Best B2B Lead Generation Tools – Get More Leads
Hey everyone. Jason here, digital marketing
consultant. And in this lead generation guide, we're going to go through the best software
solutions out there for generating leads online. Go ahead and check out that timestamps below, along with some other helpful videos
to actually building out your funnel. Once you decide which tools and software
is best for you and your business. So here is a quick little rundown of the type
of lead generation funnel we're going to be going through. We'll go through some tools for
traffic generation, of course, your landing pages, your lead magnets, what to do with your emails.
And of course, actually what software to use when booking strategy calls as well as pre-qualifying
people so you don't get on the phone with a bunch of unqualified prospects. Again, timestamps below.
Let's go ahead and jump right in the very first step in any lead generation process is of course
collecting the leads. Right. And to do that, we're going to need a landing page.
Well,
I guess the first step would be getting the attention that people getting your landing
page, but we'll get to that in the last step. So here let's go and talk about what's the
best type of landing page software to use if you're simply trying to generate leads online,
and that is going to be lead pages. Now we have tested a lot of different funnel building
solutions from ClickFunnels Kartra Kajabi, groove pages and we've gone the other route
looking at Unbounced and Insta page and lead pages in terms of just building and testing, landing
pages has come out to be the best solution.
It is, of course not the cheapest by far. And when you
compare the cost of lead pages to some of the funnel building softwares out there that
seem to offer more services, if your goal is. Optimize conversions, especially from paid
traffic. Lead pages is the best way to go. Despite the higher price tag and the less features
you seem to be getting when you compare it to some of the other funnel builders out there,
because lead pages really is just a landing page builder. Now, the second tool on our list here for
creating landing pages is going to be mailer Lite. Now I know MailerLite is not actually a landing
page builder.
It's an email autoresponder. We'll get to auto responders. But the reason I'm going
to include it here as a very distant second is because for a lot of service providers
and businesses who are trying to generate leads online, you don't need
a really fancy landing page. And some of what Lee pages offers
is just downright overkill, especially if you're not running a lot
of pages. So I'll link up in the cards, in the description to a video that takes
a much deeper dive on this diagram, where we go through the four key components
of a landing page using the ADA framework.
And this is an example of a landing
page. We put together in less than 20 minutes using the mailer Lite builder.
It's not going to win any design awards, but it does do the most important thing you need a
landing page to do, which is collect that contact information. Both lead pages and MailerLite
are going to allow you collect that contact information and both lead pages and mailer
light will allow you to add custom fields. So you can ask for more information, if
you want things beyond just the basic name, email, and or phone number. So the next step
on our funnel building journey is going to, of course be the lead magnet, how we
actually get people to opt in after all, we want to provide something of value
in exchange for that contact info. Because people aren't just going to necessarily
sign up directly for a strategy call, although that is a very viable option.
So
there are three different types of lead magnets I recommend making, and there are some
very specific softwares you can use in order to maximize your conversions. And of
course create actual value from your lead magnet and the first piece of software
I recommend for creating your lead magnet. Whether you're doing an audit, a report,
a template would be canvas. So canvas is a free tool, although you can upgrade for
Canva for work and the main advantage to upgrading to canvas for work versus just
using the free version is number one, you're going to be able to use graphics
and icons. Not everyone else is using. So your lead magnet will
look a little more unique. And then number two, you're going to be able to
do some advanced things like remove backgrounds and actually have longer PDFs.
And so
we use canvas a lot for our own PDFs. Here's an example of a couple of lead
magnets we've actually created using Canva. And if you want to see how you
can use Canva to create your lead. With whatever type of PDF you're
making, whether it's a report, a template or an audit, go and check out
the link in the cards and the description to a full blown video that shows you how to do
that. We recently did a video on how to make an ebook in canvas, and that will cover pretty much
any type of lead magnet that you want to make. Now, following up, if you're doing any.
Audit or template, you might want people to actually interact with your lead magnet.
And this is where PDF escape comes in. This is actually a a hundred percent
free tool. And so what you can do is you can export your design from Canva and
then upload it into the PDF escape software. And then what you're going to be able to do is create, fill in the blank. So you're
going to be able to create drop-downs and check boxes.
And so someone can actually
go through your template or your audit. They can make check marks, they can add their
own notes. And this allows you to essentially. Editable fields inside your PDF. And
it's something a lot of other business owners who are trying to generate leads,
aren't doing with their lead magnets. And after all, most people aren't going
to print out your ebook, your template, or your audit. Anyway, they just want
to go through it on their computer. So might as well take the extra effort
and allow them to just type in their answers. Again, Lincoln, the cards in the
description to that. For a canvas video that walks through exactly how to
do this. Now, the other type of lead magnet that I really like making is
a Excel sheet or Google sheet based one.
And so of course, Google drive is
going to be our next tool on this list. Now, even if you're not using Google drive for
business, you can still create a spreadsheet and actually share it and allow people to make
a copy and put it in their own Google drive. This is a really, really valuable. To quickly
create some great meaningful lead magnets. I'll link up in the cards, in the description to
a video that goes through four different types of Excel or Google sheets based lead magnets, tons of examples in that video. So once you have
your lead magnet, of course, now we need to start sending some emails to hopefully get someone
on the phone or check out your sales message. And there are. Of autoresponders out here.
We definitely have not tested all of them, but we have tested a lot. And so these are the
four that I recommend you actually pay attention to when it comes to deciding. And first up on our
autoresponder list is going to be mailer light again. Now, the reason I put mailer light first
is because for nine out of 10 business owners, MailerLite is going to have every
automation solution that you.
For generating leads. Now, if you want to do some
really complex automations and funnels, where if someone clicks one button, they get one email,
they click another button. They get another email MailerLite is definitely not for you. I'll get to
some other solutions for that. But when it comes to basic lead generation where you need to collect
contact information, Automatically send emails out and drive them to either a sales page or
booking page to start a strategy call with you. Mailer light has all of the functions
that you need without all of those extra bells and whistles that are just going to make
it more complex to put together your funnel more features is not always better. So what's
great about mailer Lite is with the free plan you can apply for one, you do need to
already have a business and a website. They don't like affiliate money. You can apply
for a free account and on the free plan, you can actually send automated emails.
So a Webber
and MailerLite are the only two that I know of as of the recording of this video, that allows
you to build landing pages and send automated emails. The only reason I'm not putting a Weber
first is because we are still testing them. Although they recently came out with a free
plan as an, a couple of months of the recording of this video. So we're still testing it and
comparing it to MailerLite make sure you hit that subscribe button to learn which one actually
wins because right now it's pretty dang close. We're still using Miller light and you can make
free landing pages and send automatic emails. And of course those emails can drive
traffic to whatever your sales message or your booking page for your strategy calls may
be. Now the second one on our list is actually going to. Get response. And the reason
get responses here is while they don't really have a free plan that you can
try out, they do have a free trial.
And if you're looking for
those advanced automations and you want a lot of you want to
build a fully functioning sales funnel. You want a checkout page? You want some upsells
and you want a sales page and do some more split testing and have some automated sequences.
Then get response definitely is for you. It goes well beyond what you need for lead
generation, but that's why it would be number two on this list. And then the next two are
just honorable mentions when it comes to automation. I personally liked the way
convert kit handles advanced automation. So if you want to do anything with advanced
email automations and you already have your webpages for your funnel handled through some
other software convert kit is number one. They do not allow. Automatic emails on
their free plan. And I'm not a huge fan of their landing pages as of the recording
of this video, but when it comes to just handling email automations without any other
features, I still think convert kit is number one.
And then then honorable mention
number two, here is going to be a Webber, which seems to be on the path to be a real
contender with convert kit and mailer light. Because I'm still testing. I
can't say that you should use it, but there they do have a free plan. So you
can go ahead and check them out. Although I think MailerLite is still number one in this
category. So once you've collected that email, you probably want to get people on the phone with
you to actually book a strategy or sales call.
And of course, That lead. And so to do that,
there are two pieces of software I recommend using either Calendly or book like a boss. And here the
goal is to automate the scheduling process because I can tell you from personal experience,
it is no fun to have back and forth emails with multiple leads at the same time saying,
okay, I'll talk to you on Friday after. Three o'clock and then you have to remember, oh my
gosh, I forgot to ask them what time zone it is. And then by the time you're back and forth,
you're double or triple booked. Right? So go ahead. Use an automated system. I recommend
using Calendly here or book like a boss. I recommend you go through Calendly first, because
while it does have a little less features, when you start paying for the software, I think it's
going to be more than enough for actually booking.
Your strategy calls and integrating with
whatever systems you're already using, of course, do double and triple check the
integrations and features of both before you wind up signing up for any sort of annual plan,
because you definitely don't want to get 40 to five days in and realize. I actually don't have
the features that I need, but when it comes to just booking your strategy calls, Calendly is
more than enough and they also have a free plan. So you can easily get started. Now the final step
of this booking process, you probably want to have something in between when they schedule a call
with you. And when you actually jump on the phone, because you want to make sure that
you have actually qualified people on the phone, because it's no fun to
get 10 minutes into a sales conference.
You're on the hook for 45 minutes and you realize
this person is never, ever going to be a good fit for us. Right? So I recommend using something like
Google forms to ask a couple of pre-qualifying questions so that you have a better understanding
of who you're about to hop on the phone with. And it gives you a little information, so
you can be better prepared for the call. This has been really, really helpful to us and
cutting down on the number of sales conversations we have started. And then you get that 10 or 15
minute mark marketing. Wow. If I just know that one piece of information, we could have skipped
all of this headache. And then you just go through the sales call, even though you know, that it's
not really a good fit for either one of you. So I highly recommend that.
And of course you can use Google forums with the free version
of drive.
You don't have to have G suite for business. So that does it for the
tools for your actual funnel software itself. Let's go and talk about how to actually get
traffic to your funnel with traffic software. Now, there are. Of traffic management
tools out there, keyword research tools and tracking tools. And when it comes
to running Google ads or YouTube ads, you definitely do not need a software to
help you optimize. Now I could get on a soapbox and talk all day about why most of
those softwares out there don't really help. But unless you have multiple clients or you are
spending more than 10 K a month in ad spend on Facebook or Google, you do not need to use
any sort of software to help you optimize your campaigns. Just spend the time. I know it's
time-consuming and it can be tedious and annoying, but you're going to be very thankful
that you yourself go into your campaigns. See what's. What's not working and make the
adjustments yourself as opposed to using some sort of software as a crutch, trying to tell you
what is or is not working in your ads account.
So I'll get off that soap box. But when
it comes to running paid traffic or doing organic via a blog, there are some
tools out there that can be very helpful. The first one is going to be answer the public for
organic. So if you're trying to rank blog posts, answer the public can be a really valuable
tool to help you understand all of those. What and how to searches that go into Google
and can give you some money. For content now, when it comes to more advanced keyword research
or keyword research beyond the keyword research tool for paid ads with Google, then Uber suggest
by Neil Patel is a great tool to start with. There are some limitations now on the free version
that is offered and there is a paid version. But even if you go with the paid version,
it's significantly less expensive than a lot of other keyword tools out there before
we move on to the next two. I just want to quickly mention SpyFu is a helpful tool when
you're just getting started with Google ads.
Although it's not a huge recommendation,
especially if you're not spending more than five K a month on ads, you'll find that
SpyFu actually does a really good job of pulling keywords from your competitors, but just because
your competitors are using the keywords doesn't necessarily mean you should. And most of the
time, what we found using SpyFu and tools like SpyFu is that a lot of our competitors are using
keywords that wound up being really, really bad. So just keep that in mind.
You definitely don't want a tool. That's just going to copy
what your competitors are doing. You want to do your own research. You want to
be inside your own traffic campaigns. Okay. I'll get off that soapbox. These next two tools
are going to be helpful and no ranting here. Number one is going to be Google analytics.
On the brakes. I know you're like, ah, I already have Google analytics on
my site and it doesn't do anything. Hold on.
There is something that's
incredibly valuable with Google analytics that a lot of people don't use and
that is UTM parameters. So I'll wake up in the cards and the description to a video
that goes deep, dive into UTM parameters. I won't bore you with it now, but essentially
what you're able to do is you're able to create special tracking links that allow you to see the
exact. Content and organize all of your links by campaign. So you have a very detailed breakdown
on exactly what content or ads are working and maybe more importantly, what exactly
what ads and content are not working now, as of the recording of this video,
the new version of Google analytics, what we're calling Google analytics for
does not actually have this information.
So if you haven't set up Google analytics, you still need the universal code and you need
the measurement ID. So you need both until Google analytics. Catches up and actually provide you
this information. So just a quick tidbit, if you just set up Google analytics, go ahead and do some
research on how to set up the old version as well. You still can you need you AE
on your site in addition to the measurement ID. So you need both until
Google analytics. Catches up and really, I think just fixes a bug because you
should be able to see that information. Okay. I promised I wasn't gonna read, so this
last one on the list is going to be pretty links. And so if you're doing anything
with content marketing, this is an absolute lifesaver and
game-changers. You probably have some links that you share over and over and over
again. And so what this pretty links allows you to do is create a short link using your
domain. And then you can share that link. Now, obviously that's not really revolutionary.
You've probably heard of link shorteners before, but what's great is number one, it
puts the traffic through your domain. Not some other softwares.
And so you can actually
get a tremendous amount of information from that, but more importantly, number two, it's
very easy to update the destination URL. So let's say for example, you're doing a
series of blog posts or YouTube videos, or you're posting on Facebook and you are
linking to your strategy call page or your landing page. Well, if you blinked directly
to one of those pages, What happens when you need to change the URL in the future, you'd
have to go find every single post, right? Whereas with pretty links, because it is a
link shortener and forwarder, you're going to be able to just go into pretty links. You
change the landing page to your booking page or your new landing page or some other page on your
website that you want to drive traffic to now, instead of the old one. And because it
is forwarding, pretty links is able to take all the links that you've already
made and send them to that new destination.
And the old one is like, it never existed. So
I highly recommend, even if you're only sharing once or twice a week, use pretty links
for all of the key pages in your funnel, because it's going to be invaluable when it comes
time to switch softwares or switch landing pages, you just update the pretty link
and then you don't have to go find. Facebook post or tweet or YouTube video or
blog posts that you shared that particular landing page, your booking page on. So thank you
so much for watching. Sincerely hope you got some value out of this video.
Most importantly,
you have some ideas on the type of software you can use to better generate leads online,
and of course, make it a whole lot easier. So again, links in the description to
some deeper dive videos that go into actually building this funnel and
how to use some of these software. There are no affiliate links in the
description. So make sure you hit that like button subscribe for more deep dive
reviews and break downs, just like this one. And until the next keep
building the business you love..
