6 Best Lead Generation Companies for Small Business
Jess served on the founding team of a successful B2B startup and has used a wide range of sales and marketing tools over the course of her 15-year career. She uses her industry knowledge to deliver the best answers to your questions about sales tools and sales management.
This article is part of a larger series on Sales Management.
Lead generation companies create sales opportunities through initial outreach activities for qualifying business leads and setting appointments. The best sales lead generation companies offer a range of services, provide detailed lead intel and data enrichment, and set appointments based on your sales goals. We examined dozens of companies and came up with the top six so your team can focus on lead nurturing, sales presentations, and deal closing instead of time-consuming initial prospecting activities.
Here are our picks for the six best lead generation companies for small business:
- EBQuickstart: Best overall lead generation company—top option for businesses wanting a comprehensive set of sales services
- Martal Group: Best source of business leads for business-to-business (B2B) technology companies
- SalesRoads: Excellent lead qualification resource to determine prospect fit
- CIENCE Technologies: Best lead generation company for businesses wanting robust data about leads
- Belkins: Top pick for organizations needing a guaranteed number of appointments set
- JMS Elite: Ideal lead generation company for businesses looking for sales services in later pipeline stages
The Best Lead Generation Services Compared
Provider | Pricing | CRM Consulting Services | Special Features | Help & Support |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Contact for pricing | ✔ | Fully customizable sales services | Email and phone support during business hours |
 | Contact for pricing | ✕ | Publishes transparent sales conversion rates | Phone and email support, hours not listed |
 | Contact for pricing* | ✕ | Reps average 14 years of sales experience | Phone support during business hours |
 | No public pricing, offers customized packages | ✔ | Services apply to a broad range of industries | Phone and email support, hours not listed |
 | Contact for pricing | ✕ | Robust ROI calculator on company website | Phone and email support, hours not listed |
 | Contact for pricing | ✕ | Offers additional sales activities like upselling | Phone support during business hours |
*While the website doesn’t list pricing, the reputable review site G2 indicates pricing starts at $9,500 per month.
EBQuickstart: Overall Best Lead Generation Company
EBQ
What We Like
- Wide range of sales and marketing solutions includes lead generation, outsourced sales, CRM consulting services, and customer onboarding
- All sales services are fully customizable to the client's needs
- Supplemental data service for enriching or acquiring B2B contact lists
What's Missing
- No transparent pricing, must contact their specialists for quotes
- No live chat support option
- Customer service only available during standard business hours
EBQuickstart Pricing
- Must contact for customizable pricing based on which services are selected
EBQuickstart (EBQ) provides solutions for many components of the sales process, including prospect researching, appointment setting, deal closing, and customer onboarding. There are even certified customer relationship management (CRM) system consultants to make sure your sales team is utilizing best practices and your sales operation scales.
EBQ’s lead generation capabilities come primarily from B2B appointment setting. They will cold call targeted accounts to make introductions, qualify business leads, and get appointments on your calendar. The cold-calling service also extends to continuously following up with non-responsive leads and conducting market research.
Unfortunately, while EBQ used to be more transparent, the website no longer displays starting pricing for their services. For a lead generation company where you’ll have an idea of the cost from the start, we recommend CIENCE Technologies.
EBQ Key Services
- CRM optimization: Consulting services for businesses using Salesforce or HubSpot to ensure they are getting the most out of their platform
- B2B data services: Prospecting contact lists and data enrichment of contacts already in your database
- Appointment setting: Cold-calling services to qualify business leads and set up appointments for you
- Outsourced sales services: Sales reps represent your business and close deals on your behalf
- Customer experience: Outsourced services to handle customer onboarding and customer service on your behalf
- Integrated marketing services: Digital marketing services include sending email campaigns, web development, design services, and content marketing
EBQuickstart home page services (Source: EBQuickstart)
Martal Group: Best for B2B Technology Businesses
Martal Group
What We Like
- Transparent about sales funnel and average conversion rates
- Dedicated team of specialists with unique skill sets are assigned to each client
- Tier-based system based on the unique needs of the client
What's Missing
- No live chat support
- No pricing estimates are shown on the website
- Not a great fit for B2B companies outside of the technology industry
Martal Group Pricing
- Tier 1: Contact for pricing, includes lead generation
- Tier 2: Contact for pricing, includes lead generation and customer onboarding services
- Tier 3: Contact for pricing, includes lead generation, customer onboarding, and account management services
Specializing in the technology industry, Martal Group assists businesses in all areas of tech sales, from lead generation to account management. While the website doesn’t show pricing, it does indicate how effectively they attract new business for their clients, such as by sharing average sales funnel conversions produced.
Martal Group average sales funnel conversions (Source: Martal Group)
Martal Group is an excellent resource for generating both outbound and inbound leads. The service uses outreach activities that include cold calling, emailing, and social media engagement through LinkedIn to set up appointments. They can also manage inbound marketing campaigns to generate business leads through your website.
This organization serves the technology industry exclusively, including IT services, marketing and ad tech, software and software as a service (SaaS), and telecommunications businesses. If your business falls outside of this arena, we recommend JMS Elite or CIENCE Technologies as two of the best lead generation organizations with multi-industry capabilities.
Martal Group Key Services
- B2B appointment setting: Will set up meetings for sales presentations or product demos
- Omnichannel campaigns: Outreach initiatives include calling, emailing, and connecting on LinkedIn
- Inbound lead generation: Services involve managing marketing campaigns, blogs, and social media accounts to generate inbound leads from your website
- Account management: Long-term strategizing and execution of maximizing current customer value on your behalf
- Customer onboarding: Service includes customizing offers, facilitating the closing of deals, and new client onboarding
Martal Group tiered services (Source: Martal Group)
SalesRoads: Best for Acquiring Prospect-fit Intelligence
SalesRoads
What We Like
- Prospect-fit assessments by phone to see if they are a good match for your solutions
- Reps average 14 years of sales experience, go through more training than others in the same field, and have frequent one-on-one coaching
- 28-day promise allows you to cancel services within the first 28 days if you aren’t satisfied
What's Missing
- No transparent pricing
- Customer support limited to phone
- Lacks sales services other than lead generation
SalesRoads Pricing
- Contact for a customizable quote for lead generation, advanced prospect intelligence, and appointment setting
SalesRoads offers lead generation services like appointment setting and cold calling lead qualification to determine the hottest leads to pursue. This is done through prospect-fit assessments during introduction calls. During these calls, prospects are asked about their current solutions, price tolerance, pain points, and whether or not they have decision-making authority.
Prospect-fit assessment chart (Source: SalesRoads)
The prospect-fit assessment is one of two attributes that make SalesRoads unique from others on this list of the best lead generation providers. The other is a 28-day promise that lets you cancel within the first 28 days if you aren’t satisfied, returning any unused funds.
The ability to decommit from what would otherwise be a long-term requirement eliminates the risk of trying the service. This is an advantage compared to other options, such as CIENCE Technologies and Belkins, which both require a three-month minimum commitment.
However, SalesRoads is limited strictly to lead generation through appointment setting and prospecting to find the most timely business leads. If you want a provider that expands into other sales services, such as deal closing, nurturing, customer onboarding, or account management, take a look at EBQuickstart or JMS Elite as the best alternatives.
SalesRoads Key Services
- Prospect-fit assessments: Introductory cold call gets information on leads that indicate potential fit with your business, including current solutions, price thresholds, purchase timelines, pain points, and decision-making authority
- Appointment setting: Cold calling to get appointments set up with executives and decision-maker business leads
- Lead generation services: Cold calling to gain insights on hot leads that can be pursued by your team to close the deal after the initial introduction
- 14 days to launch: SalesRoads guarantees they can get your campaigns up and running in just 14 business days for quick results
CIENCE Technologies: Most Robust Lead Data
CIENCE Technologies
What We Like
- Offers a comprehensive set of sales services and tools
- Robust data solution services
- Serves a wide range of industries including technology, financial services, marketing, biotechnology, and education
What's Missing
- No public pricing details, must consult with sales for a quote
- No live chat customer support
CIENCE Technologies Pricing
- Outbound SDR Team: Custom monthly subscription, 3-month minimum commitment
- Inbound SDR Team: Custom monthly subscription
- Data Sales Research (CIENCE GO Data): Custom annual subscription
- CRM Migration and Consulting (CIENCE GO Custom): Custom monthly subscription
CIENCE Technologies offers a range of business lead generation solutions including an outbound sales development representative (SDR) team, inbound team, lead lists, and CRM consulting to manage migrations and integrations for HubSpot CRM users. The span of capabilities doesn’t stop at services. They are also able to handle clients from several different industries, including technology, financial services, marketing, biotech, education, and training firms.
While other competitors on this list offer supplemental data services, none matches the sales data solutions of this provider. The CIENCE Technologies team, artificial intelligence tools, and multisource databases all pull information about leads and contacts. Nor is this data limited to names, phone numbers, and email addresses—users can also pull information about the prospect’s technology stack, organization, and behaviors.
CIENCE Technologies data categories (Source: CIENCE Technologies)
While it is one of the best sales lead generation companies, CIENCE Technologies requires a three-month minimum commitment for their SDR outreach teams. For a shorter and risk-free outbound service commitment, we recommend SalesRoads, which offers a 28-day grace period during which you can cancel if you are not satisfied with the service.
CIENCE Technologies Key Services
- Outbound sales development: Outreach for prospecting, lead qualification, appointment and demo scheduling, and lead information through phone, email, LinkedIn, and live chat channels
- Sales data solutions: Lead list building with detailed information including demographic, firmographic (industry, revenue, etc.), technographic (current technology stack), psychographic (behaviors and interests), and specialized marketing data
- Inbound sales development: Services for generating inbound leads and converting market-qualified leads into sales-qualified
- CRM services: Integration, migration, and consulting for HubSpot CRM users
SDR return on investment (ROI) calculator (Source: CIENCE Technologies)
Belkins: Ideal for Guaranteed Appointment Setting
Belkins
What We Like
- ROI calculator on Belkins’ website shows estimates based on prospects, industry, average deal size, and closing ratios
- Offers 30 additional days free if they cannot hit target appointments over the first 6 months
- Because of the high sampling and experience, they guarantee a specific number of appointments set over a period of time
What's Missing
- No live chat support
- Pricing indicated is only based on estimates made by clients, not actual pricing
- No monthly billing—requires a minimum 3-month contract
Belkins Pricing (Custom for Each Plan):
- Startup: 6+ appointments over 3- to 6-month option
- Growth: 10+ appointments over 3- to 6-month option
- Growth Plus: 30+ appointments over 6 months
Belkins is a small business lead generation service that sets appointments through cold calling and email campaigns and supplies unqualified lead lists. They also have email delivery services to make sure emails are going to the recipient and not spam folders. Additionally, there are social media management services for those who want to use LinkedIn for lead generation that includes outreach, content creation, and audience research.
While their pricing is not listed on their website, they include language about having budget-friendly options for new startups to established enterprise-level companies. They also offer free webinars, a growth podcast, and a comprehensive blog at no cost.
One of the most common reasons a business may resist using third-party lead generation resources is the lack of guarantee they will get any appointments. Belkins eases the minds of those concerned with that aspect. A large sample size of campaigns puts them in a position to guarantee a specific number of appointments will be set for your sales team over a three- to six-month period. If that number is not hit, an additional 30 days of campaigns is added for free.
Belkins Key Services
- Appointment setting: Outreach services via calling or emailing to qualify leads and set up appointments for your sales team
- Email delivery services: Consulting services to strategize on email marketing campaigns and help with deliverability
- Lead generation research: Custom leads lists based on ideal customer profiles as well as data enrichment on all of your current contacts
- LinkedIn influencer marketing: Content creation and audience research services to engage with people on LinkedIn to generate leads
Belkins ROI calculator (Source: Belkins)
Belkins service options (Source: Belkins)
JMS Elite: Best for Lead Nurturing & Upselling
JMS Elite
What We Like
- Multi-industry capabilities including manufacturing, information technology, healthcare, financial services, and retail
- Unique additional sales pipeline activities include lead nurturing, upselling existing clients, and marketing validation
- Free online resources and an informative blog on topics like cold calling, lead generation, and inside sales
What's Missing
- Customer service only available by phone during standard business hours
- No public pricing available
- Doesn’t offer lead list or data enrichment services
JMS Elite Pricing
- Contact for pricing; services include lead generation, outsourced inside sales, market validation and insight, lead nurturing, and B2B appointment setting
Like all the other lead generation companies on this list, JMS Elite offers lead generation services through B2B appointment setting and qualification to keep your pipeline full. Where JMS Elite sets itself apart is with additional lead nurturing services that keep the pipeline moving. They even help you with campaigns for upselling to existing customers.
While JMS Elite offers services that support many stages of the sales pipeline, such as lead generation, nurturing, and qualifying, they do not have options for generating lead lists or enriching contact data. CIENCE Technologies is an excellent alternative that has these high-level data services available.
JMS Elite Key Services
- B2B lead generation: Identifying prospects, engaging with decision-makers, and appointment setting through cold-calling campaigns
- Outsourced inside sales services: Inside sales services include campaign follow-ups and sales cycle support
- Market validation and insights: Campaigns to assess buyer readiness and the needs of each potential customer
- Teleprospecting: Calling campaigns can be used for both selling to leads and upselling to current clients
- Lead nurturing: Campaign management targeting leads that are moving through the pipeline slowly in order to make them sales-qualified or ready to purchase
How We Evaluated the Best Lead Generation Companies for Small Business
To determine the top lead generation companies and the best-for scenarios for each, we evaluated the services offered and how effective each provider is at generating leads, qualifying them, and setting appointments. We also evaluated other things important to sales-forward businesses like supplemental services, pricing, customer support, and our firsthand experience as to the ease of working with the lead generation company or using the platform.
Bottom Line
A key responsibility of those in sales management is to determine which activities to outsource. Hiring one of the top lead generation companies gives your team more time to spend on the sales activities required in the later stages of the pipeline, like delivering sales presentations, crafting proposals, and closing deals. Many of these providers further broaden what they offer with data enrichment, CRM, and social media selling services.
