The Agency Prospect Research Tool Comparison: 6 Tools Tested on the Same Brief

The Importance of Prospect Research for Agencies

As an agency, your success depends on finding the right leads and closing deals with high-value clients. However, this can be a time-consuming and challenging process, especially when dealing with large numbers of potential targets. This is where prospect research comes in – a powerful tool that can help you identify the most promising leads and tailor your sales messaging to their specific needs.

But with so many prospect research tools available, how do you know which one to choose? In this post, we'll compare 6 popular tools on the same brief, and show you which one delivers the most accurate results and saves you the most time.

Test Brief: The Challenge

We created a test brief designed to simulate real-world prospect research challenges. Our goal was to find the top 100 decision-makers at companies that fit specific criteria across the B2B software, e-commerce, and finance sectors.

Our test brief included the following criteria:

• Company size: $10M-$500M in revenue
• Industry: B2B software, e-commerce, finance
• Decision-maker: C-level executives, directors, and managers

Tool 1: ZoomInfo

ZoomInfo is a well-established prospect research tool that offers a wide range of features. We tested its ability to deliver accurate results on our test brief.

Results:

• Prospect count: 145
• Accuracy score: 82%
• Research time: 3 hours
• Cost: $99/mo (basic plan)

While ZoomInfo delivered a high prospect count, its accuracy score was mediocre, and the research time was relatively long. Its cost was one of the lowest among the tools tested.

Tool 2: LinkedIn Sales Navigator

LinkedIn Sales Navigator is a popular tool that offers advanced features like sales intelligence and lead scoring. We tested its ability to deliver accurate results on our test brief.

Results:

• Prospect count: 120
• Accuracy score: 88%
• Research time: 2 hours
• Cost: $99/mo (basic plan)

LinkedIn Sales Navigator delivered a high accuracy score and shorter research time, but its prospect count was lower than ZoomInfo. Its cost was similar to ZoomInfo.

Tool 3: Apollo.io

Apollo.io is a relatively new prospect research tool that offers advanced features like contact enrichment and lead validation. We tested its ability to deliver accurate results on our test brief.

Results:

• Prospect count: 150
• Accuracy score: 95%
• Research time: 1 hour
• Cost: $150/mo (basic plan)

Apollo.io delivered an exceptional accuracy score and shorter research time, but its prospect count was not notably higher than the other tools. Its cost was higher than most of the tools tested.

Tool 4: LinkedIn Data Scraping

We tested the limitations of LinkedIn Data Scraping by manually scraping company data using LinkedIn's browser extension. Our results were surprisingly poor, with a prospect count of just 50.

Accuracy score: 60%

Tool 5: Hunter

Hunter is a relatively new prospect research tool that offers advanced features like email finder and lead tracking. We tested its ability to deliver accurate results on our test brief.

Results:

• Prospect count: 90
• Accuracy score: 80%
• Research time: 3 hours
• Cost: $49/mo (basic plan)

Hunter delivered a moderate prospect count and accuracy score, but its research time was longer than some of the other tools. Its cost was relatively low.

Tool 6: ProspectSonar

ProspectSonar is a prospect research tool designed specifically for agencies and startups. We tested its ability to deliver accurate results on our test brief.

Results:

• Prospect count: 100
• Accuracy score: 92%
• Research time: 2 hours
• Cost: $79/mo (basic plan)

ProspectSonar delivered an exceptional accuracy score and relatively short research time, with a prospect count that was higher than most of the tools tested. Its cost was relatively high.