The best business development tools:
Business growth in the current market conditions is more challenging than ever for companies of all sizes. To succeed, you need the right business development tools to get hold of the right prospects and know where to focus your selling efforts.
This guide introduces essential BDR tools, grouped into key categories: lead generation, marketing automation, sales enablement, and market research and analytics tools.
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- Kaspr
- Cognism
- LinkedIn Sales Navigator
- Aircall
- RingCentral
- Ringover
- Pardot
- Moosend
- Marketo
- Outreach
- Seismic
- Salesloft
- Gong
- Slack
- Asana
- Qatalog
- Calendly
- Qualtric
- Crunchbase
- Survicate
- Statista
- Crayon
Lead generation and prospecting
1. Kaspr
Kaspr is a key business development tool for lead generation on LinkedIn. It offers reliable phone numbers and email addresses while BDRs and SDRs prospect on LinkedIn or Sales Navigator.
Its LinkedIn Chrome Extension simplifies building and exporting contact lists directly to CRMs, making prospecting quick and efficient.
The tool includes a LinkedIn Chrome Extension for accessing company and contact details directly from LinkedIn. It also offers a dashboard for managing leads with data from Sales Navigator and Recruiter Lite. Kaspr also stands out by extracting data from LinkedIn lists if you need your contact info in bulk.
Key features:
- Accurate European data.
- LinkedIn Chrome Extension.
- Contact enrichment from LinkedIn, Sales Navigator or Recruiter Lite..
- LinkedIn outreach sequences.
- A lead organization using lists, notes, and tasks.
- Integrations with HubSpot, Pipedrive, Lemlist, Salesforce, and more.
- Team analytics.
Pricing:
- Free version available with access to unlimited B2B email addresses.
- Paid plans start at $49 per user per month.
- Custom plans with more admins and support options.
💡 For more info, visit the Kaspr pricing page.
2. Cognism
Cognism stands out as one of the top tools for large business development teams due to its comprehensive approach to lead generation and sales intelligence.
It offers businesses access to a vast database of global contacts enriched with manually verified cell phone numbers, ensuring that you can reach the right decision-makers in your key accounts. Cognism’s GDPR compliance ensures data security, making it a reliable tool for driving business growth and expanding market reach.
Cognism’s advanced Sales Prospector app helps identify high-intent accounts and leads, while its seamless integration with CRM systems and sales engagement platforms enables smooth workflow management. And Enrich automates complex data enrichment tasks of existing and new CRM records.
Features:
- Global email database with the best EMEA coverage.
- Instant and scheduled data enrichment.
- Intent data by Bombora, sales event triggers, and technographics.
- GDPR and CCPA compliance.
- Manually verified cell phone numbers database (Diamond Data®)
- Native integrations with CRMs and sales engagement tools.
Pricing:
- Custom pricing based on your needs.
- All licenses include unlimited access to global data (with a generous fair-use policy).
- Contact sales experts for a quote.
👉 Unsure which one to pick? Check out Kaspr vs Cognism.
3. LinkedIn Sales Navigator
Sales Navigator, part of LinkedIn’s premium subscription, is a powerful business development app with advanced search filters and personalized recommendations. It allows users to pinpoint the right prospects thanks to deep insights into their backgrounds, activities, and interests, making outreach efforts more targeted and effective.
What sets Sales Navigator apart from its alternatives is its seamless integration with LinkedIn’s vast network, providing real-time updates and direct access to a broad pool of leads.
Additionally, features like shared lead lists and account notes enhance team collaboration, ensuring everyone stays aligned and focused on business growth.
Source: G2
Features:
- Personalized lead recommendations based on search history.
- Direct messaging through InMail.
- Advanced search filters for precise prospecting.
- Ability to create buyer alerts, notes, and tags.
- Integration with various SDR and BDR tools.
Pricing:
LinkedIn Sales Navigator’s Core Plan starts at $99/mo and suits professionals looking for new leads and building client relationships. A 1-month free trial is available.
Cold calling and dialers
4. Aircall
Aircall is a cloud-based phone system designed for businesses focused on cold calling and dialing. It integrates with your CRM, allowing call tracking and management.
Features like power dialing, automatic call logging, and real-time monitoring make outreach efficient. Aircall simplifies cold calling by enabling easy setup of call queues and keeping teams organized. Its built-in analytics help you refine your approach for better results, making it a solid choice for businesses serious about enhancing their cold calling efforts.
Source: G2
Features:
- Automatically dials contacts, boosting efficiency.
- Syncs with CRMs for seamless call management (Hubspot, Gorgias, Salesforce, and more.
- Allows live call listening and coaching.
- Provides insights to optimize call performance.
Pricing:
Aircall’s Essentials Plan starts at $30 per user/month, offering basic telephony features and unlimited inbound calls. The Professional Plan starts at $50 per user/month, adding advanced analytics and power dialing. A custom plan is available upon request.
💡 Aircall also integrates directly with Kaspr, so you can call as soon as you have your prospect’s number.
5. RingCentral
RingCentral is a communication platform that allows business leads development by combining messaging, video conferencing, and cloud-based phone systems. It features advanced call routing, voicemail-to-email, and real-time analytics.
What sets RingCentral apart is its strong integration with popular CRM systems and collaboration tools, enabling seamless management of customer interactions and internal communication. It’s scalable and ideal for teams of all sizes, especially those working remotely or across multiple locations.
Source: Ringcentral
Features:
- Unified communications - messaging, video, and phone in one platform.
- Customizable options for efficient call management.
- Voicemails automatically transcribed and sent to email.
- Detailed insights into communication performance.
Pricing:
RingCentral’s Core Plan starts at $20 per user/month (billed annually) and offers essential communication features. You can try this software for free.
6. Ringover
Ringover is an excellent tool for business development, particularly for cold calling, due to its user-friendly interface and features designed specifically for sales and BDR teams.
It offers seamless CRM integration, enabling efficient call management and tracking. Ringover’s power dialing, call monitoring, and real-time analytics streamline the cold calling process, boosting productivity.
Ringover supports the use of cold calling scripts, allowing sales teams to maintain consistency and effectiveness during calls. This ensures that every conversation is on-point and aligned with your business goals.
Source: G2
Features:
- Supports the use of customizable scripts.
Automates the dialing process. - Provides insights into call performance to optimize strategies.
- Integration with Salesforce, HubSpot, Pipedrive, Zoho CRM, Zendesk.
Pricing:
Pricing plans start at $21 per user/month for the Smart plan with an annual payment for cloud phone systems for your company’s everyday needs. You can test the SMART plan free of charge for 7 days.
💡 Ringover also integrates with Kaspr for easy cold calling.
Marketing automation
7. Pardot
Pardot by Salesforce is a business development platform for marketing automation. It is designed to help businesses streamline lead generation and nurture campaigns. It offers features like email marketing, lead scoring, and ROI tracking, all within the Salesforce ecosystem.
Pardot’s deep integration with Salesforce allows quick business growth thanks to seamless data syncing and collaboration between teams, which improves lead conversion rates.
Additionally, the platform provides advanced analytics and customizable dashboards, making it easier to measure the effectiveness of business development efforts and optimize strategies for better growth.
Source: G2
Features:
- Automatically prioritize leads based on engagement and fit.
- Create personalized, automated email campaigns.
- Gain insights into campaign performance and ROI.
Pricing:
Pardot by Salesforce pricing starts at $1,250 per month for the Growth plan, with higher tiers like Plus at $2,500 per month and Advanced at $4,000 per month. Discounts are available for nonprofits.
8. Moosend
Moosend is a versatile email marketing automation tool that offers advanced features for business development. It allows businesses to create professional email campaigns, manage and segment audiences, and reduce unsubscribes through targeted messaging.
Additionally, Moosend provides tools for growing your audience with customizable landing pages and automates repetitive tasks to deliver personalized customer experiences. With built-in analytics, it helps track marketing efforts and make data-driven decisions, all within an award-winning, user-friendly interface.
Source: G2
Features:
- Email campaign management.
- Segment and target your audience to reduce unsubscribes.
- Automate tasks and personalize customer experiences.
- Track and measure marketing performance.
Pricing:
Moonsend’s pricing PRO Plan starts at $9/mo for email marketing, marketing automation, and lead generation features. A 1-month free trial is available.
9. Marketo
Marketo by Adobe is a marketing automation tool designed to help businesses manage and nurture B2B leads. It provides email marketing, lead management, and campaign automation features, enabling marketers to create personalized experiences.
Marketo also includes analytics and AI-driven insights to improve marketing strategies. It integrates well with other Adobe products and third-party tools, making it a versatile solution for B2B marketing.
Source: G2
Features:
- Automate and personalize email campaigns.
- Score, nurture, and track leads throughout the sales funnel.
- Advanced analytics options.
Pricing:
Pricing available upon request.
Sales enablement
10. Outreach
If you're exploring business growth tools, consider Outreach. This platform streamlines sales processes from prospecting to closing deals by leveraging automation and AI.
It enhances go-to-market strategies with features for deal management and forecasting.
Outreach’s unified platform integrates sales engagement, revenue intelligence, and revenue operations, making it an effective choice for managing the entire revenue cycle and driving business growth.
Source: G2
Features:
- Multi-channel engagement (email, phone, and social platforms).
- AI revenue intelligence to optimize strategies and improve forecasting.
- Centralizes sales processes for better efficiency and collaboration.
Pricing:
Pricing available upon request.
11. Seismic
Seismic offers a central hub for your company’s most up-to-date resources. Its content personalization features allow sales managers to tailor pitches and proposals to meet specific client needs, while also supporting managers in training and onboarding new reps with playbooks and standardized best practices.
It also integrates seamlessly with CRM systems like Salesforce, enhancing team collaboration and communication. Additionally, its automation capabilities streamline workflows, reducing manual tasks and boosting overall productivity.
Source: G2
Features:
- Integrate with CRM systems like Zoom, Snowflake, HubSpot, Outreach, Dropbox, and more.
- Track content usage and sales performance to make data-driven decisions.
- Centralize and ensure content accuracy by storing all sales and marketing materials in one place.
Pricing:
Pricing available upon request.
12. Salesloft
Salesloft is a business development tool that emphasizes marketing automation by enabling teams to automate and personalize multi-channel outreach, such as emails and social media. It helps manage and track interactions, optimizing sales processes and improving lead engagement. Salesloft integrates with CRM systems, streamlining workflows and supporting efficient sales operations.
Source: Salesloft
Features:
- Direct communication with prospects through built-in calling and messaging tools.
- Manages and schedules follow-up activities.
- Multi-channel outreach.
- Provides insights into sales activities and performance.
Pricing:
Pricing available upon request.
13. Gong
As a business development tracking solution, Gong uses AI to analyze sales interactions across calls, emails, and meetings, providing deep insights into customer behavior and sales performance. It captures and transcribes communications, offering real-time data and actionable insights that help sales teams optimize strategies and improve win rates.
Gong’s integration with CRM systems ensures that all sales activities are accurately tracked and analyzed, enhancing decision-making and overall sales effectiveness.
Source: Gong
Features:
- Integrates with CRMs like Salesforce and HubSpot.
- Tracks and analyzes deal progression.
- AI-powered conversation analysis.
Pricing:
Pricing available upon request.
Collaboration and project management
14. Slack
Slack is a collaboration platform that streamlines team communication by offering organized channels for different projects, direct messaging, and integrations with numerous third-party apps like Google Drive and Trello.
It enhances productivity by keeping all discussions, files, and tools in one place, making it easier for teams to collaborate in real-time, whether in the office or working remotely. Slack also offers features like searchable message history, video calls, and automated workflows, making it a central hub for team communication and collaboration.
Source: G2
Features:
- Channels and direct messaging available.
- Connect with tools like Google Drive, Trello, and more.
- Use AI to summarize conversations, suggest actions, and more to enhance productivity.
- Built-in functionality for meetings.
Pricing:
Slack offers a free plan with limited features and options. Pro Plan starts at $7.25/mo/per person billed annually.
15. Asana
Asana is a useful CRM for business development because it helps teams organize and track tasks, manage customer relationships, and keep projects on schedule.
Its easy-to-use interface allows teams to assign tasks, monitor progress, and ensure follow-ups are handled. Asana also integrates with tools like Slack and Salesforce, making it easier to share information and manage sales pipelines effectively. This simplicity and integration capability make Asana a practical choice for business development.
Source: G2
Features:
- Easy task management.
- Customizable workflows.
- Integrated with tools like Slack and Salesforce.
Pricing:
Asana offers a free plan for individuals and small teams looking to manage their tasks. Starter plan for rowing teams that need to track their projects’ progress and hit deadlines starts from €10.99 (billed annually).
16. Qatalog
Qatalog is an enterprise search that uses RAG technology to enable employees to quickly find information within a company. Instead of searching through different internal apps and documents separately, enterprise search lets you look for files or data across all of them at once.
It’s an AI-powered assistant that helps business development thanks to bringing together tools, teams, and processes into one workspace.
Source: G2
Features:
- Integrations with popular apps and tools.
- One search bar crosses all integrated tools.
- Customizable search permissions.
- Enhanced privacy and security.
Pricing:
Pricing is available upon request.
17. Calendly
Calendly is a scheduling tool that simplifies meeting coordination by letting users share availability and allowing others to book appointments without the back-and-forth emails.
It integrates with popular calendars (Google, Outlook, and iCloud), prevents double bookings, and offers features like automated reminders and group scheduling. This makes it a valuable asset for managing appointments efficiently.
Source: G2
Features:
- Easy scheduling.
- Calendar integration with Google, Outlook, and iCloud.
- Automated reminders.
Pricing:
Calendly’s always a free version for individuals starting out with basic scheduling. Paid plan starts from $10/seat/mo for an annual plan, ideal for those with more sophisticated scheduling needs.
Market research and analytics
18. Qualtrics
Qualtrics is a business development platform that specializes in experience management. It helps companies gather and analyze customer, employee, product, and brand feedback.
It offers tools for creating surveys, managing customer journeys, and analyzing data to drive informed decision-making. Qualtrics integrates with various CRM systems, enabling businesses to turn insights into action and improve customer satisfaction, employee engagement, and overall business performance.
Source: G2
Features:
- Track and optimize customer journeys across multiple touchpoints.
- Predictive intelligence and machine learning to analyze feedback and uncover actionable insights.
- Experience management (XM) platform.
Pricing:
Pricing available upon request.
19. Crunchbase
Crunchbase is a business development technology solution that provides comprehensive data on companies, investors, and industry trends. It helps businesses discover new opportunities, monitor market trends, and track competitors. Crunchbase enables users to identify potential partners, investors, and clients.
The platform’s rich database and insights make it an invaluable tool for sales teams, entrepreneurs, and investors looking to drive business growth and stay ahead in the market.
Source: G2
Features:
- Company profiles with detailed information.
- Advanced search filters.
- Monitor funding rounds and investor activities.
- Google Chrome extension.
Pricing:
Crunchbase Pro’s pricing starts from $49/monthly (billed annually) with a 7-day free trial and Enterprise Plan for larger teams - pricing upon request.
20. Survicate
Survicate is a growth-focused business tool designed to gather and analyze customer feedback through surveys. It helps companies understand customer needs, track satisfaction, and make data-driven decisions.
Survicate offers a range of survey tools that can be integrated across websites, emails, and apps, allowing businesses to capture feedback at key touchpoints. With advanced analytics and customizable reports, Survicate enables businesses to turn customer insights into actionable strategies for growth.
Source: G2
Features:
- Website and in-app surveys.
- Easily distribute surveys through emails or direct links.
- Integrates with tools like HubSpot, Intercom, and Google Analytics for better data flow.
- Survey templates.
Pricing:
Survicate’s free version for individuals getting started with user feedback. Paid plan starts from $99/month.
21. Statista
Statista is a business development tool that provides comprehensive data and statistics across various industries. It helps companies make informed decisions by offering access to over a million statistics, forecasts, and insights on global markets, consumer behavior, and industry trends.
With its intuitive interface, users can easily search for and visualize data, create reports, and export information for presentations. Statista is useful for market research, competitive analysis, and strategic planning.
Source: Statista
Features:
- Extensive data library.
- Market forecasts and customizable reports.
- User-friendly Interface.
Pricing:
Basic accounts are always free for single users with access to free statistics, paid plans start from $149 monthly (billed annually).
22. Crayon
The last tool for business development on the list, Crayon, helps businesses stay ahead by tracking and analyzing market movements in real-time. Crayon gathers data from multiple sources to provide insights into competitors’ strategies, product launches, and industry trends.
It offers real-time alerts, automated data collection, and detailed analytics, helping companies quickly adapt to market changes. These features could be used for refining strategies and staying competitive.
Source: G2
Features:
- Real-time updates on competitors' activities and market changes.
- Automated data collection.
- In-depth analytics.
Pricing:
Pricing available upon request.