When I came to IRIS, we needed a CRM, cell numbers, and a prospecting tool. These were non-negotiables. To compete today, you need that access.
As a lifelong ZoomInfo user, I wanted to test the market. After a month on UpLead and Seamless.ai, I’ll admit their interface was much simpler than ZoomInfo's. Given how competitive their pricing model was, it’s a shame their databases didn’t hold a candle to ZoomInfo’s. I splurged here.
To be honest, the splurge on ZoomInfo wouldn’t have been possible without the HubSpot for Startups program. I love Salesforce, but it’s prohibitively expensive and without the right personnel (RevOps), we wouldn’t even be able to maximize our usage. HubSpot costs less than $100/month with access to assigned customer support. Will we stay with HubSpot forever? Who knows. But for now, between the cost and simplicity, it’s hard to walk away, especially because we need it for a finite activity: tracking and reporting on opportunities and accounts.
We chose LinkedIn Sales Navigator—mostly because I have yet to find a competitor to them. Everyone uses LinkedIn, and since the implosion of Twitter/X, it feels like users are more active than ever. Sales Navigator allows me to filter for prospects in specific industries, tenures, geographies, and much more. This sort of filtering, paired with ZoomInfo’s Chrome extension, is the most powerful combo of sales tools—six years later, these tools are still dominating.
Before you set up your tech stack, especially if you’re on a budget, think about what you absolutely need and what can be strung together manually. HubSpot does a fine job with outbound automation and opportunity tracking. ZoomInfo is an excellent source of contact info. Sales Navigator allows me to prospect my target accounts with the most up-to-date information. For me, everything else was a luxury.
