- Best lead management solution for international markets: Callbox
- Best lead generation company for supporting a variety of business sizes: ZoomInfo
- Best for AI-driven campaigns: CIENCE
- Best for offering multi-channel solutions: LeadGeneration.com
- Best for data enrichment: EBQ
- Best for generating leads through display ads: RevBoss
- Best for extensive lead qualification: UnboundB2B
Lead generation companies are businesses that help identify, sort and contact high-quality leads on your behalf. These leads will match your ideal customer profile, and with the help of a tailored strategy and campaign, they’ll begin funneling into your existing sales pipeline.
Software Spotlight: ZoomInfoSPONSOREDZoomInfo supports different sized businesses and a variety of industries. Its data-driven workflows and B2B databases produce detailed reports that are a part of the go-to-market strategy ZoomInfo can provide. With a clearly defined ideal buyer, ZoomInfo will connect you with true decision makers and potential customers of your solution. |
Top lead generation companies comparison
The best lead generation companies offer lead sourcing and lead research to ensure they’re sending over exclusive and quality leads. Once they identify these leads, they begin inbound prospecting or outreach with common sales strategies like cold emailing or cold calling. These core offerings make up a custom campaign that’ll meet your leads exactly where they are in their buyer’s journey for you to begin nurturing them.
| Callbox | Custom pricing | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| ZoomInfo | Custom pricing | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| CIENCE | 10 free leads per month | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Leadgeneration.com | Custom pricing | No | Yes | Yes | No |
| EBQ | $3,000 per month | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| RevBoss | $3,700 per month* | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| UnboundB2B | Custom pricing | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| *Starting price with a 12-month contract. | |||||
Callbox: Best lead management solution for international markets
Our star rating: 3.9 out of 5
Callbox is a B2B lead generation services company that uses advanced data analytics to not only identify leads but also engage and convert them into customers. In the Premium tier, Callbox will assign a team of three or more sales development representatives who help accomplish a multi-touch approach to lead generation, including social media, email and phone marketing.
Why we chose Callbox
Callbox offers account-based, event and webinar marketing services on top of its B2B lead generation. These end-to-end services extend beyond the U.S. and can help you target high-value customers in markets your company currently serves or markets you’re looking to break into. They can establish custom campaigns that cater to these new territories to maximize growth opportunities.
While Callbox offers lead generation for clients on a global scale, that may not be a requirement for your current business. If you’re looking for a provider with a mix of lead generation and engagement features fit for any size business, check out Zoominfo for its offerings.
Pricing
- Full Suite: Contact for quote. This tier includes 1,500 activity counts per week and is ideal for established enterprises offering a comprehensive lead generation solution.
- Essential: Contact for quote. This tier includes 800 activity counts per week and is tailored for growing businesses wanting a cost effective flow of high-quality leads.
- Starter Non-Voice:Contact for quote. This tier includes 800 activity counts per week and is ideal for startups entering digital channels to target leads online.
- Starter Voice:Contact for quote. This plan offers 500 activity counts per week and is for clients looking to implement telemarketing to enhance lead generation and engagement.
Features
- International marketing: Supports global customers and can help break into new territories.
- Account-based sourcing: Uses a mix of both inbound and outbound touchpoints to support client engagement through a multi-touch method.
- Event marketing: Drives in-person attendance and turnout through end-to-end marketing.
Callbox pros and cons
| Specializes in a variety of industries. | Standard tier only offers one program at a time. |
| Offers 24/7 customer support. | No upfront pricing available. |
| Highly ranked by current users. | Doesn’t offer test leads. |
ZoomInfo: Best lead generation company for supporting a variety of business sizes
Our star rating: 3.8 out of 5
ZoomInfo is a lead generation company and an engagement platform in one. It supports sales, marketing, operations and talent searching through data-backed pipelines. Its platform can build out entire org charts with up-to-date profile information and buyer intent scoring for your sales reps. This can shorten entire sales processes by streamlining when and how pre-qualified leads are engaged with by your reps.
Why we chose ZoomInfo
ZoomInfo supports different sized businesses, from small to mid-market to enterprise-level clients. It can create any go-to-market strategy for its global clients on its platform. Its data-driven workflows and B2B databases provide detailed reports that help you define your ideal buyer and find matches that are true decision makers and potential clients of your solution.
ZoomInfo requires potential users to connect with its sales team before disclosing any detailed pricing information. If you’re wanting a straightforward provider with clearly defined pricing and add-ons, consider CIENCE for its premium plans breakdown.
Pricing
- SalesOS: Access company insights and contact information. Contact for quote.
- MarketingOS: Pipeline management and digital marketing solutions. Contact for quote.
- TalentOS: Source and manage candidates for company recruitment. Contact for quote.
Features
- B2B sales intelligence: Uses enriched B2B data to produce holistic profiles of high-quality leads.
- Lead data intelligence: Ensures the incoming leads are verified and have the most accurate information attached to their profiles.
- Pipeline forecasting: Complies buyer intent data and your own sales process to produce accurate forecasting for your business and market in general.
Zoominfo pros and cons
| Offers a variety of management levels. | No upfront pricing. |
| Specializes in a variety of industries. | Caters to B2B clients only. |
| Provides extensive client support. | Users report some UI/UX bugs. |
CIENCE: Best for AI-driven campaigns
Our star rating: 3.8 out of 5
CIENCE specializes in lead generation by offering a digital platform along with its outbound SDR services, making it a People-as-a-Service (PaaS) agency. The AI-powered platform houses extensive data intelligence, like buyer intent and pipeline creation. It also supports lead engagement and analytics through appointment scheduling automations, sales OKRs and lead scoring.
Why we chose CIENCE
CIENCE’s AI tools extend beyond automating inbound lead generation and their inhouse platform functionality. CIENCE’s AI also uses your business’s goals, solution’s benefits and market details to train their model AI to communicate directly with leads via chat, email, and even artificial voice for lead prospecting.
CIENCE is a very technical provider that offers robust AI and integration solutions for its users. If you’re a similar provider that can help generate content for your target audience, check out RevBoss for its ad displays and more.
Pricing
- GO Show: 10 new contacts and 100 companies per month for free. This tier comes with user data features such as phone and email validation, but no AI solutions or service features.
- GO Platform:2,500 contacts per month plus software license. Contact for quote. Minimum ad budget of $2,000 per month.
- GO Platform + Services: Price per meeting. Contact for quote. Minimum ad budget of $2,000 per month.
Features
- Web callerID: Identifies anonymous website visitors as possible leads.
- AI content: Trains AI to write blogs and social media content tailored to your market and solution.
- Scheduling: Automates your calendar and schedule for easy appointment booking.
CIENCE pros and cons
| Quick client onboarding. | Minimal inbound lead generation. |
| 100 million+ B2B contacts. | Poor lead quality reported. |
| Integrates with third-party applications. | Can often outsource leads. |
LeadGeneration.com: Best for offering multi-channel solutions
Our star rating: 3.8 out of 5
LeadGeneration.com is an online lead generation company that takes into account your industry, market, company history and goals to create custom campaigns. Its campaign strategies and methods not only generate leads that match your ideal buyer profile but also help continuously nurture them, with an emphasis on building your brand awareness.
Why we chose LeadGeneration.com
LeadGeneration.com’s inbound lead gen strategies are extensive and detailed. It can create and monitor email drip campaigns on your behalf, redesign your website to maximize efficiency and distribute branded content to targeted audiences. All of these multi-channel solutions help you not only get the attention of ideal customers but also familiarize them with your solution.
LeadGeneration.com’s focus on inbound lead generation also allows for lead nurturing and hosting engagement with leads. To continue nurturing leads and begin scheduling sales calls with them, look into CIENCE for its calendar automations.
Pricing
- Contact for quote: Offers free consultations and lead generation analysis.
Features
- SEO specialization: Drives organic traffic to your website by getting high-ranking search result placement.
- Website development: Builds you a website from the ground up that is effective, efficient and eye catching.
- Lead nurturing: Engages with your high-value leads through a series of soft touches that keep your solution top of mind.
LeadGeneration.com pros and cons
| CRM integration capability. | No upfront pricing available. |
| Guarantees exclusive leads. | No test leads or pilot option. |
| SDR and campaign performance tracking. | Focus primarily on inbound lead generation. |
EBQ: Best for data enrichment
Our star rating: 3.6 out of 5
EBQ is an outsource sales and marketing company that provides six distinct services, including a CRM platform, data management, brand marketing, appointment setting, lead nurturing and deal closing and customer onboarding. These services support end-to-end sales that not only attract high-value customers to your company and solution but also help your business close deals and retain clients.
Why we chose EBQ
EBQ is a powerful data management tool that can help you better define your ideal customer profile and begin segmenting leads on your behalf. It creates personalized B2B databases by taking your existing lead sheets and data and turning them into easily navigable lists with actionable insights for your sales reps to immediately target and nurture leads.
If robust data management and outreach is a priority for your lead generation company, EBQ does this very well. But, EBQ cannot guarantee that you’ll receive exclusive leads. If your industry is hyper-competitive and a guarantee of exclusive leads is important, look into LeadGeneration.com.
Pricing
- EBQ Pricing: Request a free custom quote by mixing and matching their six core services for a personalized solution.
- Implementation Quickstart: $3,000 for a 30-day program.
- ImplementationJumpstart: $6,000 for a 30-day program.
- Implementation Headstart: $12,000 for a 60-day program.
Features
- Database cleansing: Enriches your data by scrubbing old leads and better targeting existing leads.
- Dedicated customer support team: Allows access to an entire support team to maintain your customer experience.
- Full sales process management: Engages with leads to the point of sale and beyond.
EBQ pros and cons
| U.S.-based support team. | No sample or pilot leads. |
| Cold call leads. | Not the most cost-efficient option. |
| Hosts biweekly reporting meetings. | No lead guarantees. |
RevBoss: Best for generating leads through display ads
Our star rating: 3.5 out of 5
RevBoss is a lead generation company that also offers an inhouse platform for your entire sales team to access. That platform integrates with your existing sales tech stack, such as your CRM and calendars, and automates data exchanges to ensure your team can track and monitor lead generation efforts by having them synced directly to their schedules or emails.
Why we chose RevBoss
A designated RevBoss account manager will integrate your RevBoss account with AdRoll to design brand-consistent ads. These ads will have targeted and persuasive copy to attach to your outbound email campaigns to drastically increase email engagement and, in turn, lead rates.
RevBoss does offer a 24/7 dashboard for accessing and monitoring inbound lead generation, but if you’re wanting even more data security and enrichment, look into EBQ for its robust data migration and cleansing capabilities.
Pricing
- RevBoss Growth: Starting at $3,700 per month for 12 months. Users receive a dedicated account manager, personalized messaging from copywriters and more.
- RevBoss Pro: Custom packages and discounts available for large or enterprise teams. Contact for a quote. This tier supports custom audiences, messaging and ads, multiple products, verticals and senders, and a large integrated strategy.
Features
- CRM tool integration: Connects its own platform with third-party apps, including CRMs.
- Display ads: Creates marketing campaigns to increase brand awareness.
- Prospect platform: Provides transparent metric reporting on a 24/7 dashboard.
RevBoss pros and cons
| Offers pilot options. | No cold calling or emailing. |
| Scalable process for clients. | Limited industry specific specialization. |
| In-house platform. | Occasional reports of platform bugs. |
UnboundB2B: Best for extensive lead qualification
Our star rating: 3.4 out of 5
UnboundB2B is a demand generation company that supports both demand and lead generation for B2B marketers and sellers. After collecting true purchase intent data from buyers of your solution, it uses an AI-powered program that takes that behavioral data to create intuitive and hyper-specific campaigns to generate, qualify and nurture those leads.
Why we chose UnboundB2B
UnboundB2B prequalifies each lead it sources before funneling them into your pipeline. It uses the popular qualification framework, BANT. This method of lead qualification includes learning the budget, authority, need and timeline of the lead in that order. Holding budget at the forefront ensures the lead would be able to afford your solution, and then, if they’re the decision maker for the purchase, what their specific need is and what’s their ideal timeline.
While UnboundB2B offers AI automation, lead scoring and reporting, its services are only meant for companies looking for B2B leads. If your clients aren’t B2B, consider ReBoss for their ad creation features that will attract your exact audience.
Pricing
- Contact for quote: Free consultations available. UnboundB2B doesn’t disclose any pricing tiers or additional information.
Features
- Base targeting: Researches databases to build complete buyer profiles.
- Content syndication: Amplifies your outreach by spreading marketed content across multiple networks.
- Top-of-funnel lead generation: Prequalifies and scores leads to give you the best match.
UnboundB2B pros and cons
| Uses AI automation. | Supports B2B lead generation only. |
| Currently has over 60 million B2B contacts. | No dedicated account manager. |
| Offers detailed reporting. | No upfront pricing available. |
Key features of lead generation companies
Since most have custom pricing tiers or plans, the partnership between you and a lead gen company can be adapted to your existing sales process. Though you can mostly pick and choose which top features you want, there are core offerings that make investing in a lead gen company worth it. This includes campaign creation, lead scoring, presence of a dedicated account manager, industry specialization and appointment setting capabilities.
Campaign creation
Custom campaigns include all the strategies and methods the lead gen company will implement to begin pulling high-quality leads, including how and when they’ll begin actually engaging and nurturing leads for you. Campaign strategizing typically happens during the onboarding process with a lead generation company, and with the best lead gen companies, your campaign will adapt with the growth or changes of your business or market.
Lead scoring
Lead scoring is when the lead gen company has segmented leads by identifying where each lead is in their buyer’s journey, what their sense of urgency or budget is and how likely they are to make a purchase with you. Lead scoring helps organize incoming leads from the provider and better align your sales and marketing efforts.
Dedicated account manager
Most lead generation companies assign a dedicated account manager or an entire team of SDRs to your account and business. They’re meant to be your main point of contact with the provider and your go-to resource for updates on metrics, account details, lead funneling and more.
Industry specialization
Industry specialization is when a lead generation company has specific tools or insight in your industry, making its campaigns hyper-specialized for your target audience. This could be a focus on targeting and engaging technology leads, finance leads or law leads.
Appointment setting
Once a lead generation company solidifies a list of qualified leads for you, it contacts those leads to schedule a meeting with you or one of your sales reps. This way, your reps already have all the research and prep done and can focus entirely on those confirmed appointments and their selling strategy.
How do I choose the best lead generation company for my business?
Now that you have a complete list of the top lead generation companies in the market, it’s time to narrow them down to find the provider that aligns best with your sales process and allocated budget. The next step is to request quotes and sign up for any available demos or test pilots. This way, you’re able to directly communicate with the lead generation company and begin conceptualizing how their services can get your business where you want it to be.
Some questions you might consider asking when questioning these lead generation companies can be:
- How quickly and how many leads can be funneled into the sales pipeline?
- What is the total in-market expertise for your solution or industry?
- What methods of inbound or outbound prospecting does the company use to engage with leads?
- Are their services within your budget?
- Does the company have its own management software, or does it integrate with your existing sales CRM?
Methodology
I followed an outlined criteria to select what lead generation companies to score using a rubric, then took the top scoring companies to review and assign an ideal use case. I also used an in-house algorithm that calculates a total star rating for each company, which includes the following breakdown:
- Cost: Weighted 25% of the total score.
- Core offerings: Weighted 25% of the total score.
- Advanced offerings: Weighted 20% of the total score.
- Tech features: Weighted 10% of the total score.
- Reporting and analytics: Weighted 10% of the total score.
- Customer support: Weighted 10% of the total score.
