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Want to boost your sales pipeline conversions by 10x or more? Outbound sales automation could be the secret sauce you’re craving.
The right tool can streamline processes, enhance communication, and significantly improve your lead conversion rates.
In this article, you'll learn:
- The 6 best outbound sales automation tools
- Why outbound sales automation matters
- Key challenges of outbound sales (and how to fix them)
- What to expect from outbound sales automation tools
- Tips for personalizing outreach at scale
- FAQs about outbound sales automation
The 6 best outbound sales automation tools: Quick guide
Here's a quick rundown of the top outbound sales automation tools we'll cover, each with its own unique strengths and ideal use cases:
- Lindy: The best all-in-one AI-powered platform for automating a wide range of sales tasks.
- Cognism: Best for businesses that need accurate and compliant contact data to fuel their outreach.
- Gong: Best for sales teams looking to gain deeper insights into their customer conversations and improve their overall effectiveness.
- Outreach: Best for sales teams that rely heavily on outbound communication and want to facilitate their workflows with AI-powered insights.
- PhantomBuster: Best for automating social media lead generation and engagement, particularly on LinkedIn.
- HubSpot Sales Hub: Best for businesses that want an all-in-one platform for their marketing and sales efforts, with a focus on inbound strategies.
How we chose the best outbound sales tools
To help you cut through the noise, we've rolled up our sleeves and done the heavy lifting, evaluating each tool based on what matters most. Let’s zoom in:
Automation capabilities
First things first, we looked at how well each tool can actually automate those essential outbound sales tasks. Can it handle finding leads, sending personalized emails, and scheduling follow-ups without you having to babysit it every step of the way?
A good outbound sales automation tool should be like a trusty sidekick, taking care of the grunt work so you can focus on the big picture.
AI and insights
We also checked out each tool's AI capabilities and whether it can provide those "aha!" moments that help you make smarter decisions. Does it offer things like lead scoring, predictive analytics, or the ability to analyze sales conversations? A
top-notch outbound sales automation tool should be like having a crystal ball, giving you a glimpse into the future of your sales pipeline.
Ease of use
Nobody wants to spend hours wrestling with a complicated tool that feels like it was designed by rocket scientists. We made sure each tool is user-friendly and can be implemented without needing a degree in software engineering.
A good outbound sales automation tool should be like a well-oiled machine, running smoothly and intuitively without any hiccups.
CRM integration
Your CRM is the command center for your sales operation, so it's gotta play nice with your outbound sales automation tools. We made sure each tool can seamlessly integrate with popular CRM platforms, avoiding any data silos or compatibility clashes.
Extra features we evaluated:
We also took a peek under the hood to see what other nifty features each tool has to offer:
To make sure we're giving you the full picture, we also looked at whether each tool can handle outreach across different channels (email, calls, LinkedIn), offer lead scoring and predictive analytics, scale with your growing team, and provide resources to help you get up and running.
Oh, and of course, we checked if the pricing is reasonable — nobody wants a surprise bill that breaks the bank!
The 6 best outbound sales automation apps
1. Lindy — Best all-in-one AI-powered platform
Lindy is an AI-powered no-code platform that streamlines sales outreach and lead generation. Think of her as your autonomous sales assistant, capable of automating a wide range of tasks to help you close more deals.
She can be triggered by specific events, such as a new lead being added to your database and can connect to your favorite apps to complete tasks, such as sending personalized emails and updating your CRM. This makes Lindy one of the best outbound sales apps in the market.
Features
- Personalized outreach: Lindy can craft unique, tailored emails for each of your leads, boosting conversion rates. You can provide her with information about your leads, such as their name, company, and job title, and she will use this information to personalize her outreach messages.
- Follow-ups: Lindy handles follow-ups in your voice, freeing you to close more deals. She can be trained to respond to emails in your own style, so your leads will never know they're talking to a machine.
- Lead enrichment: Lindy can perform research on your leads and fetch relevant information to further enrich the data in your leads list, tailor the outreach, and increase response rates.
She can find their social media profiles, company website, and even their latest blog posts, so you can get to know your leads better and personalize your outreach even further.
- CRM updates: Lindy can automatically update your CRM when a lead responds. This ensures that your CRM is always up-to-date and that you have a clear picture of your sales pipeline. Outbound sales CRM management is one of Lindy’s strongest suits.
- Meeting scheduling: Lindy can schedule meetings and demos directly, keeping your calendar full. She can even send calendar invites and reminders to your leads, so you never miss a meeting.
Ideal users
Lindy is a great choice for sales teams who need outbound automation of their sales processes and to improve their efficiency. She is also ideal for sales representatives who are looking to take their productivity to unprecedented levels and close more deals.
Plus, Lindy is a valuable platform for sales managers who want to gain insights into their team's performance and track their progress.
Pricing
Lindy offers a free plan for a limited time and a Pro plan starting at $49 per month.
Bottom line
Lindy is a powerful outbound sales automation app that can help sales teams of all sizes close more deals. With its wide range of features and ease of use, Lindy is an ideal solution for any sales team looking to automate their outbound sales process without breaking the bank.
2. Cognism
Cognism is all about giving you the right data to fuel your outbound sales efforts. It's a sales intelligence platform packed with B2B contact data, which is a must-have for effective lead generation and prospecting.
Features
- Diamond data enrichment: Cognism goes beyond basic contact details. They use "Diamond Data" to enrich your existing records with up-to-date information like job titles, phone numbers, and email addresses.
- Intent data: Cognism helps you pinpoint companies actively looking for solutions like yours. They track signals like website visits, content downloads, and social media engagement to pinpoint prospects showing buying intent.
- Global reach + local compliance: Cognism provides access to a massive database of global contacts while emphasizing compliance with data privacy regulations like GDPR and CCPA. This is particularly valuable for businesses operating in multiple regions.
Ideal users
Cognism is a good fit for sales teams who rely heavily on accurate and compliant contact data. It's particularly useful for businesses in industries with strict data privacy regulations or those targeting specific demographics within a large pool of potential leads.
Pricing
Cognism offers custom pricing packages, so you can request a quote through their website.
Bottom line
While Cognism offers powerful data enrichment features, the lack of transparent pricing might be a hurdle for some businesses. It's worth exploring if accurate and compliant data is a top priority for your outbound sales automation strategy.
3. Gong
Gong takes a unique approach to outbound sales automation by focusing on conversation intelligence. It records and analyzes your sales calls, providing valuable insights into what's working and what's not.
It’s like having a fly on the wall during every sales conversation, capturing data that can help you improve your overall sales performance.
Features
- Call recording and transcription: Gong records and transcribes your sales calls, making it easy to review and analyze conversations. This eliminates the need for manual note-taking and guarantees you have a complete record of every interaction.
- Deal intelligence: Gong analyzes your calls to identify key moments and trends, such as competitor mentions, pricing discussions, and objections raised. Gong helps you understand what's happening in your deals and identify potential roadblocks.
- Sales coaching and feedback: Gong provides tools for sales managers to coach their reps and provide personalized feedback. Think of features like call scoring, performance tracking, and identifying areas for improvement.
Ideal users
Gong is a valuable tool for sales teams that want to gain a deeper understanding of their customer conversations and improve their overall sales effectiveness. It's particularly useful for sales managers who want to coach their reps and provide data-driven feedback.
Pricing
Gong offers flexible pricing based on your needs, so — just like with Cognism — you’ll have to submit a form and get pricing sent to you.
Bottom line
While Gong provides valuable insights into sales conversations, it's important to consider the cost and whether your team has the bandwidth to effectively utilize its features.
It's a powerful tool for outbound sales automation, but it requires a commitment to data analysis and coaching to maximize its value. Plus, hazy pricing and having to jump through hoops to get it in the first place can be a huge turnoff for many.
4. Outreach
Outreach is a popular sales engagement platform designed to help you, well, reach out more effectively. It's all about streamlining your communication and automating repetitive tasks so you can connect with more prospects and book more meetings.
Features
- Multi-channel sequences: Outreach allows you to create sequences of emails, calls, and social media touches to engage prospects across different channels. Outreach helps you create a consistent and personalized experience for your leads.
- AI-powered insights: Outreach incorporates AI to provide insights and recommendations for improving your outreach efforts. Some features include email sentiment analysis, content recommendations, and the best time to contact suggestions.
- Salesforce integration: Outreach integrates seamlessly with Salesforce, allowing you to sync data and automate workflows between the two platforms. This is particularly useful for teams already using Salesforce as their CRM.
Ideal users
Outreach is a good fit for sales teams that rely heavily on outbound communication and want to streamline their workflows. It's particularly useful for teams that want to incorporate AI-powered insights and integrate their outbound sales automation with Salesforce.
Pricing
Outreach offers custom pricing based on your needs, so — yet again, you’ll have to request a quote.
Bottom line
Outreach is a valuable tool for outbound sales automation, but its custom pricing model lacks transparency. It's worth considering if you're looking for a complete sales engagement platform and are comfortable with a potentially higher price point.
5. PhantomBuster
PhantomBuster is a bit of a different beast in the outbound sales automation world. It focuses on automating tasks across various online platforms, including LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram.
Features
- LinkedIn automation: PhantomBuster excels at automating LinkedIn tasks, such as profile viewing, connection requests, and message sending. PhantomBuster can help you expand your network and generate leads on the platform.
- Data extraction: PhantomBuster can extract data from websites, including contact information and company details. This can be useful for building targeted lists and enriching your CRM data.
- Workflow automation: PhantomBuster allows you to create automated workflows that connect different actions across various platforms. The goal is to help you simplify tasks like lead generation, data entry, and social media engagement.
Ideal users
PhantomBuster is a good option for businesses that want to automate their social media presence and generate leads from platforms like LinkedIn. It's also useful for teams that need to extract data from websites and automate repetitive tasks.
Pricing
PhantomBuster offers a free trial. They also have a variety of pricing plans based on the number of "Phantoms" (seats) you need. Their plans start at a reasonable price point of $56 per month, paid annually.
Bottom line
While PhantomBuster offers powerful automation features, it can be overwhelming for beginners due to its complexity. It's worth considering if you have the technical expertise to set up and manage its workflows the way you want to.
6. HubSpot Sales Hub
HubSpot Sales Hub is part of HubSpot's marketing and sales platform. It's designed to help you attract, engage, and convert leads into customers.
With a focus on inbound marketing and sales, HubSpot Sales Hub offers a suite of tools to streamline your outbound sales process and improve your overall sales performance.
Features
- Email tracking and sequences: HubSpot Sales Hub allows you to track email opens and clicks, providing insights into prospect engagement. You can also create automated email sequences to nurture leads and move them through the sales funnel.
- Meeting scheduling: HubSpot Sales Hub simplifies meeting scheduling by allowing prospects to book time directly from your calendar. They help eliminate the back-and-forth emails and ensure you never miss a meeting.
- Live chat and chatbots: HubSpot Sales Hub includes live chat and chatbot functionality, allowing you to engage with website visitors in real time and capture leads. Chatbots can be a valuable tool for qualifying leads and providing instant support.
Ideal users
HubSpot Sales Hub is a good fit for businesses that want an all-in-one platform for their marketing and sales efforts. It's particularly useful for teams that focus on inbound marketing and want to integrate their outbound sales automation with their CRM and marketing automation tools.
Pricing
HubSpot Sales Hub offers a variety of pricing plans based on the features and number of users you need. Keep in mind their Starter plan begins at $15 a month for just one seat but not all features are included.
Bottom line
While HubSpot Sales Hub offers a complete suite of features, it can be expensive for businesses that only need basic outbound sales automation functionality. It's worth considering if you're already using HubSpot's marketing tools or are looking for an all-in-one platform.
Why outbound sales automation matters
Outbound sales automation changes the game for businesses looking to boost their sales performance and reach new heights. But why exactly does outbound sales automation matter so much? Let's break it down:
- Supercharge your efficiency: Outbound sales automation takes the manual labor out of many sales tasks. Think of it as your AI-powered assistant that tirelessly scours the web for hot leads — all while you focus on building relationships and closing deals.
- Do outreach at a massive scale: By analyzing past campaign data, AI-powered outbound sales automation tools get smarter over time about what messaging and sending cadences work best.
- Free up your sales team: With AI handling the top of the funnel, your sales team can focus on selling. No more wasting time on tedious tasks. Outbound sales automation lets your team focus on building relationships and closing deals.
- Personalize at scale: Outbound sales automation allows you to personalize your outreach efforts even when reaching out to a large audience. By segmenting your leads and tailoring your messaging, you can make each prospect feel like you're speaking directly to them.
- Boost your lead generation: Outbound sales automation can help you generate more qualified leads by automating tasks like data mining and lead qualification. AI algorithms can sift through loads of data to find the leads most likely to convert.
- Improve your sales forecasting: Outbound sales automation can help you generate more accurate sales forecasts by analyzing historical data and market trends. This allows you to make better-informed decisions about resource allocation and goal setting.
Key challenges of outbound sales (and how to fix them)
Outbound sales can be a tough nut to crack. It's like trying to navigate a maze blindfolded while juggling chainsaws. Fortunately, with the right tools and strategies, you can overcome these challenges and emerge victorious. Let’s zoom in and see how:
Key challenge 1: Low response rates due to generic messaging
Let's be honest, nobody likes receiving generic, cookie-cutter emails that scream "mass marketing." It's like getting a birthday card addressed "To Whom It May Concern." — 0/10 experience.
If your outbound messages lack personalization, your prospects are more likely to hit the delete button seconds after your painfully generic emails hit their inbox.
How outbound sales automation tools help
Outbound sales automation tools can help you personalize your outreach at scale. They can pull in data about your prospects, such as their name, company, and job title, and use it to tailor your messages.
Key challenge 2: Inefficient lead prioritization
Chasing after every lead that crosses your path is like trying to herd cats. It's exhausting and unproductive. If you're not prioritizing your leads effectively, you're wasting valuable time and resources on prospects who are unlikely to convert.
How outbound sales automation tools help
Outbound sales automation tools can help you score and prioritize your leads based on criteria such as their engagement level, demographic fit, and buying signals.
They allow you to focus your efforts on the hottest prospects, improving your efficiency and increasing your chances of closing highly-coveted deals.
Key challenge 3: Lack of time for follow-ups
Following up with leads is crucial, but it can also be a major time sink. If you're constantly playing phone tag or sending reminder emails, you're not spending enough time on activities that directly contribute to closing deals.
How outbound sales automation tools help
Outbound sales automation tools can automate your follow-up process, sending emails and scheduling calls at the right time. This way, you’re making sure that your leads don't fall through the cracks and that you're staying top-of-mind throughout the sales cycle.
What to expect from outbound sales automation tools
We’ve explained why outbound sales automation tools are so important, especially in 2025 — a year where AI is likely to take even bigger leaps as this tech continues to evolve. But what exactly can you expect from these tools?
Let's take a peek:
- Lead generation automation: Forget the days of manually scouring the web for leads. Outbound sales automation tools can automatically spot and qualify potential customers, saving you time and effort.
- Outbound email automation: Say goodbye to generic, mass-marketing emails. Outbound sales automation tools can personalize your email outreach, making sure that your messages resonate with each recipient and boost your response rates.
- CRM integration: Keep your CRM up-to-date without lifting a finger. Outbound sales automation tools can integrate with your CRM, automatically logging activities, updating records, and providing a clear picture of your sales pipeline.
- Lead scoring and prioritization: Stop chasing dead-end leads. Outbound sales automation tools can score and prioritize your leads, helping you focus on the hottest prospects and improve your close rates.
- Performance monitoring: Track your progress and fine-tune your approach. Outbound sales automation tools provide data and analytics to help you monitor your performance, identify areas for improvement, and optimize your outreach for better results.
Tips for personalizing outreach at scale
Personalization is like the difference between a handwritten note and a mass-produced flyer. But how do you personalize your outreach when you're reaching out to hundreds or even thousands of prospects? Here are a few tips:
Tip 1: Use data-driven segmentation
Instead of blasting the same message to everyone, segment your audience based on factors like industry, job title, and company size. Doing so allows you to tailor your messaging to each group's specific needs and interests, making your outreach more relevant and engaging.
Tip 2: Automate follow-ups
Don't let your leads go cold. Use outbound sales automation tools to automate your follow-up process, sending timely emails and scheduling calls to keep your prospects engaged. This ensures that you're staying top-of-mind without adding to your workload.
Tip 3: Leverage multi-channel nurturing
Don't put all your eggs in one basket. Use a mix of channels, such as email, social media, and even direct mail, to nurture your leads. This way you can reach your prospects where they're most active and provide an all-around more engaging experience.
FAQs about outbounds sales automation
What is outbound sales automation?
Outbound sales automation uses software to automate tasks in the sales process, such as lead generation, outreach, and follow-up. It helps sales teams increase efficiency and productivity by automating redundant tasks, allowing them to focus on other key business areas.
What KPIs should I track for outbound sales automation success?
KPIs for outbound sales automation success include: The number of leads generated, outreach activities (emails, calls, social media interactions), response rates, conversion rates, and ultimately, revenue generated.
What’s the difference between inbound and outbound sales automation?
Inbound sales automation focuses on nurturing leads who have already expressed interest in your product or service, while outbound sales automation involves proactively reaching out to potential customers who may not be aware of your business.
Inbound automation often involves tools like email marketing and chatbots, while outbound automation may include features like lead generation, personalized email sequences, and automated follow-ups.
What’s the best outbound sales tool for small businesses?
Lindy is an excellent outbound sales tool for small businesses due to its affordability, ease of use, and wide range of features. It allows small businesses to automate tasks such as lead generation, personalized email outreach, and CRM updates, even without coding knowledge.
How can AI improve outbound sales?
AI can significantly improve outbound sales by automating repetitive tasks, personalizing outreach at scale, and providing data-driven insights to optimize the sales process.
AI-powered tools can analyze customer data to identify the best leads, craft compelling messages, and predict the best times for outreach, leading to more efficiency and higher conversion rates.
Getting started with an AI-powered outbound sales app
Ready to ditch the soul-crushing grind of manual outbound sales and step into a world of AI-powered efficiency? Lindy is your secret weapon for conquering the sales landscape and closing more deals than ever before.
Lindy can be your go-to AI-powered sales assistant, automating everything from lead generation and personalized outreach to CRM updates and meeting scheduling.
But she’s more than just an outbound sales automation tool. She's your partner in simplifying workflows, automating tedious tasks, and driving productivity across your entire business.
Ready to experience the Lindy difference? Try Lindy for free today.
