Keeping an up-to-date repository of contact information for your prospects and customers is one of the most time-consuming and challenging parts of being in a B2B organization — unless you’ve got the right technology in place.
B2B contact database providers exist to supply teams with leads and give sellers quick access to tons of accurate information about in-market accounts.
These lead repositories exist to overcome one of the biggest challenges of B2B sales. Approximately 54% of marketers say improving low lead quality is their biggest challenge right now. After all, what use are leads if those leads don’t ever convert?
A quality B2B contact database can bolster your lead generation efforts, but where should you turn for a high quality B2B contact database? Let’s examine the top contenders for sales and marketing teams in 2024.
B2B sales are booming. It’s estimated they’ll top $20.9 trillion worldwide by 2027, and competition is on the rise. That’s why in the modern marketplace, data is the driving force behind lead qualification and conversion.
The best B2B contact databases provide a list of contacts and companies containing vital information, including:
Some databases even contain fields where sales reps can note buying intent or see automatically calculated lead scores. Using these platforms ensures reps and sales leaders alike have constant access to reliable data. So, what impact can B2B contact databases have on organizations?
Let's take a look.
Saving time and streamlining your sales efforts is the most impactful way to improve performance. A major obstacle though is organizing thousands of contacts, each with updated, relevant data. Even back in 2017, 70% of B2B data decayed annually. Interacting with inaccurate or out-of-date lists can waste up to 70% of your prospecting time.
Another problem B2B contact databases solve is providing instant access to relevant, actionable insights, including:
Market-leading B2B contact database platforms simplify accessing and organizing this data, providing your reps with everything they need in real time.
Gain a 360-degree view of your top-priority target companies. The very best B2B databases provide unrivaled insights into the inner workings of the companies who fall right into your ideal customer profile (ICP). This may include information about the relationships between decision-makers and even the team’s internal structure.
Accelerate your sales efforts to avoid wasted time with supercharged outreach. These products strap a rocket ship to your lead generation efforts by telling you who the key decision-makers are and which leads you should act upon based on behavior, intent, and the numbers.
Many B2B contact databases also enable sellers to send emails or make calls without leaving the dashboard.
B2B contact databases aren’t a new invention; they’ve been an industry staple for years, and there are hundreds of options out there. Before committing to any one provider, be sure to measure each of your options against the following checklist:
High data decay rates quickly render a database obsolete. Focus on how often a provider updates their list if you’re buying leads or if you’re generating all of your own leads, be sure you revisit all collected data on a quarterly basis. If you’re only updating your list(s) once every 12-18 months, that’s a problem.
Don’t allow the number of B2B contacts on your list to ever outweigh data quality.
It’s tough to tell if a contact database is out-of-date from the outside, so you’ll likely have to rely on what other customers say online. However, if you already have a database, here are some red flags:
Most businesses inspect the number of B2B contacts on the list before they ever consider purchasing a list of leads. Ultimately, this tells them how much data they’re paying for, which lets them consider the potential cost per lead.
Assuming a database’s size is worthwhile, be sure to still examine its data quality. The data should be recent, but what is included in the database? Low quality data only leads to poor results.
Note: Some companies want B2B contact information from a specific geographical market or with data from a precise niche. If that applies to you, ask yourself constantly: Does this database provide those things?
Your database should be easy to navigate with intuitive search and filter functions. Reps should be able to quickly pinpoint the information they need, update data, and manage their leads.
All industries must consider data security and privacy. Not just for reputational purposes but to abide by domestic and international law.
The database should comply with all relevant regulations, including the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). Non-compliance could result in massive penalties and irreparable damage to your reputation.
Ask yourself, "Does this B2B contact provider have contingencies in place to make compliance simple?"
Any B2B database provider you work with should provide you with the support you need. In other words, expect a customer service team to leap into action if something goes wrong. A consistently available customer support team is invaluable if you have questions regarding the data or need support because you found a glitch. After all, time is money.
Consider whether the database integrates with other tools, including your personal and professional CRM platform. Integration with existing tools is vital because it streamlines lead management and enables a frictionless sales process.
Anyone in sales knows the value of a great database to scale their reach and enhance their performance. However, with so many B2B data providers available, making the correct choice takes time and effort.
Instead of spending hours doing your own research, we’ve scraped the market to discover the top five CRMs that could house information from a paid list of leads.
Streak is one of the best tools for managing email lead generation and conversion efforts. More than 750,000 people use it to organize their pipelines, simplify email contact management, and create bespoke views to suit your operation.
Streak also offers extensive options for sorting, filtering, and tracking contacts. Moreover, it uses AI to enhance each contact’s information with publicly available data, allowing reps to use the latest data to reach buyers effectively and strategically.
The LinkedIn Sales Navigator remains one of the most popular tools available, with over 58 million companies using it to connect with prospects and open communications with qualified leads. As the name suggests, this is designed for LinkedIn only, enabling users to reach over 500 million people.
Its built-in features include lead recommendations and advanced search filters to connect with the right buyers. Additionally, you can save searches and export contact information, making it easy to manage customer relationships and monitor prospects.
ZoomInfo is another one of the biggest B2B contact databases, with over 150 million verified email addresses and 65 million phone numbers. High-performance sales teams should consider this the best choice for identifying leads at the start of the buying cycle.
It contains databases from various leading industries, with IT and software being the standouts. Unlike other tools, ZoomInfo offers custom pricing exclusively after a sales call. Generally, its plans can be broken down into three pricing tiers, with no single-user pricing. Reports online reveal costs can be up to $10,000 per year for three users.
Data.com is Salesforce’s proprietary B2B contact database. Its extensive database offers current contact information for some of the largest companies in the world. The standout feature of Data.com’s is its commitment to accurate, high-quality data, which is why the team offers cleansing and enrichment services.
It also integrates with most CRM systems, even if you don’t use Salesforce’s solution. Ultimately, this is less of a B2B database and more of an entire suite for B2B marketing. Some of its other tools include lead creation, account enrichment, and data purging to develop your network.
Like ZoomInfo, all plans are customized based on your business’s needs.
RocketReach is the fifth and final data market leader for sales and marketing teams. Currently, RocketReach boasts a database of 35 million companies and 700 million professionals across an array of industries.
The platform’s strength lies in its high-quality data, boasting email deliverance rates of 98%. Additionally, RocketReach comes with tools and integrations to streamline outreach with intuitive automated prospecting.
Successful outreach campaigns start when teams start targeting the right prospects. Email remains one of the best channels for connecting with new leads and nurturing relationships with existing ones. With Streak, we make it simple to track, tag, sort, and filter your email contacts for more effective lead generation than ever.
Join the 750,000+ Streak users who’ve regained control of their inboxes and now grow their book of business in a more sustainable way. Get started in 30 seconds or less with the world’s top Gmail integration tool today.
B2B contact databases contain lists of business contacts that have been verified for sales teams to use in prospecting and lead generation. These databases are made to integrate right into a sales rep’s workflow.
Contact details are gleaned from various sources, including company websites and social media channels. Contact databases are essentially a central archive of these efforts that sales reps can act on.
Data accuracy is critical because low-quality data wastes time and productivity. With data decay rates soaring, companies lose millions annually by acting on irrelevant and inaccurate data. Excellent B2B contact databases address this pain point with state-of-the-art tools that regularly check and recheck data.
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