Need Free Leads? Here Are 15 Sales Methods [+ Best Tools]

Looking for ways to generate free leads?

These are the 15 strategies you need (and the best tools, too): 👇

1. Sign up to Kaspr for free.
2. Get 25 free leads from Cognism.
3. Build your personal brand.
4. Email signature marketing with Mailtastic.
5. Networking.
6. LinkedIn prospecting.
7. Cold call the switchboard.
8. Look back at your closed-lost accounts.
9. Browse what’s already in your CRM.
10. Marketing leads.
11. Try online business directories.
12. Account-based selling (ABS).
13. Use AI chatbots on your website.
14. Identify your website visitors.
15. Create a Google Business Profile. 

15 ways to get free leads

Buying lead lists can be expensive, but they don’t have to be. Knowing the right places to look and the B2B lead generation tools to use make all the difference. And these are the 15 best methods for SDRs and sales teams to keep lead acquisition costs low. 💪

1. Sign up to Kaspr for free

G2 Rating: 4.4/5 ⭐

If you want to find someone’s cell phone number, Kaspr should be your go-to tool. 

Kaspr is an all-in-one B2B lead generation tool, and it’s an easy way to find and connect with new leads at zero cost.

In the free version of Kaspr, you get each month:

• 5 phone credits.
• 5 direct email credits.
• 10 export credits.
• *Unlimited B2B email addresses (when you invite three colleagues).

*Subject to fair use policy.

Use the LinkedIn Chrome Extension to access a prospect’s information, including personal and business details like their email address, phone number, company name, and job title. 

Build lists with LinkedIn people search or using Sales Navigator’s filters and add them to your list within Kaspr’s web app. Just create your LinkedIn search, and Kaspr will save the prospect, their contact information, and essential data in bulk. 

See how Kaspr works by trying this interactive demo. 👇

These lists will sync to your CRM automatically with integration, so you can cold call them as quickly as possible.

Top features include: 

• 500M+ email addresses and phone numbers available. 
• Easy-to-use web app and Chrome Extension. 
• GDPR and CCPA aligned.
• Access prospect data while browsing on LinkedIn profiles, Company pages, groups and more. 
• Download lead data in bulk.
• Get cell phone numbers for free (5 phone credits per month on the free plan).
• Automate outreach on LinkedIn, including connection requests. 

Get started with Kaspr free. 🙌

2. Get 25 free leads from Cognism

G2 Rating: 4.6/5 ⭐

Buying leads can be a great investment when they’re good quality. 

Getting those same high-quality leads for free, though, is even sweeter. 

Cognism is a sales intelligence platform and B2B database with high-quality data. It has one of the largest (and most accurate) databases of phone numbers for United States contacts, with over 47M US cell phone numbers alone. 

Cognism’s Diamond Data® uses manual human verification to help you connect with 87% of your list. ✅

Best features include:

• Get 25 free leads.
• Human-verified Diamond Data®.
• Browser Extension.
• 47M US cell phone numbers. 

And, the best news yet: Cognism gives you 25 free enriched leads (including contact data). 

3. Build your personal brand

Free lead rating: 3.0/5 ⭐

Building a personal brand as an SDR or a sales account manager in your industry can actually help bring leads to you.

When you become established as an authority, potential customers may seek you out or discover you when researching a purchase decision.

Build a personal brand with these strategies:

• Engage in online communities like Facebook Groups or on LinkedIn.
• Post actionable, original content that offers value to your audience.
• Network with other industry experts and interact with their content. 

While a personal brand can be an effective inbound strategy, it does have potential downsides that give it a 3-star review:

• It takes time and isn’t just done overnight.
• You need to invest time into your prospecting process in addition to brand build; it will never be a strong enough strategy on its own.
• Treat it like bonus lead acquisition instead of a sole strategy. 

4. Email signature marketing with Mailtastic

G2 Rating: 4.6/5 ⭐

Gone are the days of an email sign-off consisting of a “Sincerely” and your name. 

Email signatures are an opportunity for branding and promotion. They can help you look established, and you can link to high-value resources like product pages, case studies, and testimonials. 

Potential customers who see a cold email with an attention-grabbing subject line and highly personalized content are likelier to respond. That’s your in.

Take advantage of email marketing tools like Mailtastic, which allow you to add custom signatures at the end of your emails. They offer advanced features like customization based on list segmentation and dynamic images. 

The top features of Mailtastic as a tool to get free leads include:

• Centrally managed email signatures for different departments.
• Every email can be an account-based selling campaign.
• Highly personalized cold emails for your email marketing campaigns.

You can trial Mailtastic completely free for 14 days!

5. Networking

Free lead rating: 3.8/5 ⭐

Networking is an essential part of B2B prospecting. 

The more you expand your network, the wider your reach is. Customers and contacts may recommend you to their network, and when they connect, there’s a strong layer of pre-built-in trust. 

Network online, in local and industry communities, and at large events and conferences. 

Networking has earned a 3.8 star review for the following reasons:

• It is often faster-acting than personal branding but still takes time and momentum to pay off.
• It takes time and effort not only to find the right networking events but also to network.
• Direct networking, however, is one of the best ways to generate real connections. Those connections could become leads or refer you to leads. 

6. LinkedIn prospecting 

Free lead rating: 4.5/5 ⭐

LinkedIn prospecting is one of the strongest free B2B lead generation techniques, especially with lead generation platforms like Kaspr, to immediately get a prospect’s contact details. 

You can prospect by using LinkedIn’s search filters, reviewing your connections, or checking out your connections’ connections. See who is engaging with content like yours, and go from there.

👉 You might also like to read about lead generation tools for smaller businesses.

LinkedIn prospecting gets a 4.5 star rating for these reasons:

• LinkedIn has a highly engaged audience, so you can find many prospects and their data.
• People are open to networking on the platform.
• There are several ways you can use LinkedIn to find potential leads. 
• Results can be nearly immediate when you connect with the right prospect. 

7. Cold call the switchboard

Free lead rating: 2.0/5 ⭐

If you’ve identified a company as a great prospective customer but are struggling to find a contact, don’t let that stop you.

Call the company’s switchboard, and ask to be connected to the position that will likely be the key decision-maker. 

For example, if you’re pitching a cyber security platform, you’d likely ask to be connected to the Chief Technology Officer (CTO). 

We’re giving this a 2.0 star rating because:

• Company contact information is super easy to access for free online.
• You will likely have to get past the gatekeeper, which can be a challenge.
• Cold calls can be incredibly effective, even more so than cold emailing. 

👉 No time for the gatekeeper? Tools like Kaspr help you bypass them - sign up for free.

8. Look back at your closed-lost accounts

Free lead rating: 4.0/5 ⭐

Closed-lost accounts might have previously declined to continue in the purchasing process with you but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t reach back out. Circumstances change, so following up with once-interested leads can make it easy to convert a sale.

You already know they were previously interested, and you already have an existing relationship with potentially multiple people within the account. What’s not to like!? 🤩 

This strategy is most effective when reps actively monitor for those changed circumstances. Set up alerts so you know if the company is scaling, for example, or if the stakeholder blocking the sale leaves the company. 

We’re giving this lead generation tactic 4.0 stars because:

• Closed-lost accounts are already warm, even if they’re not piping hot. They made it to a certain stage of your sales funnel.
• You need circumstances to change to re-engage that lead, which can take time and still might be a no if they choose another solution. 
• You likely know a great deal about these leads and already have them in your CRM. 

9. Browse what’s already in your CRM

Free lead rating: 3.0/5 ⭐

While you’re looking at those closed-lost accounts, don’t stop there. 

Take a peek in your CRM to look for prospects and leads already in your system.

Maybe there’s a list of prospects who accepted a LinkedIn connection request but didn’t respond to your first email. They may be worth reaching out to again.

This can be particularly effective when you have something new to present, like a product feature or value offer. There is also an opportunity to upsell or cross-sell to existing customers. 

When it comes to generating free leads, we’re giving this a 3.0 star rating for these reasons: 

• These are ultimately leads you already have, so it is free, but their usefulness may be limited.
• There’s a reason these leads haven’t converted before; that can be difficult to overcome.
• You don’t want to leave any stone unturned in case a lead in your CRM is a deal waiting to happen. 

10. Marketing leads

Free lead rating: 3.5/5 ⭐

Marketing can be the sales department’s best resource when the two are on the same page about what counts as a high-quality lead.

Sales reps should immediately follow up with all marketing leads as soon as they appear in the CRM so you can strike while the iron (and interest) is hot. Send a message based on what you know about the user and how marketing captured their information, and go from there.

We’re giving this lead generation tactic a 3.5 free lead rating because: 

• While these leads are free to sales, the marketing team likely invested some of their budgets to acquire them, so it isn’t technically free to the business.
• Marketing leads can be extremely high intent when the marketing team is targeting the right audience. 
• They can also be low-intent if campaigns reach the wrong audience or those who want access to free top-of-funnel resources. 

11. Try online business directories

Free lead rating: 3.2/5 ⭐

There are plenty of free online business directories that may contain lead information. 

These directories list companies based on different qualities, like industry or company size. Use them to make a list of businesses to research and cold call. You can either cold call the switchboard as discussed above, or opt for account-based selling (which we discuss next). 

We’re giving this free leads strategy 3.2 out of 5 stars because:

• Online directories are typically completely free.
• It may be time-consuming to comb through these directories, but they can provide a long list of potential prospects to research.
• You can often use them to guess email address patterns.

12. Account-based selling

Free lead rating: 4.5/5 ⭐

Account-based selling (ABS) is a go-to lead generation strategy, and it’s completely free unless you’re using a paid tool to conduct company research.

Research a company that aligns with your ideal customer profile (ICP), including potential pain points, needs, and key stakeholders. Prepare a pitch with those specific stakeholders in mind, and explain the value you can offer this individual business.

Account-based selling gets 4.5 stars for these reasons:

• It’s free unless you’re using a paid data enrichment or prospecting tool, but most research can be conducted on LinkedIn at no cost.
• Preparing targeted pitches for individual businesses and stakeholders can be wildly effective. 
• Focus on businesses in your target audience. 
• It’s a value-led approach to selling, which means you’re far more likely to put qualified leads in the pipeline.
  
  

13. Using AI chatbots on your website

Free lead rating: 3.0/5 ⭐

Lots of websites now have a small chat window that pops up when you visit, asking if you have questions.

You can use these chat tools as a lead generation opportunity. When users engage, ask for their name and contact information. Once they submit that information, they’re in your CRM, and you can reach out.

We’re giving AI chatbots a 3.0 star rating for these reasons:

• AI chatbot tools aren’t necessarily free, but most businesses already have them for sales or customer service purposes. 
• No extra effort is required from your sales staff outside of programming the chatbot; it’s all automated from here.
• Lead information can automatically sync with your CRM. 

14. Identify your website visitors

Free lead rating: 3.5/5 ⭐

There are sales intelligence and website analytics tools connected with your CRM to track website visitors. You can use that information to connect website activity to potential prospects and use retargeting campaigns to convert them from site visitors into free leads.

We’re giving this a 3.5 star rating for these reasons:

• You typically need to know who the prospect is to track activity in your CRM, which is most effective for nurturing leads.
• If your tech stack doesn’t already support this, adding another tool to do so is not free.
• Connecting with leads interested in your product can be incredibly valuable. 

15. Create a Google Business profile

Free lead rating: 2.0/5 ⭐

Google Business profiles allow you to list your business on Google. 

Businesses can use this to show up on maps and have a business listing on the platform to answer customer questions and collect reviews. 

This strategy is most effective for local businesses and is often employed by marketing teams. 

For these reasons, we’re giving this tactic 2.0 stars:

• You’ll likely already be on Google Business Profiles.
• Local businesses can benefit immensely from a Google Business profile, but it may not be as valuable for other brands or B2B brands.
• This can be an effective inbound strategy, but SDRs should never rely on inbound tactics and must seek out leads proactively.

Pros and cons of free leads

Free leads are a great way to get new customers without spending money. 💸

But they also come with some downsides.

Let's take a closer look at the pros and cons of free leads.

Pros of free leads

1. Cost-effectiveness. The most obvious benefit is that free leads don't cost anything. This can be especially helpful for small businesses or startups with limited budgets.
2. Accessibility. You can find free leads through various methods such as social media, organic search traffic, or a prospecting tool like Kaspr. These methods are can be integrated into your daily operations without much hassle.
3. Volume. Free leads can come in large numbers, especially if you’re using Kaspr to scrape the data in bulk. This can provide a significant boost to your customer base without a direct financial investment.
4. Brand awareness. Generating free leads often involves activities that also increase your brand's visibility. For example, creating valuable content can both attract leads and make more people aware of your brand.

Cons of free leads

1. Quality.  Free leads are often less targeted than paid leads. They might not be as interested or ready to buy, which can result in a lower conversion rate.
2. Inconsistent flow. Unlike paid leads, which can be generated on-demand, free leads can be unpredictable. The number of leads you get might fluctuate, making it harder to plan and scale your business.
3. Competition. Since free lead generation methods are accessible to everyone, there’s a lot of competition. Standing out and capturing attention can be challenging in a crowded space.

FAQ

Get free leads from Kaspr 

Getting free leads with Kaspr has never been easier. 

Find and connect with prospects using Kaspr’s LinkedIn Chrome Extension and web app. Discover leads while browsing or searching using advanced filters on LinkedIn Sales Navigator. 

Manage your leads, automate in-platform outreach with connection requests and follow up workflows.

Kaspr’s free plan includes:

✅ 5 phone credits
✅ 5 direct email credits.
✅ 10 export credits.
✅ LinkedIn Chrome Extension.
✅ Task management features.
✅ Dial directly from Kaspr.
✅ Integrations with major CRMs.
✅ Up to 3 lead lists.
✅ 1 enrichment workflow and 3 enrichment workflow launches. 

Ready to get your free leads? Get started with Kaspr free today.