks, going to, etc.

Note: If you plan to reach out to your prospects using LinkedIn InMail, you should know that the subject line character limit is 200 characters. Check out our complete guide on how LinkedIn InMail works and 13 InMail templates for a better response rate.

5. Use subject lines and preview texts in synergy

As we mentioned earlier, the preview text is a line of text found next to the subject line. It shows the first couple of words of your email message. In addition, it can show custom text if you use a newsletter software tool.

Preview text is just as important as the subject line - it is your chance to deepen the message and make it more effective to get your prospects to open up an email.

Preview text is usually 35 to 90 characters long, depending on the email provider. To make a subject line and preview text work together, it is best to perceive a preview text as a collection of details that didn’t fit the subject line. Here is an example:

Subject line: 🎁 A discount gift for you

Preview text: Happy Women’s Day! Up until the end of March, you get a discount of […]

Note: To convince a prospect to keep on reading the email and perform the desired action, make sure you get your opening paragraph and a Call To Action right.

Email subject lines best practices [and some worst ones to keep away]

Now that we’ve set the email subject lines basic steps, let’s go through the best practices and what you need to avoid.

Subject lines best practices

1. Personalization

Did you know that personalizing subject lines can increase the open rate by 22.2%? The increase in open rate happens because personalization creates a sense of familiarity in leads. Especially if you found those leads by prospecting on LinkedIn. Furthermore, it comes across as genuine and that you care for them.

Personalize your email subject lines using the following demographic, psychographic, and firmographic data:

Interaction with your brand
Their location
Years in the company
Current company
Interests and values

To gain a full understanding of how powerful personalization in outreach can be, check out our blogs on how to increase the level of personalization in outreach and how to personalize image and GIF to improve response rate.

2. Use emojis In email subject line

In modern days times, emojis can be a nifty tool to spice up your subject line. They are a friend in need to get your point across, make your email stand out in the inbox, and they cost only one character (speaking of saving the space in the subject line :).

To back this up, take a look at the following statistics:

Emojis in subject lines had an open rate of 56% higher than those without them.

Not bad, ha 🧐?

3. Include numbers

Catchy email subject lines that include numbers achieve 45% higher open rates. This way, prospects will perceive your subject line as more precise and attract their attention. Use numbers to state how many tips you send them, time stamps, or statistics to increase the value.

4. Email subject lines specifying time

Providing your prospects with the right information that is in correlation with time will attract their attention as it represents information that is a “current trend”. Nicely timed subject line will increase an open rate, as well as response rate depending on the email body.

Example:

Here is how to boost your April’s website performance

5. Hint the valuable content

One of the perfect ways to increase the open rate is to give your prospects a sneak peek into the body of the email. This catchy email subject lines’ teaser can be in the form of content that prospects will value, such as images, infographics, and guides with top 5 tips.

Example:

Why Sales Needs To Get Out There And Use Social Selling More (Webinar)

6. Subject line testing

You need to test your email subject lines to be sure you got them just right, and there are a couple of ways you can do it.

A/B testing

Every audience is different, and in some cases, one subject line that worked previously won’t be that effective anymore. And then, there is the following fact:

A/B testing can increase email open rates by 49%.

That is why you need A/B tests as much as possible. In order to do this, take 3 to 5 subject lines and send out those cold outreach emails to check which one has the highest open rate.
For example, in Skylead, you can test different subject lines for your outreach campaigns on autopilot and see which one works best for you.

Online email subject line testers

Online email subject line testers are nifty tools to have at hand if you are not sure about the effectiveness of your subject lines. Whether you wish to test the emotional tone of voice or the overall effectiveness of your subject lines, you can use tools such as Send Check It, EMV Headline Analyzer, or GradeMyEmail.

Email subject lines DON’Ts

1. Hi there

Avoid phrases such as Hi there, Greetings George, or Hello. The reason is they aren’t specific enough and do not show any hint of what the email message is all about. Instead, draw your prospect’s attention by clearly stating the purpose.

2. Misleading prospects

Being deceptive and promising your prospect one thing in the subject line and showing them another will annoy them. Consequently, you will lose trust and respect instantly. Not to mention, you will fail to close the deal with the prospect forever. Therefore, avoid click baits, or RE: and FWD: entirely just to get them to open up an email.

3. DO NOT USE ALL CAPS OR BUNCH OF EXCLAMATION POINTS!!!

See how that was unnerving and frenzy-like? Using letters in Caps Lock or with multiple exclamation points is a synonym for spammers these days. It also looks aggressive and distasteful, and you do not wish that for your brand, trust us. Furthermore, if you use this kind of email subject line, you risk getting your emails in the Spam folder. However, Caps Lock and exclamation points are not prohibited - you can always use one from time to time to emphasize your statement, but please do not go overboard.

4. Avoid spammy words

Similar to all-caps-lock words and multiple exclamation points, spam words can also ruin your outreach efforts. These words have been all over the internet for many, many years (not to mention billiards in the 80s) and are now considered repulsive and plain out pushy.

Here are a couple of examples to watch out for:

Act Now
Cash
Cheap
Credit
Double your ROI
Earn Extra cash
Millionaires
Free
Fast money
Get it today

Catchy email subject lines examples and templates

Follow up email subject lines

Had a {{Topic}} idea for you since we last spoke

Example:

Had a social selling idea for you since we last spoke

Been thinking about what you said

Should I give up on you and close the file?

I forgot to mention in our meeting that…

The final and easy step…

Tuesday meeting at 10PM

Sending info I promised 👉

I spoke with {{ReferredName}} and they said…

Example:

I spoke with Mark, and he said…

Down to business - How we can help

Need any help?

{{firstName}} I need your advice

Have 5 minutes for a quick call?

I don't expect you to open this email but…

General cold outreach email subject lines

❤️ how you contribute to {{DesiredResult}}

Example:

❤️ how you contribute to closing the deals faster

{{firstName}} let’s connect

Are you completely happy with {{CompetitorName}}?

Get lifetime access to {{SoftwareName}}

What are your insights from {{Event}}?

The most exciting opportunity for {{Industry}} companies in 2024

Example:

The most exciting opportunity for insurance companies in 2024

Saw your amazing post - Interested in creating shared content?

Exclusive for {{CompanyName}}: 3 tips to get conversion faster

Congrats on {{Achievement}} 🥳

Example:

Congrats on becoming CEO 🥳

Join forces? 👊

Urgent email subject lines

Do you have these numbers and analytics yet?

Hot conversion data insight for {{CurrentMonth}}, 2024

Resource on {{Topic}} that’d go great in your {{Topic}} post

Example:

Resource on Email Statistics that’d go great in your Outreach post

Omg {{firstName}}...

It doesn’t look good

10 must-know trends to keep up on the market

Your Free Trial is ending!

Save 30% before the New Year

Email subject lines that entice curiosity

Everyone’s favorite {{Occupation}} trick is…

Example:

Everyone’s favorite Sales trick is…

🤫 Real secret to {{Task}} or {{Benefit}} is…

Example:

🤫 Real secret to outperform outreach is…

About your approach…

I have a question about how {{DoingRelevantTask}}

Example:

I have a question about how you handle budgeting

Does Thursday work for you?

New year, a new strategy to {{Goal}}

Example:

New year, a new strategy to achieve 50+ conversions a month

Are you taking advantage of your detailed reporting?

How we accomplished {{DesiredResult}} in 2 months

Example:

How we accomplished 6x more sales in 2 month

{{RelevantTopic}} trends that are the talk of the town

Example:

Sales strategy trends that are the talk of the town

Save 5 hours a week with {{Task}} on autopilot

Example:

Save 5 hours a week with outreach on autopilot

56% of {{JobPosition}} use this trick to improve conversion

A cheat-sheet for better conversion — Interested?

{{Topic}} resources that can help you at this time

Example:

Cold outreach resources that can help you at this time

4 tips to help increase sales during hard times 💪

It’s that simple 😃

Few in the {{IndustryType}} know about these hacks

Pick one out of these 2 strategies

Email subject lines that address pain points

How to survive {{PainPoint}}

Example:

How to survive working 10 hours a day

5 easy steps to beat {{PainPoint}}

How to deal with {{PainPoint}}

Example:

How to deal with LinkedIn algorithm

5 Ideas for {{PainPoint}}

A resource to help you with {{PainPoint}}

How happy are you with {{Department}} performance?

Example:

How happy are you with Sales performance?

Steal this strategy from us - It will work for {{PainPoint}} 😁

7 tips for turning {{PainPoint}} around

Proven solution to {{PainPoint}}

Tired of {{PainPoint}}? Let’s have a chat

Subject lines that relieve pain and offer solution

The fastest way to reach your Q2 target 💹

Here is the shortcut to {{Benefit}} 🙌

Example:

Here is the shortcut to tracking performance easier 🙌

Help is on the way - best strategies for LinkedIn lead generation

Problem with closing the deals? Here is how to fix it easily

Save up 5 hours of work per week

{{ProductOrSolution}} empowers companies such as {{CompanyName}}

Ready to implement {{Tool}} to eliminate {{PainPoint}}?

Example:

Ready to implement Skylead to eliminate wasting time on manual outreach?

Personalized email subject lines

{{firstName}}, I was researching {{CompanyName}} and…

{{ReferredName}} said to reach out to you…

Example:

Your colleague Steve said to reach out to you…

{{ReferredName}} think you’ll love us too

{{firstName}} I loved your post on LinkedIn about {{Topic}}

Example:

Sandy, I loved your post on LinkedIn about how to modernize sales

Does this work for you {{firstName}}?

{{firstName}}, a quick question regarding your performance

{{firstName}}, I notice you try to achieve a 50% increase in sales

Opportunity for {{CompanyName}}

Partner up with {{CompanyName}}

{{firstName}}, I have a story for you

{{TheirCompetitorName}} VS {{CompanyName}}

{{firstName}} perform {{Task}} better from Now on 💪

Example:

Andy perform outreach better from Now on 💪

New managing employees strategy for {{CompanyName}}

Loved the blog you wrote for {{CompanyName}}🔥

{{firstName}} I missed you at {{Event}}

What is your expert opinion on {{Topic}}, {{firstName}}?

Example:

What is your expert opinion on social selling, {{firstName}}?

{{firstName}} is there a lot on your plate r/n?

Humorous email subject lines

🌮 Can we Taco ‘bout your growth?

⚽ I wondered why the ball was in my court, then it hit me

I tried an elevator pitch - it was great on so many levels 🆙

🐝 You are likely an indecisive bee. Might I call you maybee?

🤝 Connect with you in present or future? It’s kinda tense

🪐 Should I organize a space for our meeting and planet?

⛵ Need a {{Topic}} strategy arc? I Noah guy.

Example:

⛵ Need a Sales strategy arc? I Noah guy.

My coffee is mugged and waiting for your call 😅

I'm gonna make him an offer you can't refuse…

May the Force be with you, and {{YourCompanyName}}🌌

{{ReferredName}} said to say hello to his little friend 🙋

“You can’t handle the truth!” Or can you?

Shaken, not stirred. 🍹 A {{Resource}} you asked for.

Example:

Shaken, not stirred. 🍹 A Guide To Outreach you asked for.

I like {{ProductOrAService}} as my wine - sweet and victorious. Do you? 🍷

Frequently asked questions

How can one effectively A/B test different subject lines to find the most effective one for their audience?

A/B testing for email subject lines involves sending two variants to a small segment of your audience to see which performs better, then using the more successful one for the broader audience. Monitoring open rates for each variant provides actionable insights. You can automate A/B testing by using the LinkedIn automation tool and cold email software with such a feature, like Skylead.

Are there specific strategies for crafting subject lines that improve click-through rates, not just open rates?

To improve click-through rates, subject lines should create curiosity or offer value that compels the recipient to discover more inside the email. Personalization and urgency can also encourage clicks by making the email feel more relevant and time-sensitive to the reader.

How do the recommended subject lines perform across different industries, such as tech versus creative fields?

The performance of subject lines can vary by industry due to different audience expectations and content relevance. Customizing subject lines to reflect the specific interests and language of your target industry is crucial for maximizing engagement.

Summary

Strong and catchy email subject lines are mesmerizing and alluring to your prospects. They are links between your leads and your message. For this reason, it is important to make it as perfect as you can so you can increase the open rate, nurture the prospect and ultimately close the deal. And when you pass through the importance of it all, creating email subject lines and testing them can be fun indeed.

Here is a quick throwback of what you should and shouldn’t do when writing the email subject lines.

Email Subject Lines DOs:	Email Subject Lines DON’Ts:
Use personalization	Avoid words such as Hi and Greetings
Make emojis your best friend	Do not mislead the prospects
Include numbers	Avoid words in Caps Lock
Make timely email subject lines	Remove excessive exclamation points
Hint the valuable content inside the email	Avoid symbols such as $$$
Test your email subject lines	Forget about spammy words

Now it’s your turn. Go and rock out those subject lines!

Wish to use Skylead for your outreach campaigns and A/B test your emails? We would be glad to hear from you and chat. Say hi by scheduling a Demo with us.

Launch your first outreach campaign today!

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Blank email interface. Insertion point flickers on your document. You can feel it staring back, almost judging you for not knowing what to write anymore for your cold email outreach. You tried everything - it’s not working, and you don’t understand what you are doing wrong.

Once again, without any inspiration, you scribble what your company does, offer a product, and mass blast it.

You wait. A couple of days later, history repeats itself. There is no response.

You think to yourself ’’This is too hard’’, or worse ’’This is not working for me’’.

As Darth Vader, you start breathing heavily. Take off the mask and get wind of the list of cold email mistakes you're probably making, what impact they have on your email metrics, and how to fix them to improve email campaign performance.

Do not worry. These mistakes happen to everybody.

The most important cold email outreach metrics

Before we dive deep into these email mistakes, let’s recap the metrics you need to track that will tell you a lot about your overall campaign performance.

Understanding and tracking the email metrics is crucial when deciding if your outreach campaign was victorious. It’s like putting a billboard up in the city and not knowing how many people saw it or bought your product afterward. Thanks to technology, now you can.

To be more precise, to measure email performance, you need to knowhow many emails were bounced, opened, responded to, and how many people converted via cold email outreach. Once you have that mastered, you can start creating engaging cold email campaigns.

#1 Cold email metric: Bounce rate

Bounce Rate in email outreach is the total percentage of email messages that have not been delivered successfully. This can happen if for example an email address is invalid or there is a technical issue with the email provider.

How to calculate email bounce rate

Example:

Let’s say that during your email campaign you sent 1000 email messages. Out of those, 98 weren’t successfully delivered. The calculation would go like this:

Bounce Rate = 98 / 1000 x 100 = 9.8%

#2 Cold email metric: Open rate

Email open rate is the percentage used as an indicator of email campaign health. The higher it is, the better.

This metric doesn’t tell you a lot about the email convertibility as a whole. However, it can indicate why it wasn’t opened, whether or not your subject line, or preview text (first several words of your email body) are appealing or can imply broken email deliverability.

How to calculate email open rate

Example:

Taking the numbers from the previous example, say, you have 1000 sent out, 98 out of those bounced and 565 were opened. The calculation will go like this:

Open rate = 565 / ( 1000 - 98 ) x 100 = 62.63%

#3 Cold email metric: Response rate

It’s nice to have a high Open rate, but it is even better to have a high Response rate, as well. As per its name, this metric indicates the number of individual emails in the cold campaign that leads responded to. This metric shows the quality of your email’s content. Ultimately, a good response rate means that you’ve managed to get the lead’s attention.

How to calculate email response rate

Example:

Continuing the example thread. Now you have 902 unique emails that have been delivered. Out of those, only 133 leads responded. The calculation goes like this:

Response rate = 133 / 902 x 100 = 14.75%

#4 Cold email metric: Email conversion rate

Conversion is an activity when a lead completes a desired goal, such as signing up for Demo or starting the Subscription. That said, conversion rate for email outreach is the percentage of prospects who took the desired action from your email campaign.

To find out more about conversions, their types, and other KPIs, check out 5 Must-Know KPI Metrics to Grow Your B2B Business [Bonus Metrics Included].

Needless to say, the conversion rate is the ultimate metric to figure out if an email campaign was successful.

How to calculate email conversion rate

Example:

Out of 902 successfully delivered emails, you have 36 conversions in total. Calculation is the following:

Conversion Rate = 36 / 902 x 100 = 3.99%

Now let’s see what email mistakes you are making that negatively impact these metrics and how to correct them.

Cold email outreach mistakes to say goodbye to

Successful email outreach is a lot tougher than ever these days. With so many emails cramping up the leads inboxes, it is hard to remember and know what best works for your targeted prospects, let alone see the mistakes that slither in without you even noticing. ‍

That’s why we created this ultimate guide to the most common email mistakes, how they affect the metrics, and how to fix them. First, let's break the email mistakes down into the following four categories to make it easier. There are Email Mistakes:

Affecting Deliverability
Regarding Content
Related To Attitude Towards the Prospect
Affecting Sales Process

I Email mistakes affecting deliverability

1. Acquiring poor quality leads

Let’s address the elephant in the room: many came across a situation where you are weighing options whether you should go for a cheaper alternative or not when buying prospects’ data. Unfortunately, the cheaper option almost always leads to devastating results in the end.

Starting, the leads’ contact information you get from unverified vendors might be completely untargeted for your outreach. You can get every mistake right on this list, but if your ICP is not targeted, the entire email outreach will fail.

Or, maybe the prospect’s name is incorrect, and you might address them wrongly which will definitely affect the response rate and you will lose this lead. Forever.

But there is a worse case scenario above all: if emails are invalid or non-existent, they can crumble your email outreach efforts because it increases the bounce rate and risks getting your domain blacklisted.

Think of it as the butterfly effect: the bigger the bounce rate is, the more it damages your domain health and increases the danger of getting your emails in the spam folder or domain blacklisted. It also decreases your open rate, response rate, and conversion rate in the long run.

What to do?

Buy the data from well-established and verified data vendors or gather the right information as first-party data yourself.

Another solution is to find a reliable partner for data research or introduce your sales team with a sales engagement tool for outreach that has email discovery and verification features.

2. Adding a big number of links or sending the broken ones

Everyone wishes to tell the prospect as many things as possible about our product or service. We want to show them the blogs, ask for a meeting, attach a whitepaper file and add alternative comparison pages for them to see. While this confuses the prospect regarding CTA (which we will mention below), it also overcrowds the email itself, making email providers raise their robot heads as bloodhounds. Too many links or files in your email will trigger a warning to the email provider and increase the possibility for your emails to twirl down to the Spam folder.

Furthermore, if you send a broken link to prospects, they will think of you as an unprofessional or worse spammer, and it will decrease the response and conversion rates, as they will lose interest in you.

What to do?

Try to keep the number of links to a minimum as you can (preferably without any links), and of course, check the links before sending.

Additional tip: If in your signatures you have linked icons, check every one of them. As those links count as well, and sometimes they get broken, it’s better to be safe than sorry.

3. Sending too many messages per day

We all wish to send as many emails as possible for a short period. But this is a big mistake, especially if your email address is new. Sending too many emails per day can result in your messages ending up in the Spam folder. This can be one of the causes of your open rate dropping.

What to do?

Slowly warm up your email address by sending a low number of emails, and then gradually increase the volume over some time. The warm-up of a new email address or domain can last from 30 to 90 days.

II Email mistakes regarding content

4. Being too casual or too formal

Balance is everything. Sales representatives sometimes go overboard trying to get their prospects to laugh, which only ends up being too cringey. We do not say GIFs or jokes are bad, we even use them in outreach, and thread them to the context of the message. So know what thy boundaries are.

Then on the other side of the scale, we have an overly formal approach. The truth is that everyone wishes to be respected, so a formal approach is good, but if you go overboard, you will sound like a robot.

What to do?

Find the balance between the two scales. You can even send personalized GIFs or Images to show creativity and genuine interest, but keep it tasteful.

When it comes to an overly formal approach, you can loosen up a bit.

5. Subject lines mistakes

Coming up with the subject line cannot be an easy feat. It has to be attractive, short, explain everything but still leave the prospect interested in clicking on it. As challenging as it is, there are still some mistakes people make when it comes to these:

Spammy or clickbait subject lines - Big no. It will only enrage your prospects.
Subject lines not specific enough for the market – This can cause lower open rates as the prospects will not relate to the email at all.
Subject lines in caps lock - It’s good to be excited, but you don’t need to shout at your leads to get the attention.

What to do?

These mistakes influence every important email metric starting open rate, so make sure to avoid them. Think about how you would attract the leads’ attention and bind the subject line as a whole with the email body. Even better, try to make the subject line as a prequel to your Preview text of the email and make it a united lead magnet.

6. Message copy not relevant to the market

As mentioned for the subject line, you need to keep a close eye on your email content's relevance to the market, as well. Writing an email not relevant to the industry can result in a lower response rate and conversion rate.

What to do?

Go full private detecting on this one. Research the industry, find the pain points. Go even further - find prospects' companies and information about them. Show them you understand the industry problems and what solution you offer instead.

7. Self-centered messages to prospects

Writing messages that are more focused on you instead of your prospects’ companies can come across as being too aggressive or assertive, resulting in lower response rates.

What to do?

Instead, be aggressive in knowing your lead: Showcase the research you did on them, ask for the call to know more about their pain points and see how your product or service can aid them further.

People resonate with what’s in it for them. Talk about them, gain their interest through email.

Example:

8. Adding too much CTAs or not at all

As mentioned above, if you wish to show the prospect the blog posts, ask for a meeting, add alternative comparison pages for them to see, and top it off with a YouTube video - Stop.

All these are a type of call to action, and piling them in one email will only confuse the prospects regarding CTA.

On the other hand, if you do not use CTA at all, you will lose the purpose of your cold outreach, so the prospects won’t have action in their mind to fulfill.

What to do?

The goals of outreach campaigns are different for every purpose. Define one short CTA, and stay away from the unclear ones.
For more information on CTA in sales emails, check out our Detailed Guide On Crafting The Powerful Call To Action.

9. Not enough value

Often, our value proposition is not deep enough, doesn’t hit the bullseye, and is too generic. This directly affects the response rate, and you will lose the prospect as you weren’t compelling enough.

What to do?

Once again, put on your detective glasses and go into deep search of a particular prospect’s main pain points. You need to know and understand them.

If you can explain their situation better than they can, they will automatically assume you have the solution and gain interest.

Example:

10. Unnecessary text length

If your cold email message is too long and has numerous paragraphs, take a step back.

Let's say you are reaching out to CEOs or other higher-up positions. They usually have a lot on their plate, so you probably know the one virtue they lack is time. Please make sure to not waste it.

What to do?

If you can draw the line through any piece of your text without losing the value, remove it.

Let's say you have sentences such as:

I know you are busy but...
I’m following up...
I’d love to give you a demo…
Do you perhaps know when would be the best time...

You won't lose the value if you cut them off. So instead, tell them something short, sweet, and essential about their business in particular, straight to the point:

I see that your company struggles with VALUE...
Would Wednesday at 10 AM work for you...

III Email mistakes related to attitude towards the prospect

11. Questioning the prospects integrity and authority

Now we have a mistake example, which is little farther down the cold email outreach sequence. Let’s say you have a correspondence with the lead from medium or large company who you are not sure if they are a decision maker or not.

Asking a straightforward question ’’Are you the right person?’’ or responding ’’I guess you are just not the right person to reach out to’’ after they do not reply is a big no-no.

Simply do not ask a straightforward question if someone is a decision-maker. If not a decision-maker, they would feel invalidated.

Or maybe they indeed are, but your outreach was just not that compelling enough to respond to, or they might think ’’If I'm not, would you treat me with the same respect?’’ Either way, this is how you will decrease your conversion rate.

What to do?

If you really wish to know if someone is the right person to reach out to, then you can say something like this:

When you bought this {{Product}} in the past, who was involved in the process?

12. Being authoritative over or submissive under the prospect

There are three ego states in the body: child, adult, and parent ego state. If you command someone to do something, you talk to someone from the parent's ego state, and they will automatically go to their child's ego state.

An example would be ’’Let me know the time that works for you’’.

How would you feel if you got this sales email?

Would you want to rebel against that sentence? Your prospect would want to rebel too.

Another example would be if you start your email with just a prospect's name, it will trigger a child's ego state, and they will think they are in serious trouble. You would want to increase the chance of somebody responding, so when cold outreaching, your goal should be to trigger ONLY their adult ego state.

What to do?

So what to avoid in communication exactly?

Commanding to prospects to do something (Child ego state trigger)
Putting accountability on them for not responding (Child ego state trigger)
Invalidate their objections (Child ego state trigger)
Sentences like:

Just checking in...
I know you are busy but…
Would you have the time… (Parent ego state trigger)

Overall avoid triggering their Parent or Child ego state. Instead, trigger an adult ego state.

For example, instead of saying:

Would you have the time…

You can offer an up-front contract. For example, write the exact time and date of the meeting and ask for consent. Additionally, provide an agenda for your call.

13. Judging or making the prospects feel bad

Even though you think you will never do this to your prospects, this type of mistake is one of the most common ones.

The first example is being harsh regarding the leads' choice to use similar products. Even though you are not saying anything bad about the leads themselves, you are indirectly insulting the decision they made. This easily translates to insulting them.

What to do?

Instead of judging the prospect for using a competitor and bragging why your product is better, say something like this:

Oh, you are using an XY competitor? That’s great! So you are familiar with the type of product itself. What differs our product from them is…

Also, do not allow your words to make your prospects feel bad. Put the onus on you, not on your prospect.

Example:

IV Email mistakes affecting sales process

14. Not setting up follow up messages sequences

Not having your follow-up game is the next in line of common lead generation mistakes (both for lead generation on LinkedIn and off). If the prospect doesn’t reply, do not give up.

Follow-up emails always get a better response rate than the first email. In this study, there is an illustration of difference as follow-ups got 18% response rate higher than the first email, 13% to the fourth, and 27% to the sixth email *.

What to do?

Set up follow-up emailing sequences for the prospects who did not respond. Even if they do not respond to these follow-ups, insert them for other purpose sequences. Never give up, and never give in.

15. Not tracking email campaigns’ performance

As we mentioned in the beginning, tracking is everything when it comes to your sales effort, especially if we talk about cold outreach.

If you do not know what you are tracking, how would you know if the channel is effective?

What to do?

So be sure to set and track the following:

Bounce Rate
Open Rate
Response Rate
Conversion Rate

On the other hand you can use a LinkedIn automation and cold email software such as Skylead to track it for you. Analyze the chosen tool thoroughly and start tracking your performance.

Honorable mentions

We cannot finish this blog, without mentioning a couple of short email mistakes which are essential to correct.

16. Poor Grammar - you have so many grammar checkers and tools available on the internet nowadays to remove sloppiness in communication.

17. Using initials - signing your email message using your initials such as J.K. can come across as unprofessional. Use your full name and surname in your signature.

18. Not personalizing the email - Nowadays, in the cold outreach, you need to step up your personalization game, especially if you did the prospecting on LinkedIn first. To learn all about outreach personalization check out Cold Outreach: Increase The Level of Personalization [+Templates]

Summary

Cold email outreach is still a powerful tool for lead generation and conversion if done right. Take time to study all of the mistakes mentioned above, let them be your guide, and double-check.

Here are all the email outreach mistakes to serve you as a checklist:

1. Acquiring Poor Quality Leads

2. Adding A Big Number Of Links Or Sending The Broken Ones

3. Sending Too Many Messages Per Day

4. Being Too Casual Or Too Formal

5. Subject Lines Mistakes

6. Message Copy Not Relevant To The Market

7. Self-Centered Messages To Prospects

8. Adding Too Much CTAs Or Not At All

9. Not Enough Value

10. Unnecessary Text Length

11. Questioning The Prospects Integrity and Authority

12. Being Authoritative Over Or Submissive Under The Prospect

13. Judging Or Making The Prospects Feel Bad

14. Not Setting Up Follow Up Messages Sequences

15. Not tracking email campaigns’ performance

16. Poor Grammar

17. Using initials

18. Not personalizing the email

Now get too cold email writing - You’ve got this. Godspeed!

Wish to use email and LinkedIn in your outreach and successfully track their performance? See Skylead in action - Start your 7-day Free Trial.

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Hi!
My name is

Huh?

My name is

Who?

My name is

Slim Shady?

No?

Then nobody cares what your name is.

So stop starting your emails like that.

Cold emails: Business scale-ups or annoying practice?

Let’s be honest. The battle for attention in the Inbox is real.

That’s why you shudder at the very thought of cold emailing. Maybe you wonder if it even works. Well, statistics show it does. And pretty well too.

Now when you know that your email outreach efforts are not necessarily in vain, put in some time and wit to write them well. You have only few characters to catch their attention, so why waste them on repeating yourself. If you do believe that your name, your company name, and other info of that kind can be a game-changer to generate sales, use the signature section. You are afraid that your leads won’t get till the end of it? Write a killer copy then.

But write it from the start. Actually, write it from the very subject line.

Subject line: Why it matters and how to make it better

The subject line of your email is like the cover of the book. Unless you are drawn to it, you won’t buy it. The same applies to emails. If the subject line is not attractive enough, your email will end up in the trash folder. Unless, of course, you are Eminem. ‘Cause, who would not want to know what Eminem wants from them?

That being said, if there was a one-size-fits-all recipe for writing killer subject lines, all emails of this world would be opened. But not everyone’s the same. Therefore, different subject lines affect different individuals. All we can do is help you out with several tips (that work. Not for everyone, of course).

Make it catchy, but not misleading

Your subject line should have a maximum of 9 words or up to 60 characters. In those 60 characters, you need to find a way to summarize what your email is all about and make it attractive enough for your prospects to open it.

What lots of people do, and is strongly frowned upon, is write catchy, yet misleading subject lines. In case you are considering it, just think about the consequences. It might work once, but the next time you send an email, it will immediately end up in the trash.

Examples

8 ways to find somebody’s email address (numbers work)
Why you should invest in Sales Automation platform (use catchy words such as why, how, what)
Original ideas for personalizing Invites to Connect (people are always on the lookout for something new and different)

Convey urgency

Putting a deadline on what you are offering conveys importance and limited availability. It leaves an impression in a world where everything is utterly accessible.

That’s why subject lines that work usually have some kind of an urgency indicator. If your offer really does expire in a week or your content is available for a certain period of time, mention it right away. Otherwise, don’t delude your prospects.

Examples

Last chance for 15% off for additional seats
Expires tonight - download top experts’ sales book
10% off if you purchase within the next 24h

Make them feel the FOMO

The fear of missing out is the driving force of today. Write an email that contains valuable information and/or industry updates for your prospects. Then tell them so. Use the subject line to make your prospect understand that, unless they open your email, they will be missing out on something important. Something that would potentially change their lives for the better.

Examples

LinkedIn Lead Generation trend everyone is talking about
You don’t want to miss out on this offer!
Uh-oh, your subscription is expiring.

Preview text: Why is it as important as the subject line

The preview text is what you see below or next to the subject line before opening the email from your Inbox. It is the first several words of your email body, 35 to 90 characters to be precise, depending on your email provider. However, the majority of people open their emails on the phone. That means that you are limited to around 45 characters of the preview text. Sometimes even less! Therefore, make your email opener matter.

It’s your second chance to make the first impression.

Make it an extension of your subject line

Your subject line and preview text should be a cohesive unit. The flow has to be logical and stylistically unified to drive the desired action. Otherwise, no matter how compelling individually, your readers will be confused. The best way to go about it is to think about the preview text as the opportunity to provide a detail that did not fit into your subject line.

Examples

Subject line: Andy, did you know?
Preview text: More than half of your leads read emails on their phone. This [...]
Subject line: Free gift for any purchase!
Preview text: Until the end of October, with every new account your buy [...]
Subject line: LinkedIn template that scaled up Skylead
Preview text: Don’t miss out to get original message copies that made our [...]

Reference something about the lead

Just like on LinkedIn, the best way to get somebody’s attention is to make a concrete reference about them. It can be a post they’ve made or reacted to on LinkedIn, bring up a colleague or an industry professional you have in common, or simply congratulate them on the promotion they’ve recently got. Your leads will appreciate that you’ve done your homework before reaching out.

Examples

Hi {{firstName}},
Love the post you made on LinkedIn...
Hey {{firstName}},
I saw that you attended {{nameOfEvent}}...
Hi {{firstName}},
Congratulations on the promotion! ...
Hi {{firstName}},
We recently connected on CompanyTinder... I mean on LinkedIn...

Highlight your value proposition

Use the preview text to communicate the most compelling benefit of your product or service. Highlight the value that you bring to the table that already starts with opening your email.

You don’t know what to point out? Think about why you decided to send the email in the first place. Tell your leads what’s in for them and how it will make their lives easier and scale their business.

Examples

Save 11 hours a week while generating 6 times more leads.
Increase the email deliverability rate by using [...]
1000 more visitors on your website each week.

***

A/B test your subject lines/preview text

If you are not sure what to go for, split test different subject lines/preview texts. See what your audience reacts to best. Is it a question, an intriguing statement, or a direct and clear call to action?

A/B testing (aka split testing) is a randomized experimentation process where two or more versions are being sent to different target users at the same time to determine which one makes results and influences the desirable business action.

When deciding on the “winner”, take into consideration other factors as well, such as your response rate and click rate, for example, depending on what your end goal is.

Maybe down the road you realize what works best for your prospects. Or go ahead and segment them.

Segment your audience

Not all of your leads will appreciate the same type of content. And that’s totally fine. If you don’t think that one subject line/preview text would produce the same effect for everyone, segment your leads list or use different LinkedIn prospecting method. Tweak the subject line/preview text according to their interests, business goals, and what you think might pique their curiosity.

Summary

Yes, these are some tips that will most likely work to your advantage.

But do you know what else will work to your advantage? Like, for sure?

Being prospect-centric.

Your prospects don’t care how something worked for you. They want to know how it will benefit them instead. This perspective will get you far ahead of your competition.

Do you know what else will get you far ahead of your competition? Trying out Skylead.

Launch your first outreach campaign today!

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White Label refers to fully supported products or services made by one company but sold by another.

The seller then customizes it with their brand, logo, and identity. This way, it makes the customers associate the product with the seller instead of with the company that originally made it.

It is a win-win situation for both parties. Companies from which the product originates earn quite a sum from their white label partners, whereas the sellers offer the same products for more money with fewer expenses of production and maintenance.

Already by hearing this, it is clear that white labeling a product has more pros than cons for both sides.

However, let’s go ahead and go in-depth about the advantages for those who choose to white label.

You Get The Luxury of Choice

Whatever the product or service you want to white label, there are for sure plenty of options out there. Yours is only to do the thorough research and decide which one will suit your and your client’s needs best, and therefore sell well. Instead of wasting time creating a single product that, at the end of the day, might not even be as developed and successful as some of the ones on the market, just pick the one that has all the right features for you.

However, choose smart. You want the third-party product to make your brand look even better. If something is not working, your clients will associate poor service with you, not with the company of origin.

It Saves You Time & Money

Anyone who has ever developed something from scratch knows how much effort is required to create a quality, functional product. It takes time, investment, knowledge, and later on the constant support and improvement to keep the product at a certain level. Of course, on the condition that it works! You have no guarantee of ROI.

If you white label a product, all of these are already taken care of. And as the product develops, so does your version.

This directly implies our third benefit.

White Labeling Allows You To Take Advantage of Expert Work

It might sound awful, but it’s true. You will not be the one paying high-end developers who need to envision it, realize it, and then fix all the bugs. Yes, in a way you will be contributing through the price you agreed upon with the company of origin, but for sure you will not be having as many headaches as they do. They are the ones who need to take care of all the aspects that make one product unique and fully functional. Not only. It is on them to make the product go through beta tests, revisions, troubleshooting, and other fine-tuning processes.

You just need to sit back and enjoy their quality work under your name.

It Takes The Pressure Off

If something goes wrong, in the majority of cases, the third-party tool owners will most likely be the ones solving the problem. Not only do they usually offer the service of Customer Support even for the white labeled version, but are fixing actual bugs and malfunctions in the product itself. Your job is only to handle the clients.

However, when mistakes do happen, take into account that there is always room for a genuine human error. It is easier to blame someone else when something similar could have happened to you too, if you were the company of origin. Don’t let it become a bad partnership.

White Labeling Increases The Customer Loyalty

Introducing a new service that is already well-developed (by someone else, even better!) and functioning will offer your existing customers something to become even more attached to you. You will now be most likely handling several aspects of their business.

Yours it’s only to make sure that the product you white label is reliable.

It Attracts New Customers

Once you start offering a new product or service, it will for sure attract new customers. It actually might not even be a bad idea to provide the service to clients who are interested only in that product, just to test it out without risking losing any of the existing clients due to poor satisfaction. In a way, it’s a win-win situation. If they like it, the new clients might expand their demand to other aspects of your business. If not, you will still have your old customers and know how to do things better for them.

White Labeling Skylead

If you've ever thought of incorporating outreach into your Lead Generation Agency, or you are doing lead generation on LinkedIn we might have the right tool for you.

Skylead is an all-in-one LinkedIn Automation & Cold Email Software that provides you with everything you need without having to involve any third-party tools.

What does that mean?

To begin with, Skylead does LinkedIn automation from a LinkedIn, Sales Navigator and Recruiter search, by importing leads through a CSV file, or it can target leads who reacted to a certain LinkedIn post ("Post-Engagement Campaign"). In other words, Skylead automates LinkedIn prospecting.

Furthermore, Skylead has an Email Discovery & Verification feature that finds your leads’ business emails even without being connected on LinkedIn. This allows you to do a cold email campaign or to combine an Email with a LinkedIn Outreach.

The third option at your disposal is reaching out to your leads’ via their publicly available emails on LinkedIn, collected by Skylead.

As you may see, Skylead is at the same time an Automation Tool, Email Finder, and Scraping Tool for as low as $100 per month per account.

This is not all.

Currently, Skylead is the only tool on the market that has Smart Sequences, groundbreaking algorithms that allow you to use multichannel outreach and personalization to their maximum potential.

You can create scenarios based on your leads’ behavior and combine LinkedIn Messages, LinkedIn InMails, and Emails, with other LinkedIn features such as View, Follow, Invite to Connect, and in this way create the highest number of paths to your prospects.

Whatcha waiting for?

Find out more about all the benefits of white labeling Skylead by scheduling a demo call with our specialist.

We look forward to explaining all the perks you’ll get by partnering up with us!

Launch your first outreach campaign today!

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You’ve done a serious outreach effort.

You came up with a well-thought-of marketing strategy, engaging copy, and targeted leads meticulously.

Still, it hasn't brought the results you’ve expected.

How? You’ve followed every how-to guideline for successful outreach.

But have you read through a no-no manual as well?

Yeah. We thought so.

Inspired by our users’ questions and practices we read about on numerous Lead Generation discussion platforms, we decided to dedicate this blog to 6 common outreach mistakes that you are probably unaware of.

Not testing different channels

The most senseless mistake you can do in the times of sales engagement platforms and multichannel outreach is to rely on only one means of communication.

New approaches continue to arise and so should your business flexibility.

Don’t assume that a certain path of getting to your leads is the only one worth a shot just because it gave a positive outcome in the past.

Sure, there is nothing bad in going for what brought valuable results. But keep your mind open. Your perfect leads might be using other, already acclaimed or emerging, platforms as well. Testing them is the best way to find what works best for a particular campaign.

You would be surprised how going bold leads to conversions that otherwise wouldn’t happen.

Making it all about you

Your potential customers don’t care how something worked or played out for you.

They don’t want to listen to how awesome your product or service is unless you show how that awesomeness applies to them. Therefore, blurting out a rehearsed monologue about you and your product turns out to be a mistake that could cost you a valuable lead.

Prove to your customers that what you’re offering is a game-changer for them. It will solve their problems, spare their time and money, and make their lives better. This is how you earn somebody’s attention.

Therefore, when writing a product brief or an outreach copy, make sure to do your homework first. By approaching with a concrete solution to a challenging part of their business, you are more likely to be heard out. Even if they don’t buy something right away, your proposal will gain the advantage in the sea of impersonal offers.

Not taking into consideration a buyer’s journey

Not all people you reach out to or who visit your website are in the same stage of their buyer’s journey.

Some of them are in the phase of researching different options, some of them bumped into your brand for the very first time or heard about your company after you cold-outreached them, and now they are inquiring by checking out your online presence or asking questions to you directly.

Each lead needs to be approached depending on their buyer's journey.

Give a chance to those who are hearing from you for the very first time to learn more about your business. Asking them to make a purchase right away is one of the most common LinkedIn lead generation mistakes.

Those who already short-listed your company may want an educational kit, free course, templates, something that will provide them with industry valuable information.

Some of them will be ready for a demo.

Therefore, segment your leads depending on their buyer’s journey. Adjust your language and have different types of content ready to attach and offer. If someone doesn’t buy right away, it doesn’t mean you should write them off. Nurture those leads.

The feeling of being taken care of makes a difference.

Non-strategic CTAs

The research has shown that landing pages that have two or more call-to-action buttons help close fewer deals than the ones with only one, clear CTA, usually at the end.

That is, the website visitor gets distracted when bombarded with too many invites to purchase or book a demo. The same stands for an outreach message. It is far more effective to write an engaging and well-thought-of copy first and then leave a clear call to action for the end. If you keep your CTA the main focus, it is more likely people will click on it.

On the other hand, not putting a CTA on a page is a big mistake. When a website visitor gets informed about your product or service, they should not browse around and search for a call to action.

First of all, it costs you nothing to put one on each landing page. Second of all, it takes a second for your lead to lose interest. Imagine if you had to give someone your money and put an effort into finding a way to do it?

Making assumptions about your audience

You are not your client. And you are biased.

Prospecting on LinkedIn, or anywhere for that matter, on the assumption that you know what they need is a big mistake.

Instead, reach out and talk to your leads first. Find out what they like or dislike, get into discussions with them, and collect valuable information before you even mention your product.

Not only will you gain more insight into the market you are trying to get into but will know how to position your brand and customize your service to your client’s best interest.

This brings us back to the above-mentioned mistake #2 - making it all about you. Just forget about it. There are so many other companies out there providing the same service. Unless you prove that you genuinely care, you will be positioned low on the list of available options.

Asking too much too soon

True, we’ve just recommended talking openly to your potential clients and finding out as much as you can about their way of doing business.

However, it is all about when and how you ask them.

Mutual trust grows with time and proper nurturing.

Don't make a mistake of asking your leads to overshare or disclose information that might expose their business. Not only will you not get an answer but you will be marked as suspicious. Because, why would anyone want to tell their biggest weakness to a complete stranger?

Therefore, nurture your leads and don't run. Crawl your way into their uncertainties. Once you're there, justify their trust. And yes, ask only what's absolutely necessary to make the sale.

Summary

Making the above mistakes will cause you to waste time, budget, and energy.

The good news is that we've cracked the code for you.

Now when you know what to avoid, start doing so and enjoy the increase in high-quality leads.

Launch your first outreach campaign today!

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Basics of using Chat GPT for sales

How to give prompts to Chat GPT for sales messages

Way #1 Copy & paste information and give a prompt.

Way #2 Copy & paste information and give a prompt to use messages in a sales automation tool.

Way #3 Upload your lead's LinkedIn profile and give a prompt.

Way #4 Use LinkedIn posts to personalize icebreakers in your cold emails.

Way #5 Use Chat GPT to fight the most common objections.

Way #6 Use Chat GPT to write follow-ups after no response.

How to give prompts to Chat GPT for sales subject lines

Way #1 Copy & paste your cold email and give a prompt.

Way #2 Insert keywords and important information and give a prompt.

Frequently asked questions

How can one integrate Chat GPT with CRM software to streamline the sales process further?

What are the limitations of Chat GPT in understanding and responding to complex sales scenarios or objections?

Can Chat GPT be used to generate not just initial outreach messages but also to automate ongoing communication based on recipient responses?

Summary

What is the LinkedIn SSI score?

Where to find LinkedIn SSI score?

Tips to increase LinkedIn SSI score

Tip #1: Complete your LinkedIn profile

Tip #2 Find the right people

Tip #3 Engage with insights

Tip #4 Expand network and create relationships

Tip #5 Analyze LinkedIn SSI score and improve

Frequently asked questions

How frequently does LinkedIn update the SSI score, and can changes in my activities impact my score immediately?

Are there any known limitations or criticisms of the LinkedIn SSI score as a metric for evaluating social selling effectiveness?

How can companies or teams collectively improve their LinkedIn SSI scores, and does LinkedIn offer insights or tools for group performance enhancement?

To sum up

How do I change a LinkedIn cover photo?

Change LinkedIn background photo for LinkedIn personal profiles

On desktop

On mobile

Change LinkedIn background photo for LinkedIn company pages

On desktop

What is the size of a LinkedIn cover photo?

Where can I find LinkedIn cover photo templates?

Top 17 LinkedIn Cover Photo Ideas For Any Profession

Highlight your customers’ goals on your LinkedIn background photo

Showcase the people you serve on your LinkedIn cover photo

Use the location or the location of your business on your LinkedIn banner

Put your hobbies or interests on your LinkedIn cover photo

Display objects or tools relevant to your job on your LinkedIn background photo

Use a LinkedIn cover photo of you doing your work

Clearly state what your job is on your LinkedIn banner

Showcase your product or service on your LinkedIn background photo

Display your career path on your LinkedIn cover photo

Use your company’s LinkedIn cover photo for your personal LinkedIn background photo

Put an inspiring quote on your LinkedIn banner

Put a picture of an office space or a building for corporate, executives, legal, & similar to your LinkedIn cover photo

Make your LinkedIn banner a collage

Summary

Why use B2B prospecting software & sales prospecting tools?

18 best B2B prospecting tools you need in 2024 [Including free tools]

1. Skylead - LinkedIn prospecting tool

2. LinkedIn Sales Navigator - Sales prospecting tool for lead generation

3. Hubspot - B2B prospecting tool with free plan

4. Zoominfo

5. Contactout - B2B prospecting tool with free plan

6. Lusha - B2B prospecting tool with free plan

7. Clearbit - B2B prospecting tool with free plan

8. SalesIntel

9. Seamless AI - B2B prospecting tool with free plan

10. Leadfeeder - B2B prospecting tool with free plan

11. Aeroleads - B2B prospecting tool with free plan

12. Rocketreach

13. Salesloft

14. Datanyze

15. Voila Norbert - B2B prospecting tool

16. Hunter - B2B prospecting tool with free plan

17. Evaboot - Sales prospecting tool with free plan

18. GetProspect - B2B prospecting tool with free plan

Frequently asked question

How do these tools ensure data privacy and comply with regulations like GDPR?

What integration capabilities do these tools have with existing sales and marketing platforms?

For businesses with global outreach, how do these tools handle and segment data across different regions and languages?

Wrap up and advice

Why should you cancel your pending invitations?

What you need to know before proceeding to cancel LinkedIn invite?

You can’t cancel LinkedIn invites in bulk.