10 Best Outbound Sales Software & Tools for SDRs
How many tools do you need in your sales stack? According to Gartner, a robust revenue tech stack should include six core groups of technologies for engagement, application, enablement, revenue operations, infrastructure, and data enrichment.
That’s a lot of money, huh?
The good news is, that you don’t have to pay for six platforms to streamline your outbound sales process and beyond. You only need one to three tools to consolidate all these features.
To help you do more with less, we’ve hand-picked the 10 best outbound sales software for different tasks and needs.
1. Artisan
Artisan is more than just a tool for SDRs — it's like having an SDR, BDR, and all-in-one outbound sales automation software in one.
Meet Ava, the AI SDR by Artisan, who automates 80% of the outbound sales process.
In just a 10-minute conversation, Ava learns about your ideal customer profile (ICP) and product. Once she understands your needs, she creates an outbound campaign, selects potential leads from her database of over 270 million contacts, and starts prospecting. Alternatively, you can complete the setup process in the campaign editor—Ava will pick up the directions from there.
Artisan collects data from a wide range of sources to deliver the most relevant B2B information about your prospects. It scrapes partner data, major social media channels like LinkedIn and Twitter, as well as industry tracking sites like Crunchbase. Ava uses this data to enrich your lead profiles and craft hyper-personalized messages for each.
Key features
Ava, the AI sales agent, acts as an intelligent sales representative, handling much of the outbound process.
Sales automation streamlines key SDR processes like lead research, personalized sales outreach, email writing, deliverability optimization, etc.
Sales playbooks define the writing style, tone of voice, and content of your outbound emails.
Lead enrichment keeps your lead profiles updated with relevant data.
AI-driven email warmup boosts your sender reputation and increases the deliverability of your emails.
Why choose Artisan
Automation across your entire outbound cycle.
No need to increase headcount to scale outbound SDR.
Hyper-personalized, AI-driven research workflows.
Consistent messaging across all of your emails.
The capability to scrape leads’ social media posts and recognize intent signals.
The only sales software that automates personalized email writing with dynamic email playbooks emulating any style a human BDR would write in.
As an early-stage startup, Artisan can build features upon request and work with sales teams as design partners.
Artisan’s limitations
While Artisan is growing rapidly, it still lacks some features.
Compared to basic sales automation software, Artisan’s pricing is less affordable.
2. LinkedIn Sales Navigator
If you do prospecting on LinkedIn, this is likely the first software option that comes to mind—and for good reason.
LinkedIn Sales Navigator is LinkedIn's native sales tool for prospecting and relationship building. It's an excellent choice for small and mid-sized businesses looking for their first SDR tool.
The platform provides access to numerous features and filters that simplify the lead search process. You can use advanced search filters for criteria such as recent job changes, seniority level, and companies with job openings, in addition to standard filters like job title and industry.
Once you've identified potential leads, you can create prospect lists, set up alerts to track their activity or start outreach campaigns immediately.
Key features
Advanced LinkedIn search filters allow SDRs to find the right leads quickly.
Alerts and real-time updates help to keep track of changes in lead data.
Buyer Intent signals when leads interact with the business’s LinkedIn company page or company website.
InMail messaging enables direct communication with prospects outside your network.
CRM integration ensures seamless syncing of lead data with your existing sales tools.
TeamLink analyzes your entire team’s network to identify hidden paths to make warm introductions.
Saved Searches enable you to save your search criteria and receive updates when new leads match your filters.
Why choose LinkedIn Sales Navigator
Access to LinkedIn’s extensive professional network.
No need to navigate third-party interfaces to find and connect with your LinkedIn leads.
A relatively affordable solution compared to many outbound automation tools.
Advanced filters, saved searches, and alerts present more opportunities to source qualified leads than with a basic LinkedIn account.
Easy integration with most tools in your tech stack.
LinkedIn Sales Navigator’s limitations
Full CRM integration is only available with the Advanced Plus plan (an enterprise-level package).
The monthly limit of 50 InMail messages across all plans is rather restrictive.
You have to perform all the processes manually.
3. Salesforce
Does it even need an introduction? This well-known sales software has been a powerhouse for over two decades.
While it's not cheap and requires significant setup, it's incredibly powerful for mid-sized and large sales teams. Salesforce’s all-in-one CRM solution, Sales Cloud, is highly customizable to meet any business needs and includes various sales automation tools.
Mind that Salesforce’s flexibility comes with high setup costs and a steep learning curve. It’s not another out-of-the-box solution you can log into and start prospecting. While Salesforce can handle outbound sales, that's not its main draw. Businesses choose Salesforce for its ability to automate complex sales cycles, where its complexity really pays off.
Salesforce also offers Einstein Copilot, an AI assistant designed to tackle repetitive tasks. It can generate emails, answer questions about your performance, help you prioritize leads, update your pipeline, and more.
Key features
A highly customizable CRM system grows with your sales team.
A comprehensive sales automation tech stack empowers salespeople through every process, from outbound lead generation to revenue analytics.
Integration capabilities with various business applications allow you to seamlessly sync Salesforce data with other business tools and systems.
Einstein Copilot AI assistant enables task automation and provides quick insights.
Why choose Salesforce
An advanced platform that has everything you need (given that you build it by yourself).
Salesforce can be heavily adjusted to meet your business needs and processes.
It can become your central business data hub, collecting and processing information from various sources.
Salesforce’s limitations
Pricing builds up really quickly as many features are available as add-ons, including the AI copilot.
Software is complex, leading to a more extensive setup and onboarding process in comparison to simpler sales software.
Salesforce doesn't provide you with B2B leads data. You'll need to go for 3rd-party providers.
💡 Tip: The integration between Artisan and Salesforce compensates for the lack of a lead database in Salesforce. You can use Ava to find and qualify leads; then, smoothly move these engaged prospects into your Salesforce CRM. Try it now.
4. Pipedrive
Like Salesforce, Pipedrive isn’t exactly an outbound prospecting tool. It’s a sales automation and pipeline management tool with the capability to build outbound workflows.
In Pipedrive, sales teams can handle leads and deals from beginning to end. However, contrary to Salesforce, it’s also more intuitive and out-of-the-box (and, therefore, less flexible).
For SDRs, the platform provides convenient task reminders, triggered messages, automated follow-ups, and an AI sales assistant. Pipedrive's AI enhances outbound workflows with actions like recommending high-potential deals and suggesting priority actions to streamline sales processes.
Key features
Email outreach tools simplify the creation and sending of bulk emails, along with setting up automated email sequences.
The meeting scheduler integrates with your calendar, allowing hot leads to book calls with sales agents instantly.
Lead management helps to qualify, track, and prioritize potential customers semi-automatically.
Customizable pipelines allow you to implement your ideal sales process by creating custom lead paths and goals.
Team collaboration supports smooth communication and teamwork among sales reps.
Detailed performance reports offer insights into your leads-to-deals conversion rates, deal velocity, team effectiveness, revenue forecasts, and other critical data.
AI-powered sales assistant augments all of the features above.
Why choose Pipedrive
Ideal for managing your entire sales process, from prospecting to closing deals.
Among the most affordable software options available.
Perfect for beginners and small businesses looking to streamline sales operations.
Pipedrive’s limitations
Pipedrive doesn’t fully automate outbound prospecting. You need to handle most of the process manually.
While a decent option for driving existing leads through the funnel, it doesn’t offer the tools for rapidly building a pipeline, such as lead research and comprehensive data sources.
5. HubSpot
HubSpot completes the roster of mainstream sales software in our lineup. Known for its suite of sales and marketing tools, HubSpot is often compared to Salesforce in its robustness and comprehensiveness, but as a more out-of-the-box solution.
It simplifies outbound sales efforts with features like customizable email templates, sales automation workflows, and performance insights. It also integrates with a wide range of tools, including Artisan and LinkedIn Sales Navigator—so you can identify and capture leads on autopilot and instantly forward them to HubSpot CRM.
HubSpot integrates with Artisan. If you need a solution to automatically generate qualified leads and nurture them through a centralized CRM system, it’s a match made in heaven. Try Artisan now.
HubSpot features
Email marketing capabilities facilitate the creation, sending, and tracking of outreach emails.
Sales automation workflows minimize manual tasks with scheduled email sequences, follow-ups, etc.
Call tracking functionality is enhanced by AI-powered conversation intelligence that provides you with insights based on your call recordings.
CRM functionality centralizes lead nurturing and sales processes under one roof.
Sales analytics gives you a grasp of the overall health of your sales pipeline.
HubSpot AI helps you draft engaging cold emails.
Why choose HubSpot
A comprehensive platform for teams looking for a tool to manage the entire sales process from start to finish.
HubSpot CRM is available for free with limited features, making it an excellent choice for small businesses with simpler sales processes.
Ideal for businesses needing a sales automation tool that integrates effortlessly with their existing tech stack.
Provides tools for customer support and marketing teams alongside sales features, making it easy to coordinate efforts across different departments.
HubSpot’s limitations
While the basic CRM is free, paid plans quickly increase in cost with advanced features and add-ons.
HubSpot doesn’t offer integrated data sources and automated prospecting solutions.
6. Growbots
Shifting away from conventional sales CRMs, Growbots specializes in dedicated prospecting software designed for small businesses.
The platform automates outbound sales processes like prospect search, lead enrichment, email sequences, follow-ups, and more.
The search filters are particularly handy; in addition to basic criteria like company size and industry, they allow you to identify qualified leads based on factors such as funding rounds and the technologies used on their company websites.
Growbots features
Prospecting tools find and qualify potential leads based on your ICP.
The outreach platform automates and speeds up your lead outreach and nurturing workflows.
Email warm-up service develops your sender reputation and improves cold email deliverability.
Email health check is an additional service provided by Growbots for those needing help maintaining sender account compliance.
Concierge is another extra service by Growbots that allows you to outsource your outbound sales efforts.
Why choose Growbots
Access to over 180 million verified contacts for targeted outreach.
Laser-focused on automating prospecting and outbound processes.
Small business owners will benefit from the ability to consult SDR pros.
Growbots’ limitations
Lacks advanced AI functionalities seen in some competitors.
Limited integration options.
Users get charged every time they send an email—so it's not very scalable.
7. Lusha
Lusha is a B2B sales prospecting platform with many blows and whistles.
At the heart of Lusha's capabilities lies its database of 135 million verified B2B leads. Once you’ve specified your ideal audience with advanced search filters, Lusha searches its database and pinpoints buyers who are most likely to convert.
Initially designed as a lead finder, Lusha has expanded its platform to include email engagement functionality. With it, you can reach out to prospects using basic automated email campaigns.
Key features
Prospecting filters range from tracking recent job changes to analyzing companies’ tech stacks and predicting conversion likelihood.
Contact enrichment adds detailed contact information directly into your CRM or sales tools.
Email engagement tools automate outreach with targeted email sequences.
Lusha Extension’s contact finder lets you find contact details directly from LinkedIn profiles and other websites.
Prospecting API allows you to easily update and enrich large amounts of lead data in your CRM.
Why choose Lusha
Fully eliminates the need to search for leads manually.
Claims compliance with the world's highest international privacy standards.
SDRs mainly favor Lusha for its browser extension, simplifying contact extraction from LinkedIn profiles.
User-friendly setup and operation, suitable for all experience levels.
Lusha’s limitations
Unlike Artisan and Growbots, Lusha lacks email deliverability tools.
It isn't powered by AI, which also means it doesn’t assist you with email outreach or optimize its prospecting workflows automatically.
8. Apollo
At its core, much like Artisan, Growbots, and Lusha, Apollo features a vast database of verified B2B contacts. What sets Apollo apart is its integration of prospecting tools with end-to-end sales automation capabilities, including deal management and full-funnel automation workflows.
Apollo also facilitates cold calls with its built-in click-to-call dialer and conversation intelligence. The platform records phone calls, transcribes them, extracts AI insights, and syncs the data to your CRM.
Key features
Contact and account search helps you find ideal leads and companies quickly.
Intent signals like website engagement, headcount growth, and other custom criteria are monitored to spot when prospects show interest and are ready to engage.
Click-to-call dialing lets you make cold calls directly within the platform.
Meeting scheduler syncs with your calendar for easy appointment booking.
Chrome extension provides quick access to Apollo’s features from LinkedIn, your CRM system, or other cloud software.
Sales performance overview uncovers insights into your team’s activity, outreach efforts, messaging effectiveness, etc.
Why choose Apollo
Lets you connect with prospects both through email outreach and cold calls.
Centralizes outbound and inbound sales strategies within a single platform.
Uses AI for personalized prospect recommendations, data analysis, and email writing.
Apollo’s limitations
Apollo’s email engagement suite doesn’t include a warmup feature.
The wide array of tools may feel confusing, especially if you don’t need all of them.
Help content isn’t comprehensive enough to smoothly navigate Apollo’s functionality.
9. Close
Close is a small business CRM solution with dedicated outbound sales tools.
With Close, you can create automated workflows with custom follow-up email sequences, cadences, and triggers. It also supports built-in calling features like a power dialer, predictive dialer, call coaching, and recording.
The call coaching feature is particularly noteworthy as it allows you to train or assist your sales reps during live calls. You can listen in, whisper advice, or join the call based on the rep’s needs.
Key features
Workflow automation doubles the productivity of SDRs and sales reps with multichannel sequences and automated follow-ups.
The SMS integration allows you to send and receive texts directly within the CRM.
Zoom + Close sync enables automated logging and tracking of your Zoom calls.
Meeting scheduling helps you book and manage appointments effortlessly.
Team collaboration features support seamless communication and task management among your sales team.
Call assistant provides tools for call management, coaching, and recording.
Sales AI rewrites your emails, summarizes your sales calls, and creates meeting agendas for you.
Why choose Close
Multichannel communication tools.
Ideal for SDRs who focus on cold calling.
Designed specifically to meet the needs of small businesses.
Intuitive CRM experience, no matter your level of expertise.
Close’s limitations
Doesn’t have a lead database.
As a small business CRM, it lacks flexibility for custom needs.
10. Gong
Gong is a sales intelligence platform designed for mid-sized businesses.
Data is Gong's strongest asset. Its AI-driven analytics and extended forecasting functionality make it a top choice for data-driven sales teams.
On top of that, users particularly appreciate the call recording feature with AI follow-ups. The platform records, transcribes, and analyzes every call, then suggests AI-generated emails to follow up with leads.
Key features
Email engagement tools help you design, launch, and track email interactions with prospects.
Automated flows streamline sales activities by recommending the next steps and automatically adjusting your strategy with winning plays.
Call intelligence assists you during and after calls.
Forecast projections provide accurate sales forecasts.
AI tools power all of Gong’s features.
Why choose Gong
Gong’s predictive forecasting tools greatly assist with goal setting and capacity planning.
Coaching tools for growing teams.
Powerful data analytics capabilities for data-driven teams.
Seamless integrations with third-party systems.
AI isn’t just a buzzword in Gong. With the Ask Anything feature, you can get quick intelligent answers to any question about your next steps or sales performance.
Gong’s limitations
The extensive functionality comes with a significant cost; Gong is positioned as one of the higher-end options in the market.
Not suitable for small businesses and beginners.
Hand Over the Routine Tasks to Your Sales Stack
Finding qualified leads remains the biggest challenge for SDRs, but prospective and current SDRs can stand out by getting familiar with different AI tools. Improve your tech stack with an AI-powered SDR by Artisan and start hitting your monthly quota.
Our AI BDR Ava will fill your pipeline with qualified leads while you’re busy with high-priority tasks. Try Ava now.
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