There is more to know about your target customers than their names, position titles, and company details. This guide will help you understand how sales intelligence software can get valuable and in-depth customer data.
In over a decade as an entrepreneur, I had my fair share of hardships in manually searching, collecting, analyzing, and evaluating data on my potential customers. Fortunately, I have discovered the wonder of competitive intelligence software for sales to speed up the process without compromising quality.
I have explored and tested many sales intelligence tools, and today, I will share my top 7+ picks that can save you a lot of research time. It also includes where the data comes from, how to narrow your search, and more relevant information.
- What Is The Best Sales Intelligence Software?
- 1. Lead411 – Top Pick
- 2. UpLead – Best Value For Money
- 3. Cognism – Most Features
- 4. Winmo – Best For Identifying Opportunities
- 5. Vainu – Best For Building A Stable Data Foundation
- 6. LinkedIn Sales Navigator – All-In-One Solution
- 7. ZoomInfo – Uses Technographic & Firmographic Data
- 8. Lusha – Most Reliable Chrome Extension
- Conclusion
What Is The Best Sales Intelligence Software?
If you are in a hurry, here are my top 3 picks at a glance: Lead411, UpLead, and Cognism.
   4.8 |   4.5 |   4.1 |
| Best overall. Comprehensive database (450 million contact info). Starts at $900/year/user. | Best value for money. Easy-to-use platform with advanced search features. Starts at $99/month. | Most features. Sales intelligence platform that provides premium B2B data. Custom pricing. |
| Try Lead411 | Try UpLead | Try Cognism |
Continue reading to know more about the other features of these sales intelligence platforms.
1. Lead411 – Top Pick
B2B Marketing & Sales Intelligence Data Platform [$900 a year/user]
Focusing on the right customers allows you to close more deals faster and increases customer lifetime value. Lead411 can help by providing a database with over 450 million contacts.
You can access it anytime to search for your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP).
Where did they get the data from?
It mostly comes from their in-house research team. But they also use several sources, including ten different data providers, proprietary algorithms, and real-time validation.
You can use its advanced search functionalities to pinpoint your ICP.
You can also sort the results by Lead Scores, the best feature to identify the hottest prospects you can target. It uses a Growth Intent algorithm to evaluate each company and give the most accurate score.
If you can’t find particular contact information like an email address, you can use its AI-powered research tool to find the best possible match.
Sales intelligence software often includes different categories. Aside from what is discussed above, Lead411 also covers contact enrichment and data verification.
Contact enrichment is about cleaning and syncing your database to your customer relationship management (CRM) system.
Currently, Lead411 supports more than 25 CRMs like Salesforce and HubSpot, and you can connect them through simple integration. Enrichment APIs are also provided.
On the other hand, data verification uses different methods to ensure all data provided is properly researched, formatted, and verified.
The company also includes a proprietary algorithm, A.I. technology, and a human data verification team to ensure all data are accurate. A 90-day re-verification is performed to eliminate outdated data.
Lead411 can certainly help you identify all potential sales opportunities and the right moment to reach out.
Pros And Cons Of Lead411
| Pros | Cons |
| Chrome extension is simple and easy to use | Search functionality isn’t that impressive |
| No additional onboarding or setup fees | Not all email IDs are verified |
| Suitable for all company sizes, but most reliable for mid-sized businesses | |
| All generated data are CCPA and GDPR compliant. |
Lead411 Pricing Plan
Quality data with unmatched research and verification processes, Lead411 is undoubtedly a must to get. Currently, it offers three subscription plans which you can pay monthly or annually. It’s a plus that it also offers a pricing plan that fits all budgets and sales goals.
Each subscription plan is designed per user, the number of contacts you can maintain, and the type of goal/user. Take a look at each pricing plan to have an idea. All stated prices are set for the annual billing cycle.
- Basic ($900/year/user): The recommended pricing plan for individuals. You can start managing up to 2,400 contacts per year, use basic Growth Triggers and other standard sales intelligence features.
- Pro ($1,800/year/user): Enjoy all features included in the Basic plan plus 5,400 contacts per year, lead scoring, and get assistance through chat.
- Enterprise (Custom pricing): The recommended pricing plan for teams. Include unlimited contacts, tech stack data, and more.
Lead411 promises to deliver verified lead data with 96% accuracy. If you’re in doubt, you can sign up for its 7-day free trial and test it.
2. UpLead – Best Value For Money
B2B Sales Intelligence & Lead Generation Software [$99 a month | Free]
UpLead is a combination of lead generation and sales intelligence solutions. Together, they can better acquire new leads with in-depth data.
How can this software acquire qualified leads?
Its system is built with sophisticated data collection and verification processes. It starts with the search process – crawling millions of web pages and analyzing all public documents available.
The public documents cover news articles, blogs, social media, press releases, and more.
UpLead’s team of experts also uses license data from trusted third parties to gather more data. When all the data are collected, its system will use various methods to categorize and label each.
Machine learning, rule-based learning, and proprietary algorithms are the methods it uses.
All data are also continuously undergoing testing and verification to remove incorrect, outdated, and unverifiable information. You can immediately see the verification status on the contact search result.
Finding the right prospects and approaching them at the right moment seems challenging. UpLead opens an opportunity for you by providing intent data insights.
This feature generates a list of engaged leads that actively search for the same products or services you sell.
You can prioritize this list and personalize the message to send. Use its perfect timing feature so that you can also send the messages at the right time.
Currently, it maintains a database with over 85 million B2B contacts and 14 million company profiles (global).
Do you want to search for potential customers by technology?
You’re in luck because UpLead uses technographic data (over 16,000 technology data points). Searching for a specific web or mobile technology is easy – include technologies (under search criteria) from your list.
Building quality leads has never been easier. But of course, it isn’t limited to that. There are more features available in UpLead’s platform, and most belong to the categories listed below.
- Data enrichment
- Chrome extension
- API
- Email verification
- Email finder
Pros And Cons Of UpLead
| Pros | Cons |
| Excellent user interface, straightforward and easy to use | It would be helpful to make the search and filter options more user-friendly. |
| Good starting point for startups and small businesses | No refund policy is provided |
| Fantastic onboarding experience | |
| Customer support is helpful. |
UpLead Pricing Plan
UpLead offers flexible subscription plans. The monthly plans provide no contract, while the annual plans offer a 25% discount.
Each subscription plan is mainly designed per credit limit.
If you want more, you can always add credits without upgrading your current subscription plan. I have listed an overview of the monthly subscription plans to give you an idea.
- Free trial (5 credits): A single-user account perfect for testing UpLead’s sales intelligence features. There is no time limit; you can upgrade once you use all the available credits.
- Essentials ($99/month): A single user account that includes 170 credits, verified emails and phone numbers, mobile direct dials, company news, Chrome extension, and CRM integration.
- Plus ($199/month): A single user account with 400 credits, all Essential features, data enrichment, advanced search filters, and more.
- Professional ($399/month): A team account (5 users max) that includes 1,000 credits and all features UpLead offers.
Do you need 3,000 credits monthly or more?
If so, contact sales support to get a custom pricing quote.
3. Cognism – Most Features
Advanced Sales Intelligence Platform Provides High-Quality, Real-Time B2B Data [Custom Pricing]
Cognism maintains a database with over 5.6 billion data points. It includes 400 million business profiles and 10 million companies.
The best part of it, this sales management software uses premium data.
Diamond Data® is used for verifying phone numbers. It undergoes extensive phone verification processes to ensure getting prospects’ accurate contact details.
It also offers the Diamonds-on-Demand® feature, which allows you to request Cognism’s experts to search or verify a specific phone number.
When it comes to emails, Cognism only provides B2B email addresses.
Account managers and sales reps can connect with their target accounts and contacts. You can enjoy its contextual data if you want to start meaningful conversations.
Cognism can deliver this type of data because it’s built with a combination of intent data, growth triggers, and technographics.
Each type has its unique strengths. I will discuss it briefly to give you an idea.
- Intent data helps uncover the hidden aspects of the buyer’s journey.
- Growth triggers provide data about the companies’ changes – promoting rapid growth or appointing new decision-makers, for example.
- Technographics provides an in-depth understanding of the companies’ tech stacks (what they need and are they ready to invest).
Cognism also sets a new standard for data compliance and user safety.
The generated data meets all GDPR and CCPA requirements by default. As part of the GDPR standard, data vendors are required to notify all people (included in the prospect lists) before using their personal data on marketing campaigns.
If the individuals refuse, they have the option to opt-out.
This sales intelligence software provides DNC-cleaned phone numbers too. Your sales teams can only focus on dialing to the target accounts and prevent chasing dead-ends.
Sales intelligence improves the entire sales process using automation and streamlining your workflow. Cognism allows you to do that using its premium integration partnership.
Simply join the partner program to get access to all applications or services you need (Bombora, Outreach, LeanData, etc.).
Pros And Cons Of Cognism
| Pros | Cons |
| Offer easy-to-install and use Chrome extension (also available via web platform). | Provide extensive data of prospect leads, but sometimes data are outdated or invalid. |
| Built with complete compliance – GDPR, CCPA, Notified Database, DNC lists, opt-outs, and ISO 27001 | |
| All contacts include validated mobile numbers and verified emails | |
| Partnered with Bombora to get quality intent data |
Cognism Pricing Plan
Cognism is trusted by thousands of customers worldwide. On top of its superb data quality and compliance, it also offers flexible and scalable pricing plans.
Cognism offers two pricing plans where each provides a detailed walkthrough to help you train your salespeople or sales manager.
- Platinum (Custom pricing): Includes standard features such as rich company information and profiles, Diamond phone-verified data, technographics, and sales trigger events.
- Diamond (Custom pricing): Include all Platinum features with additional access to intent data and Diamonds-on-demand.
Request a live demo now to get started.
4. Winmo – Best For Identifying Opportunities
Sales Intelligence Software Feature A Smart Sales Predictor [Custom Pricing]
There is a solution to every problem. Winmo stands out because it offers unique sales intelligence and lead generation solutions for different revenue teams.
I have listed below the four most popular solutions they offer to give you an idea.
- Agencies that are looking for new business opportunities without relying on RFPs (request for proposal) and referrals
- Boost your ad sales goals by connecting with 175,000+ key decision-makers from different brands, agencies, and companies.
- Track decision-makers who handle marketing and ad technology investments
- Scoring sponsorship opportunities
Of course, Winmo isn’t restricted in providing solutions for these areas.
It’s versatile sales intelligence software that can provide answers to other prospecting problems while achieving your business goals. Data accuracy is also guaranteed.
Unlike other software, all generated sales intelligence data of Winmo is verified by real human researchers (in-house).
This saves you time and effort from endless searching of contact details (e.g. direct dial and email address) from Google, LinkedIn, and other public documents online. All data are verified every 60 days.
All you need to do is access their database and use its advanced search functions.
It includes filters that allow you to refine your search. Title, territory, revenue, industry, and social demographic are a few options.
It also added a category for MarTech (which tracks over 1,500 providers).
MarTech is short for marketing technology. It refers to software and tools that help marketers plan, execute, and measure their marketing activities (online and offline).
Assuming you generated your prospect list, you can begin to organize and even sync them to your existing business systems like Slack and MS Dynamics.
WinmoStream API is the sales intelligence tool you can count on in integrating a CRM with Winmo. It can streamline the entire sales process by helping you distribute leads, set up automated data updates (daily, weekly, or custom intervals), and more.
Another advantage of this software is WinmoEdge.
WinmoEdge is a smart sales predictor that monitors all types of signals that create sales opportunities. Spending shifts, earnings, and new hires are a few factors it considers to provide accurate data.
Aside from predicting the hottest leads to target, WinmoEdge can also predict the best time to connect with them.
There are more features available on Winmo’s platform. I have listed the most useful to make the most out of it.
- Account insights – Provide quality new contacts and insider tips on national advertisers and their agencies.
- Alerts – Set alerts whenever important changes happen to your prospects or categories that matter to your business.
- Recommendations – Winmo tracks your prospecting patterns to provide look-alike opportunities worth targeting.
Pros And Cons Of Winmo
| Pros | Cons |
| Excellent search functionality | Some information provided is outdated (e.g. contacts) |
| Best sales prospecting tool for Salesforce | Only supports limited CRM systems (HubSpot, Salesforce, and Microsoft Dynamics) |
| Winmo alerts offer recommendations based on your activities within the software. |
Winmo Pricing Plan
Pay only for what you need is what Winmo sales intelligence software offers. They offer three pricing structures which all provide GDPR compliance, 24/7 Support (chat and email), and a dedicated customer success representative.
I have listed a brief overview of what you can expect from each pricing plan to help you make an informed decision. If you have questions, you can contact the live chat support rep.
- Insider (Custom pricing): Include WinmoEdge, industry insights, alerts, and recommendations.
- Advance (Custom pricing): All features included in Insider with additional access to intent insights, Google Ads Spend, social audience demographics, and more.
- Pro (Custom pricing): All Winmo features plus enterprise digital ad intelligence.
Fill up the request form to get a custom pricing quote based on your needs. You can also book a demo to explore its functionalities before purchasing.
5. Vainu – Best For Building A Stable Data Foundation
Sales Intelligence Software With Free Business Directory [6600€ a year + Onboarding Fee]
Vainu is a few sales intelligence platforms that scan raw data from public and private sources. They also partnered with various local business registry holders to ensure they can provide quality data for the businesses within your target market.
Currently, it maintains seven databases and scans 260+ thousand data sources.
It combines the power of machine learning and effective data processing techniques to transform the raw data into meaningful information. When it comes to data verification, Vainu uses the following methods:
- A combination of various data processes
- Skilled QA experts
- Active community
Integrating with sales and marketing tools is vital in receiving real-time updates.
Vainu makes it easy by providing two methods. You can use Zapier or build a custom solution using its API.
The API allows you to automate sales and marketing actions and filter search results with 300+ data fields. In the latest update of this feature, five new organization size indicators are added on top of the firmographic data indicators and three technology data fields.
All generated contact data (phone number and email) are GDPR-compliant.
It also covers the available markets in Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, and our global domain database.
Burkhard Berger
Vainu’s latest version adds 800+ custom industry categories to your CRM. You can get the categories you prefer by using a multi-select picklist or manually entering them into its text fields.
Pros And Cons Of Vainu
| Pros | Cons |
| Easy to configure and administer | Hands-on onboarding and API access come with additional fees |
| Create dynamic and static lists and share them with your colleagues who also use Vainu | The software is occasionally slow, even if you use the recommended web browser and a stable internet connection. |
| Set alerts and notifications per target account | No available mobile app |
| Simple connection to CRM software like Salesforce, HubSpot, and Pipedrive | No dedicated account manager is provided on any plans |
| Support team via chat, phone, and email are reliable and helpful | Only provide guarantee uptime for enterprise-level plans |
Vainu Pricing Plan
Vainu offers three annual subscription plans. All pricing plans include premium onboarding and live chat support (during office hours).
You can start with its limited free trial to explore its functionalities without risks.
If it suits your business needs, you can choose any of the three pricing plans available. Each pricing plan is designed for a specific size of the organization.
- Team (6,600€/year + 750€ one-time onboarding fee): This is recommended for small and medium-sized organizations that only require access to one country database.
- Business (12,000€/year + 1,000€ one-time onboarding fee): This is recommended for medium and large-sized organizations. Include a dedicated customer success manager and a higher limit for data updates and workflow triggers.
- Enterprise (Custom pricing): This is recommended for organizations that require custom solutions. Fill up the request form to get a custom pricing quote.
6. LinkedIn Sales Navigator – All-In-One Solution
Sales Intelligence Software For Streamlining Modern Sales Development [$79.99 a month/user]
There’s no better source to look for qualified decision-makers than LinkedIn. Salespeople and marketers can reach over 828 million professionals.
If this is the only source you want to use, you can start building your prospect list using LinkedIn Sales Navigator.
It provides advanced search and sales spotlights to find the right people and companies quickly. It also offers smart lead and account recommendations to ensure you will never miss any hot leads.
When you sync your CRM, you can auto-save all your prospecting leads and accounts in a single click.
Other perks you can get are activity writeback and ROI Reporting for Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales. If you use the advanced CRM integrations, you can also use data validation and contact creation for Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales.
LinkedIn understands that decision-makers are more likely to respond to sales outreach if there is a mutual connection.
That’s why the company built it with the TeamLink feature. You can connect and engage with your prospects using your organization’s combined network.
One unique feature of Sales Navigator is the smart links.
Its purpose is to help you better understand buyer engagement through your sales content. The process is simple: create your content – product overviews or pitch decks, then bundle them all in one trackable link.
You can share the link from any communication channel (email, chat, etc.).
Don’t forget to set the alerts so that you will immediately know when someone views your smart links. You can also access usage reporting metrics to watch the entire buyer engagement of your content.
Pros And Cons Of LinkedIn Sales Navigator
| Pros | Cons |
| Provide advanced search to find the right prospects | The support team takes a long time to respond and resolve the support ticket. |
| Connecting and building strong relationships with prospects is easy | The free trial requires input credit card information and is only available for members who haven’t purchased any LinkedIn paid subscription plan. |
| Cover seven categories of sales intelligence | |
| Accessible on web and mobile apps (iOS and Android), both are user-friendly |
LinkedIn Sales Navigator Pricing Plan
LinkedIn Sales Navigator offers three annual and monthly subscription plans. The pricing structure is designed mainly per user seat and type.
I have highlighted some of the pricing plan’s features to give you an idea.
- Core ($79.99/month/user): Recommended for individual use, including advanced lead and company search and alerts, and can create custom prospect lists.
- Advanced ($125/month/user): Recommended for prospecting sales teams, including centralized billing for contracts sold and enterprise tools.
- Advanced Plus (Custom pricing): Recommended for sales organizations that require advanced enterprise integrations
All pricing plans are set for the annual billing cycle and include a 1-month free trial.
7. ZoomInfo – Uses Technographic & Firmographic Data
B2B Sales Intelligence Solution & Prospecting Tool [Custom Pricing | Free]
ZoomInfo‘s purpose and goal are similar to other sales intelligence software – accelerate your sales pipeline while growing your revenue.
Its B2B contact database contains over 50 million direct-dial phone numbers and 129+ million email addresses; all are verified.
ZoomInfo uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to scan public business information efficiently. This includes company websites, SEC filings, news articles, and job postings.
They also partnered with third-party data providers to extend the search.
At present, it can daily scan more than 38 million online sources.
It’s the same technologies that help to update the contact records daily. ZoomInfo’s in-house research and development team does the job well verifying the gathered data.
Prospecting intelligence also covers buyer intent and tracking of website visitors and contacts.
The contact tracking is perfect for keeping you updated about the latest changes within your target accounts.
ZoomInfo’s platform also equips sales professionals with lead scoring, targeted outreach, hyper-specific search query filters, and other valuable tools. These sales intelligence tools can help you discover the buying signals and make the sales cycle more productive.
Burkhard Berger
ZoomInfo recently added a website chat feature. Now you can immediately create a meaningful conversation with your prospects and customers while seeing who is currently visiting your website.
Pros And Cons Of ZoomInfo
| Pros | Cons |
| Relatively easy to use and learn | Lags and glitches may occur sometimes. |
| Large enterprise companies can use its API to access ZoomInfo’s database. | Handling duplicates need to be improved (automatically merges the information) |
| Provide plug-and-play integrations |
ZoomInfo Pricing Plan
ZoomInfo offers three flexible pricing plans. The cost of each plan is based on three criteria.
- Features and functionality
- Number of licenses
- Credit usage
You can contact sales support to get a personalized pricing quote. You also have the option to get started with its free version – the Community Edition package.
8. Lusha – Most Reliable Chrome Extension
B2B Sales Intelligence & Prospecting Software For Larger Teams [$29 a month/user | Free]
Lusha may not be the most popular, but it remains competitive in maintaining a database with 100+ million business profiles.
All acquired data comes from a variety of public sources. With the help of its close-knit community and data algorithm, ease your mind that every data is well-researched, reviewed, and verified.
Like its competitors, it complies with the requirements of GDPR and CCPA.
One of its notable features is the Chrome extension. Many sales intelligence software includes this feature, but Lusha proves its worth by finding contact information within seconds.
You can also use the extension to uncover potential opportunities on your CRM system without leaving the platform.
Do you want to enrich your database? You can do so using Lusha’s API.
Pros And Cons Of Lusha
| Pros | Cons |
| Finding prospects and customizing the filters are easy | Forum and other community resources need improvement and make it more accessible. |
| The accuracy of the generated leads ranges from 90% to 95%. | Customer support isn’t always reliable. |
| No automatic renewal of subscription plans and credits (all renewal dates are visible in the dashboard) |
Lusha Pricing Plan
Lusha offers annual and monthly subscription plans. Each plan is mainly designed per the number of users.
- Free: A single-user plan that provides five credits.
- Pro ($29/mo./user): You can add up to 5 users, and the credits range from 480 to 2,400.
- Premium ($44/mo./user): Get started with two users and a credit limit of 1,680.
- Enterprise (Custom pricing): The recommended plan when you need a credit limit of more than 4,200.
All price rates shown above are set for an annual billing cycle. You can visit Lusha’s pricing page to see the monthly rates.
Conclusion
Choosing the best sales intelligence software for your business is a challenging task. But after thorough research and testing, I can confidently say that the best one to use is Lead411.
Its user interface is created for ease of use; you don’t need to hire an expert to set it up.
Thanks to its trigger-based sales platform, you can immediately identify sales opportunities and the best time to reach out to each prospect and customer.
When it comes to its cost, it offers pricing plans that fit every budget.
Whether you are a new business or already established, Lead411 has the right data solutions to offer. If you’re curious about the product, visit its website and sign up for its free trial.
