LinkedIn holds over 1 billion leads.
Now, obviously, you can’t reach them all, so you need the right lead generation tools to turn LinkedIn profiles into sales opportunities.
These tools help you automate identifying and connecting with potential leads, enhancing both the quantity and quality of new business opportunities.
LinkedIn lead gen tool | Best for | Standout feature | Free trial | Starting price |
Taplio | Building a personal brand on LinkedIn | AI generated posts & lead extraction | ✅ | $49/mo |
LinkedIn Sales Navigator | Finding LinkedIn leads | Advanced LinkedIn search | ✅ | $79.99/mo |
Phantombuster | Scraping people who engage with you on LinkedIn | LinkedIn Post Commenters + Likers scraping | ✅ | $56/mo |
lemlist | Automating LinkedIn outreach steps and extracting leads’ data | LinkedIn steps and Chrome extension | ✅ | $32/mo |
Dropcontact | Finding leads LinkedIn profiles and scraping their info | Unique search | ✅ | $24/mo |
Expandi.io | Sending LinkedIn connection requests on auto-pilot | Multichannel outreach | ✅ | $49/mo |
lempod | Increasing engagement within specified network | Automated likes and comments | ✅ | $9.99 per pod |
Salestools AI (Demand) | Identifying and tracking LinkedIn leads | Tracking + outreach automation | ✅ | $59/user/mo |
Octopus | Bypassing invitation limits and automating skills endorsement | Automated LinkedIn steps | ✅ | $6.99/mo |
Lusha | Getting valid leads’ information from LinkedIn | Data extraction + List management | ✅ | $36/user/mo |
skrapp | Finding verified leads’ emails | LinkedIn scrapping | ✅ | 30€/mo |
What is LinkedIn lead generation?
LinkedIn lead generation is the process of finding your leads on LinkedIn.
Thanks to its advanced search filters to identify potential customer (like industry, job title, and location), LinkedIn became a crucial platform for lead generation, especially in the B2B sector.
The key to this strategy is creating and sharing engaging content, showing your expertise, and fostering trust within your target audience.
LinkedIn also offers specialized native tools and features like Sales Navigator and targeted ad campaigns to enhance lead-generation efforts. However, plenty of other external LinkedIn tools can also help you grow your business.
You can use LinkedIn for personalized outreach – tailoring messages to each prospect’s specific needs and interests, which significantly boosts engagement.
To sum up, LinkedIn lead generation combines strategic content, personalized outreach, and the effective use of LinkedIn tools to make new connections and open opportunities.
Check out how to find hot leads with LinkedIn!
6 benefits of using LinkedIn for lead generation
Here are six reasons why LinkedIn is a powerful tool for lead generation:
1. Access to a network of 1 billion people
LinkedIn has one of the most extensive networks of professionals across various industries.
Thanks to its advanced filtering, it gives you access to diverse potential leads and makes it easier to target decision-makers and influencers.
2. Precise targeting
The platform’s advanced targeting capabilities allow businesses to pinpoint prospects based on job titles, industries, company sizes, and locations, ensuring sales efforts are focused on the most relevant audience.
3. Building credibility and trust
Sharing insightful content and engaging in industry discussions enhances reputation and fosters trust among potential leads.
4. Effective content distribution
LinkedIn is an ideal platform for sharing content that resonates with a professional audience, helping to establish thought leadership, and keeping prospects engaged with your offer.
5. Direct engagement
The platform enables direct and meaningful interactions with prospects through features like InMail, messages, and group discussions, which are crucial for building relationships that lead to conversions.
6. Analytics and insights
LinkedIn provides valuable analytics, allowing businesses to track the effectiveness of their lead-generation efforts and double down on success.
Checklist to choose the best LinkedIn lead gen tool and software
Here’s a checklist of 10 things to do when choosing your best LinkedIn lead-generation tool:
1. Define lead generation goals
- [ ] Identify specific objectives (brand awareness, sales, types of leads, etc.)
2. Targeting capabilities
- [ ] Ensure the tool offers advanced targeting (industry, company size, job title, location)
3. Integration and compatibility
- [ ] Check compatibility with existing outreach tools (CRM, email platforms)
- [ ] Check out the ease of integration
4. Automation features
- [ ] Evaluate automation capabilities (connection requests, follow-ups, post-scheduling)
- [ ] Balance automation with personalization options
5. Analytics and reporting
- [ ] Look for comprehensive analytics features
- [ ] Ensure availability of detailed reporting for campaign tracking
6. User Reviews and Recommendations
- [ ] Research user reviews and feedback
- [ ] Seek recommendations from industry peers or forums
7. Pricing and ROI
- [ ] Analyze the pricing structure of the tool
- [ ] Consider the potential return on investment
8. Trial and testing
- [ ] Check if a free trial is available
- [ ] Test the tool to evaluate its fit with your needs
9. Customer support
- [ ] Check out the quality of customer support provided
- [ ] Make sure they have enough resources for troubleshooting and assistance
10. Scalability
- [ ] Ensure the tool can handle increasing lead volumes and data
Native LinkedIn lead generation tools & resources
LinkedIn personal profile
Correctly filling out your LinkedIn profile is one of the most crucial steps if you want to engage with potential buyers.
That includes a sharp profile picture and cover photo, a relevant headline, and a detailed about section with previous experience.
You can also use keywords in your descriptions to position your profile higher in LinkedIn searches.
Grab your LinkedIn leads’ attention, give a clear vision of who you are to people landing on your profile, and your network will increase with potential clients.
LinkedIn business page
Your company can also have its page on LinkedIn, allowing you to engage with customers, leads, and partners.
You can join conversations, share content in different formats, react to posts that mention your brand, create events, etc.
All these actions are taken under your brand name and logo.
It also lets you know more about your audience by following the trends and understanding your metrics.
Going on a competitor’s LinkedIn page can also expose some potential leads.
You can see their followers or the list of people who liked and engaged with a specific post.
Once you’ve identified your most relevant followers, you can scrap all the profiles with tools like Phantombuster, or the lemlist Chrome extension and convert them into LinkedIn leads.
LinkedIn lead ads
There are different types of LinkedIn ads that you can choose according to your needs.
- Sponsored content to promote your company in the LinkedIn feed
- Sponsored InMail to send personalized messages to your leads
- Text Ads (pay-per-click) with a small headline, a description, and an image
This helps your content appear in front of more qualified leads.
Bear in mind, LinkedIn ads are not mandatory for your LinkedIn B2B lead generation.
However, when you’re a beginner, you can boost a post with ads, allowing you to check if you’re reaching the right audience.
LinkedIn lead generation forms
You can add LinkedIn lead forms to your message ads and sponsored content.
This type of content allows more info about the user – their information from the profile will be filled in automatically when they open the form.
The ultimate list of top 11 LinkedIn lead generation tools in 2024
When you’re using LinkedIn for lead generation, there are some tools you can use to be more efficient.
They’ll help you find the right LinkedIn leads, scrap info, and redirect them to your campaigns.
1. Taplio
Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Product Hunt – 4.5 (16 reviews)
Overview
Taplio is a tool that allows you to leverage AI to generate leads on LinkedIn.
Aside from creating content with AI, with Taplio, you can also find your LinkedIn leads, expand your network, and export data.
it helps you create content lists, engage automatically with people in your industry, send DMs to the right people at the right time, and integrate fully with your CRM and outreach tools.
Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Product Hunt – 4.5 (16 users)
Overview
Taplio is a tool that allows you to leverage AI to generate leads on LinkedIn.
Aside from creating content with AI, with Taplio, you can also find your LinkedIn leads, expand your network, and export data.
it helps you create content lists, engage automatically with people in your industry, send DMs to the right people at the right time, and integrate fully with your CRM and outreach tools.
Pricing (Billed annually) & Functionalities
Taplio offers a free 7-day free trial and includes paying plans: Starter for $39/mo, Standard for $65/mo, and Pro for $199/mo. They are billed monthly without commitment, but you can save 20% on each plan if you choose a yearly plan.
Taplio also includes a 30-day money-back guarantee in all their plans!
✅ Pros
- Automated and scheduled posting
- Content inspiration section
- Responsive support team
- Post performance analytics
- Seamless UX and UI
❌ Cons
- Paywall limitation
- Lack of affordable options for smaller businesses
2. LinkedIn Sales Navigator
Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Capterra – 4.6 (136 reviews) | G2 – 4.3 (1825 reviews)
Overview
LinkedIn Sales Navigator is an advanced sales tool that allows users to create more personalized and targeted outreach on LinkedIn.
It’s a premium version of LinkedIn with additional features for sales professionals to generate leads.
It allows you to perform more advanced searches to filter your results precisely, quickly discover the right people, and take them down the sales funnel.
Pricing (Billed annually) & Functionalities
LinkedIn Sales Navigator offers a free trial and has paid plans Core (Professional) for $79.99/month, Advanced (Team) for $108.33/month, and Advanced Plus (Enterprise) for starts at $1600/month.
✅ Pros
- Advanced Search Filters: Allows for more precise targeting of potential leads.
- In-Depth Insights: Provides detailed information about companies and individuals.
- Lead Recommendations: Suggests potential leads based on your sales preferences.
- Integration with CRM: Can integrate with various CRM platforms for streamlined workflow
❌ Cons
- Cost: More expensive compared to the basic LinkedIn account.
- Learning Curve: Some users may find it takes time to utilize all features fully and effectively.
- Limited InMail Messages: The number of InMail messages is limited based on the subscription plan.
3. Phantombuster
Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Capterra – 4.6 (59 reviews) | Chrome Stats – 4.1 (35 reviews)
Overview
Phantombuster is a tool that helps you generate leads by automating LinkedIn engagement and reaching out to your prospects.
For example, this tool can scrape people who commented on or liked your posts.
Since they already know you, reaching out to them will make more sense and bring more replies.
Pricing (billed annually) & Functionalities
Phantombuster offers a free trial, and paid plans: Starter for $56/month, Pro for $128/month, and Team for $352/month.
✅ Pros
- Powerful data extraction
- Automates sales processes
- Efficient downloading lists
❌ Cons
- Issued with the use of personal data
- Issues with LinkedIn integration
4. lemlist
Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Product Hunt – 4.9/5 (432 reviews) | Capterra – 4.6/5 (370 reviews)
Overview
With lemlist and its Chrome extension, you can add anyone to your outreach campaign while visiting their profile and automate LinkedIn profile visits, connection requests, and messages.
You can add details in the extension so you never miss an opportunity to add personalization for your LinkedIn lead (latest post published, type of topics shared, previous experiences, etc.).
And when you conduct a larger search, you can also add a list of leads from a LinkedIn search directly into your outreach campaign.
With lemlist’s new Chrome extension, you can also check out which leads are already in lemlist without switching apps and enrich them in bulk!
Additionally, after your free trial you can continue on Freemium version to scrap up to 100 monthly emails.
This extension is a time saver for your LinkedIn lead gen strategy.
No need to copy/paste from one app to the other; everything is done with a few clicks on the same screen!
Once you add your new leads to the outreach campaign, you can use lemlist’s AI to generate personalized multichannel sequences, including LinkedIn steps!
You can perform LinkedIn steps such as invites, profile visits, and text, or audio messages – 100% on auto-pilot.
Pricing (billed annually) & Functionalities
lemlist offers 14-day free trial and a free plan, and paying plans Email Starter ($39/mo/user/1 sending email), Email Pro ($69/mo/user/3 sending emails), Multichannel Expert ($99/mo/user/5 sending emails), Outreach Scale ($159/mo/user/15 sending emails).
This pricing is for monthly billing, however, if you choose to be billed annually, you’ll receive a 20% discount, as shown in the image below.
✅ Pros
- AI-Powered Campaigns: Lexlist’s AI helps create highly personalized multichannel campaigns.
- Smart Enrichment: Extracts valid email addresses and LinkedIn information without relying on your LinkedIn profile.
- Warm-up & Deliverability Booster: Ensures emails avoid spam folders and land in the recipient’s inbox.
- Multichannel Outreach: Engage leads on their preferred channels, including email, LinkedIn, and more.
- Integration with your CRM: Native integrations with popular CRMs like Salesforce, HubSpot, and Pipedrive.
❌ Cons
- Some advanced features might be available only in higher-tier plans.
- Integration with certain third-party tools might require additional setup.
5. Dropcontact
Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Capterra – 4.6 (21 reviews) | Dropcontact – 4.7 (34 reviews)
Overview
Dropcontact is a SaaS solution that enriches, cleans, and corrects data directly in CRMs without human intervention.
It helps you scrap leads’ LinkedIn profiles to find their details and everything you need for personalized outreach.
You just have to type the person’s name and company; these tools will search for the info you need so you can generate LinkedIn leads.
For example, here I just typed “Lucille” and “lemlist.com” ⬇️
Pricing (billed annually) & Functionalities
Dropcontact offers a free trial and paid plans: Email search and enrichment for $24/month and CRM integration with a price on request.
✅ Pros
- Very accurate information
- Large database
- GDPR compliant
❌Cons
- Low integration possibilities with other tools
You can check out our blog article for more ways to find someone’s email address.
6. Expandi.io
Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐
G2 – 4 (76 reviews) | Capterra – 4.4 (32 reviews)
Overview
Expandi.io is a LinkedIn automation tool designed to enhance LinkedIn outreach and engagement.
It offers hyper-personalized cold outreach campaigns and allows users to send up to 300 LinkedIn connection requests per week.
By building your LinkedIn network, you can showcase your personal brand to your leads, build trust and credibility, and generate more leads.
Pricing (billed annually) & Functionalities
Expandi.io offers free trial and paid plans: Business for $99 per month and Agency with custom pricing for 10+ seats).
✅ Pros
- Advanced Personalization: Offers features like image and GIF personalization for outreach messages.
- Automation Capabilities: Automates various actions like profile visits, content likes, and connection requests.
- Integration with Email: Allows combining LinkedIn and email prospecting for enhanced follow-up strategies.
❌ Cons
- Some user mentioned poor customer service and lots of bugs
7. lempod
Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Capterra – 4.1 (6 reviews)
Overview
lempod is an AI-powered LinkedIn automation tool designed to significantly increase user engagement on LinkedIn posts. It does this by automating likes and comments from a user’s pod aka network.
Pricing & Functionalities
lempod offer a free trial and paid plans: Marketplace for $9.99 per pod and Private Business Pod for $3.99 per user in a pod.
✅ Pros
- Enhanced Engagement: Increases LinkedIn post views and engagement through likes and comments.
- Targeted Audience: Allows users to join relevant engagement pods to ensure content reaches the right audience.
- AI-Powered Comments: Offers AI-generated comments to enhance the authenticity of interactions.
❌ Cons
- The comments can sometimes be too generic
8. Salestools AI (Demand)
Ratings ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Product Hunt 4.4 (7 reviews)
Overview
Salestools AI (ex Demand) is a comprehensive lead generation platform that integrates AI to enhance LinkedIn outreach and engagement.
It’s designed to help companies identify and connect with their ideal customers on LinkedIn more efficiently.
Pricing & Functionalities
Salestools AI offers a free trial and paid plans: All-In-One for $99/user/month, Sales Acceleration for $59/user/month, and Social Selling (required Sales Navigator) for $59/user/month.
✅ Pros
- AI-Powered Personalization: Utilizes AI to generate personalized LinkedIn messages and emails.
- Automated Sentiment Analysis: Analyzes replies and handles them based on their sentiment, ensuring efficient follow-ups.
- Social Selling Automation: Engages with leads and potential customers through automated social selling techniques.
❌ Cons
- Some users reported poor UX
9. Octopus
Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Capterra – 4.6 (270 reviews) | G2 – 4.4 (115 reviews)
Overview
Octopus CRM aims to simplify prospecting efforts on LinkedIn, allowing users to automate various tasks such as sending connection requests, messaging, profile viewing, and skill endorsing.
Pricing (billed annually) & Functionalities
Octopus CRM offers a free trial and paid plans Starter for $6.99 per month, Pro for $9.99 per month, Advanced for $14.99 per month, and Unlimited for $24.99 per month.
✅ Pros
- Comprehensive Automation: Offers a range of automation features including connection requests, messaging, and profile views.
- Safety Measures: Implements numerous safety measures to protect LinkedIn accounts.
- Integration Capabilities: Can integrate with Zapier and Hubspot for extended functionality.
- Bypass Weekly Invite Limit: Feature to get around LinkedIn’s weekly invitation limit.
❌ Cons
- Some users report a lack of crucial features in basic plans
- Lack of automation capabilities
10. Lusha
Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Capterra – 4.1 (359 reviews) | G2 – 4.2 (1,412 reviews)
Overview
Lusha is a B2B database and sales intelligence platform that provides high-quality company and contact data to generate more qualified leads.
The main goal of Lusha is to facilitate more effective sales and marketing outreach by providing reliable data for prospecting, including phone numbers and email addresses.
Pricing & Functionalities
Lusha offers free plan and paid plans: Pro for $29/user/month, Premium for $51/user/month, and Scale with pricing on request.
✅ Pros
- High Data Accuracy: Lusha emphasizes an 80% data accuracy rate, which is crucial for effective prospecting.
- Increased ROI: Users have reported significant returns on investment, with some citing an 800% ROI increase.
- Enhanced Meeting and Demo Booking: The platform is credited with increasing the number of meetings and demos booked.
❌ Cons
- System sometimes doesn’t give 100% accurate information
- Cost may be on the pricier side
11. Skrapp
Ratings ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Capterra – 4.6 (54 reviews) | G2 – 3.9 (11 reviews)
Overview
Skrapp is an email lookup tool that specializes in extracting leads from LinkedIn. It allows users to find verified professional email addresses quickly.
The main goal of Skrapp is to facilitate email prospecting and outreach campaigns by providing an efficient way to gather email addresses from LinkedIn and Sales Navigator.
Pricing (billed annually) & Functionalities
Skrapp offers free plan and paid plans: Starter for 30€ per month, Seeker for 75€ per month, and Global for 225€ per month.
✅ Pros
- Efficient Email Lookup: Quickly finds verified email addresses on LinkedIn.
- Integration with LinkedIn and Sales Navigator: Enhances the process of collecting leads from these platforms.
- Email Verification: Ensures the accuracy of the email addresses collected.
❌ Cons
- Data isn’t always accurate
How to do LinkedIn lead generation with AI?
Very few LinkedIn lead generation tools have a robust set of AI-powered features. Taplio is an exception.
Taplio’s AI system analyzes who you are and what you talk about. It generates relevant and high-performing posts tailor-made for your feed. You can post them (or schedule for later) directly from your Taplio account.
Taplio also has a LinkedIn carousel feature, one of LinkedIn’s best-performing formats, and can generate carousels in seconds.
Taplio can also be used as an efficient LinkedIn CRM system for lead generation. The “Contacts” feature in the CRM section of your Taplio dashboard allows you to import people from a Sales Navigator search. You can also import people who have liked or commented on a specific post on LinkedIn.
Additionally, the Taplio’s takes this one step further. Simply search Taplio’s powerful database based on profile filters of your preference or describe what you’re looking for. From there, you’ll be able to access a rich database of potential leads and profiles you can engage directly with on LinkedIn.
Key takeaways
Navigating through LinkedIn’s native features for lead generation can be daunting, but the right tools can turn this challenge into a strategic advantage.
As we’ve explored, each LinkedIn lead generation tool offers unique features and capabilities, catering to different aspects of the lead generation process.
From automating outreach to providing insightful analytics, these tools are designed to enhance your sales efforts and drive business revenue.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best LinkedIn lead generation tool?
Taplio is the most powerful lead generation tool currently in the market. It’s feature-rich, robust, and easy to use, which makes it the best lead-gen software. It’s also very popular among LinkedIn influencers, B2B businesses, sales and growth experts, and people building their brands on LinkedIn.
What is the best LinkedIn lead scraper?
The best LinkedIn scraping tools in 2024 are:
- lemlist
- Phantombuster
- Captain Data
- La Growth Machine
- Waalaxy