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Top 14 B2B Sales Tools for Outbound Success

August 14, 2026
By
Irina Maltseva

It’s easy to find B2B sales tools that claim to scale and automate your outbound sales process. 

The tough part is sifting through all the options and building a tech stack that aligns with your current workflow. The risk of redundancies — which unnecessarily drive up costs — is also very real. 

Today, we’ll narrow your search, sharing the 14 best B2B sales tools for opening and closing deals. 

Key Takeaways

  • A complete outbound stack usually spans three categories: data and sales intelligence (finding and researching leads), engagement and outreach (running sequences across email, LinkedIn, and calls), and a CRM to manage pipeline.
  • Fewer, well-integrated tools beat a sprawling stack. Overlapping subscriptions drive up cost and create data silos without improving results.
  • Pick tools based on your outbound motion. High-volume SDR teams need engagement automation, ABM teams need deep intent data, and lean teams often get the most from all-in-one platforms.
  • Match spend to fit. Start with free trials and demos, then commit only to the tools that close real gaps in your workflow.

B2B Sales Tools at a Glance

Tool Category Best for Starting price
Artisan AI outbound sales platform Teams scaling cold outreach without hiring Custom quote
Apollo.io Lead database + engagement All-in-one prospecting and outreach Free; paid from $49/user/mo
Findymail Prospecting + verification Verified contact data with buying-signal timing Free; paid from $49/user/mo
ZoomInfo Sales intelligence ABM and large outbound organizations Custom (often ~$15,000/yr)
LinkedIn Sales Navigator Social selling / prospecting Teams prospecting on LinkedIn ~$120/month
Hunter Email finder + verifier Small teams doing cold email Free; paid from $34/mo
Crunchbase Sales intelligence Targeting funded startups Free; Pro from $49/mo
Outreach Sales engagement High-volume SDR teams Custom quote
Salesloft Sales engagement Mid-to-large revenue teams Custom quote
Lemlist Multichannel outreach SDRs wanting rich personalization From $55/user/mo
HubSpot Sales Hub CRM + engagement Aligning marketing and sales Free CRM; from $9/user/mo
Salesforce Sales Cloud CRM + engagement Complex enterprise workflows From $25/user/mo
Lusha Contact data + enrichment Fast verified contact lookup Free; paid from $22.45/mo
Gong Conversation intelligence Coaching and deal analysis Custom quote

What Are B2B Sales Tools?

B2B sales tools are apps designed to support prospecting, outreach, and closing in a B2B selling environment. 

They assist with, or completely automate, certain parts of the outbound sales workflow, whether that’s finding a lead’s email address, building a targeted prospecting list, sending an initial cold email, or running multichannel outreach sequences.

B2B sales tools can be divided into the following overarching categories: 

  • Prospecting and lead databases
  • Sales engagement platforms
  • CRM systems
  • Conversation intelligence software
  • Performance tracking tools
  • Email outreach platforms  
  • LinkedIn outreach automation solutions
  • Pipeline management software

You’ll also find that some B2B sales tools fall within several categories at once. For example, Apollo is a lead database and a sales engagement platform. And HubSpot Sales offers a built-in CRM, sales engagement tools, and pipeline management features. 

Why Outbound Teams Use B2B Sales Tools

The right tools remove the manual drag that slows outbound teams down. Here’s what they deliver in practice:

  • More selling time: Automating list building, enrichment, and follow-up frees reps to focus on live conversations instead of research and admin.
  • Cleaner pipeline visibility: Centralized data and CRM logging give managers an accurate view of what’s moving and what’s stalled.
  • Better prioritization: Intent signals and firmographic scoring help reps spend their energy on the accounts most likely to buy.
  • Less manual research: Contact finders and databases surface verified emails, phone numbers, and company intel in seconds.

Top 14 B2B Sales Tools for Outbound Success

Read on to learn about the pros, cons, and pricing of the best B2B sales tools for outbound sales teams. 

1. Artisan

Artisan is an AI outbound sales platform that automates the whole lead generation process up until the hand-off to an account executive (AE). 

The software’s AI BDR—who goes by the name of Ava—finds ideal leads, researches them on the web and social media, then sends highly personalized emails and LinkedIn messages, generating qualified sales meetings on autopilot. 

Artisan is ideal for companies that want to scale their cold outreach and prospecting efforts without expanding their team. 

While many B2B sales tools claim to be AI sales tools, Artisan is the most deserving of the name, due to the fact that it has an autonomous AI sales agent that actually handles the entire prospecting process. 

Pros

AI BDR creates and executes multichannel sequences without human intervention

Personalized messaging based on lead attributes and behavior

Brings prospecting, enrichment, and email deliverability tools into one platform

Scales well for fast-growing teams 

Cons:

Requires onboarding to provide a custom user experience

Not ideal for one-off outreach

No public pricing (must reach out for a custom quote)

Pricing

Contact the Artisan sales team to learn about customized pricing plans.

2. Apollo.io

Apollo is part B2B lead database, part outreach automation platform

This dual functionality makes it a good choice for sales teams that want to build targeted prospecting lists and engage with those leads using multichannel sequences—all in one platform.  

Apollo doesn’t just offer tools for BDRs and other prospecting reps. It also comes with features for deal management, including automated admin, AI meeting prep, automated meeting follow-up, and real-time deal insights. 

Pros

Affordable pricing

Combines sales intelligence and sales engagement into one platform

Brings prospecting, enrichment, and email deliverability tools into one platform

Offers a free plan

Cons:

User interface can be overwhelming (a lot of features to learn)

Some data accuracy issues

Uses credit-based pricing, which can be frustrating to some users

Pricing

  • Free plan available (1,200 credits per year)
  • Paid plans start at $49/user/month

3. Findymail

Findymail is a B2B prospecting platform that treats "verified" as a requirement, not a feature. Every contact runs through real-time verification, including catch-all domains, before it's returned, and the platform backs that up with a stated sub-5% bounce rate guarantee.

Beyond the core finder, Findymail includes Intellimatch, which lets reps describe an ICP in plain language instead of building filter stacks, and Signals, which monitors for buying events like new hires, job title changes, and keyword mentions so outreach lands at the right moment. Sales teams can pull contacts one at a time, in bulk via CSV, through native CRM and sequencer integrations, or via API.

Pros

Find and verify in one workflow, with no separate verification step

Sub-5% bounce rate guarantee

Signals adds buying-event monitoring most pure finders don't offer

Only charges credits on verified results

Cons:

No built-in dialer or call-based outreach tools

Credit-based pricing means costs can scale with high-volume use

Pricing

  • Free trial available, no credit card required
  • Paid plans start at $49/month (Basic)

4. ZoomInfo

ZoomInfo is an enterprise-level sales intelligence platform with detailed firmographics, contact info, and intent data. It also comes with website visitor identification, which allows you to find which businesses are visiting your website.

The platform is expensive, with plans often starting around $15,000 per year. But the price can be worth it for account-based marketers and revenue leaders at large companies that use complex datasets to fuel their large-scale, hyper-targeted outreach. 

Pros

Deep data about companies and professionals

Intent data that identifies leads searching the web for solutions like yours

Useful for ABM and large outbound organizations

Cons:

Expensive entry-level pricing

Custom contracts (some key tools are priced separately as add-ons)

Moderate learning curve to access the full value of the platform

Pricing

Custom quote only.

 5. LinkedIn Sales Navigator

LinkedIn Sales Navigator is a worthwhile investment for B2B sales teams that do a significant portion of their prospecting and cold outreach on LinkedIn. 

The tool is LinkedIn’s advanced search engine and targeting tool, designed for B2B salespeople trying to discover and research target decision-makers, track their activity, and send them personalized LinkedIn messages. 

Whether you’re using it to research leads at a new account, build a prospecting list, or eliminate the InMail direct message limit, Sales Navigator is a useful social selling tool for outbound lead generation. 

Pros

Rich filters for finding ideal leads

Helps identify job changes and engagement signals

Cons:

No email data

Requires pairing with other outbound tools

Pricing

  • Starts at ~$120/month
  • Free trial available

6. Hunter

Hunter is a lightweight email finder and verifier, making it a valuable tool for B2B small businesses doing lots of cold email outreach. 

Sales teams can use Hunter to find email addresses associated with businesses and specific leads, or to verify that the email addresses you already have in your prospecting list are indeed accurate. 

Hunter also comes with some basic email outreach features, including an AI writing assistant and the ability to create and run email campaigns. 

Pros

Simple user interface

Offers a generous free plan (50 credits per month)

Accurate email validation

Cons:

Not a full platform—only handles email finding and basic outreach

No phone number finder

Lacks AI outreach automation tools

Pricing

  • Free for up to 50 email searches per month 
  • Paid plans start at $34/month

7. Crunchbase

Crunchbase is an account-based B2B sales intelligence tool. It comes with a B2B database that contains intel on companies and the professionals working there.  

The database’s advanced filtering function makes it easy to quickly find newly funded companies. Therefore, it’s useful if your business is targeting startups and newer companies. 

On a similar note, Crunchbase’s industry filter also allows sellers to identify companies in hyperspecific industries, like administrative services, apps, biotechnology, and gaming. 

Pros

Strong for market research

Easy to find funded companies

Has contact-level data like email and phone numbers

Cons:

Limited outreach automation

Need to pair it with other outbound sales and email tools

CRM integrations are restricted to the Business plan

Pricing

  • Free plan available
  • Pro starts at $49/month 

8. Outreach

Outreach is a sales engagement platform with powerful sequencing, analytics, and automation features. 

Outbound sales teams—especially BDRs—use Outreach primarily to build multi-channel outreach sequences that include cold calls, emails, and social touches, and then automate that outreach and track communications with leads. 

Notably, the platform also comes with a conversation intelligence tool, which enables sales coaches to analyze rep performance, spot teachable moments, and gather insights they can use to improve their cold outbound process.  

Pros

Built for high-volume SDR teams

Deep CRM integration

Includes conversation intelligence

Cons:

Steep learning curve

High price point

Lacks full-scale AI outreach automation

Pricing

Custom quote only.

9. Salesloft

Salesloft is a sales engagement platform designed to automate cold outbound, deal follow-up, renewal campaigns, and other forms of sales outreach that rely on personalized sequences.

This range makes it a good option for mid- to large-sized companies that want to provide enablement tools to their AEs and customer success managers, as well as their SDRs. 

The software, which has grown into an all-in-one revenue orchestration platform over the years, also comes with built-in call coaching, analytics, and forecasting.

Pros

Covers email, calls, and analytics

Great for sales enablement

Easy to use

Cons:

Best for mid-size to enterprise teams

Can be expensive

Lacks email deliverability features

Pricing

Custom quote only.

10. Lemlist

Lemlist is a prospecting tool that automates multichannel outreach via email sequences, variable templates, and AI personalization. 

It also comes with a B2B contact database and a lead enrichment tool, meaning SDRs (the target users) can find and research new leads in the same platform they use for their outreach. 

Uniquely, Lemlist enables sellers to include dynamic videos and images in their emails, and the platform even offers WhatsApp outreach automation, which is hard to find in other prospecting tools

Pros

Unique personalization options

Email warmup included for deliverability

Automates WhatsApp prospecting

Cons:

Best for mid-size to enterprise teams

Not ideal for teams with more complex data, forecasting, and coaching needs

Lacks CRM functions like lead management and reporting

Can be expensive for small companies

Pricing

  • Starts at $55/user/month
  • No free plan, but a 14-day free trial is available

11. HubSpot Sales Hub

HubSpot Sales Hub is a sales-focused CRM with plenty of sales automation features that help with outbound sales. These include multichannel outreach sequences, call tracking, email templates, and conversation intelligence. 

Sales Hub also comes with an AI prospecting agent that will monitor, research, and engage leads on its own.

Since it’s a full-scale CRM, the platform also comes with deal pipeline management, CPQ software, sales analytics, and reporting. 

This breadth of feature coverage makes it a good choice for companies that need a platform that’s both a CRM and an AI-powered prospecting tool that will allow them to align marketing and sales. 

Pros

Free tier available with basic CRM and outreach features

Easy to use and set up

Full CRM built-in

Cons:

Advanced features are locked behind higher plans

Gets expensive quickly due to per-seat pricing and add-ons

Email and template limits on the Starter plan

Pricing

  • Free CRM 
  • Sales Hub starts at $9/user/month

12. Salesforce Sales Cloud

Salesforce Sales Cloud is a CRM with sales automation tools for prospecting, lead generation, and deal management. 

Its sales engagement toolkit comes with multichannel sales cadences, engagement intelligence, and even AI recommendations for how to best interact with leads.

Sales professionals can also access a “Prospecting Center,” which uses buying signals and firmographic data to calculate a lead’s fit and intent, allowing sellers to prioritize the highest-value leads. 

Salesforce Sales Cloud also has a built-in CRM, known for its enterprise-friendly and in-depth reporting, customizability, and forecasting. 

Pros

Highly customizable software

Supports complex sales workflows

Built-in CRM

Cons:

Most AI features are restricted to expensive plans

Need admin support to set up customizations

Learning curve can be steep

Pricing

  • Plans start at $25/user/month
  • Enterprise tiers start at $175/user/month

13. Lusha

Lusha is a B2B email and phone number finder that helps prospecting reps discover verified company and contact information. The software also comes with a Chrome Extension that enables reps to find contact info associated with LinkedIn accounts. 

Lusha is also a data enrichment tool. It will automatically fill out and update contact records in connected CRM and engagement platforms. 

Notably, Lusha comes with buyer intent data, which helps reps identify companies currently searching for solutions like yours.   

Pros

Quick access to verified contact data

Easy to use

LinkedIn contact info lookup

Cons:

Credit-based pricing causes costs to rise quickly

Not a full prospecting platform

Contact phone number reveals costs 5 credits

Pricing

  • Free plan available
  • Paid plans start at $22.45/month

14. Gong

Gong is a conversation intelligence platform that records, transcribes, and analyzes sales calls and other sales interactions.  

Sales managers and coaches can use it to identify best practices that lead to success and then teach these behaviors to their teams.

Gong also offers an engagement tool known as Gong Engage, which uses AI to transform previous conversations with prospects into next-step outreach messages. 

Overall, Gong is great for revenue teams looking to gain deeper insight into their sales team’s performance—especially what works and what doesn’t when it comes to closing.  

Pros

Useful for rep coaching and deal analysis

Strong analytics for improving sales call performance

Intuitive interface and clear dashboards

Cons:

Not for early-stage teams

High cost and no free trial

Some users cite AI inaccuracies

Pricing

Custom quote only.

How to Choose the Right Tools for Your Stack

The goal isn’t to own every category. It’s to assemble the fewest well-integrated tools that cover your outbound motion without overlap. Weigh each option against these criteria:

  • Data quality and coverage: Verify accuracy and match rates against your target market before committing. Stale or thin data undermines everything downstream.
  • CRM integration: Pick tools that sync cleanly with your CRM so records stay current and reps don’t duplicate work across platforms.
  • Intent-signal availability: If you run ABM or high-value outbound, prioritize tools that surface buying signals so reps focus on accounts in-market now.
  • Ease of adoption: A tool your team won’t use is wasted spend. Favor intuitive interfaces and manageable onboarding, especially for lean teams.
  • Total cost and pricing model: Watch for credit-based pricing and per-seat add-ons that scale faster than your usage. Map the real cost at your expected volume, not just the sticker price.

Run each candidate against the gaps in your current workflow. If a new tool duplicates something you already own, it adds cost and complexity without adding results.

The Right Sales Tools Are the Ones That Scale With You

From B2B databases and email finders to all-in-one AI sales platforms, modern B2B sales tools help sales teams save time, improve conversions, and scale without burning out. 

To build an optimized, lightweight sales tech stack that supports your workflow, play around with free trials, attend live demos, and create a checklist of must-have features that solve current bottlenecks in your outbound sales process. 

And don’t forget that more is not always better. On the contrary, it’s often worse. A few powerful tools that work well together can far outperform a sprawling tech stack with a million shiny new features.

Curious to see Ava in action? Book a free demo with Artisan and explore how an AI sales teammate can fit into your workflow.

Have questions

What are B2B sales tools?

B2B sales tools are apps that support prospecting, outreach, and closing in a business-to-business selling environment. They assist with or automate parts of the outbound workflow, from finding a lead’s email to running multichannel sequences and managing pipeline.

What’s the difference between a sales engagement platform and a sales intelligence tool?

A sales intelligence tool (like ZoomInfo or Crunchbase) helps you find and research leads through databases, firmographics, and intent data. A sales engagement platform (like Outreach or Salesloft) helps you act on those leads by building and automating multichannel outreach sequences. Many teams use one of each, though some platforms combine both.

How many tools does an outbound stack actually need?

Most teams need coverage across three areas: data and intelligence, engagement and outreach, and a CRM. That can mean as few as one all-in-one platform or two to four specialized tools. Fewer, well-integrated tools almost always outperform a sprawling stack with overlapping features.

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Irina Maltseva

Irina is a Founder at ONSAAS, Growth Lead at Aura, and a SaaS marketing consultant. She helps companies to grow their revenue with SEO and inbound marketing. In her spare time, Irina entertains her cat Persie and collects airline miles.

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