Top outsourced B2B lead generation companies (and how to pick one)

Since 2017, over 1,000 B2B companies have outsourced their lead generation to Belkins. This article’s based on what we’ve learned along the way: what makes a good fit for the client and agency as well as the red and green flags to watch out for when choosing a lead generation service provider.

Articles about the best lead generation vendors often fall flat because they:

• Collect a list of recommended companies without explaining their qualifications and ranking.
• Confuse readers by lumping different services together — from allbound lead generation agencies to outbound-focused vendors, lead database software providers, and SEO and content marketing firms — making it impossible to compare and decide.
• Fail to examine what the agencies do, let alone their differentiators and pricing models.
• Ignore recent industry trends and challenges as if they didn’t exist (or because they don’t know how to write about them, which often happens when articles are written by freelance writers rather than agency practitioners with first-hand experience).

This article delivers what others can’t.

I wrote it to help you choose the best lead generation partner for your unique business challenges. You’ll find Belkins (the agency I co-own) in the top spot, and I’ll explain the “why” based on our results.

At the same time, I understand we might not be the best option for everyone. This is why the rest of the list has been handpicked by me based on my industry knowledge, connections in the B2B sales space, and conversations with prospects.

Read on.

Choosing the right outsourced lead generation company: The 7 key factors to consider

Answering these questions help you select a lead generation partner that understands your business challenges while driving pipeline growth in today’s volatile market.

1) How does the company address the shift in outbound?

It’s getting harder to connect with prospective customers.

Just in 2023, the average B2B cold outreach email campaign open and reply rates sat at 36% and 7%, respectively. A year later, they dipped to 27.7% and 5.1%.

Several culprits created this storm.

From Gmail’s spam regulations to buyers’ growing distrust in AI-generated sales emails, what used to drive results in your outbound campaigns barely moves the needle today.

With traditional “spray and pray” methods no longer working like they used to, you need an outsourced lead generation company that can adapt to the current business climate — with strategies in place that anticipate disruptions and quickly pivot to maintain performance.

Example: Today, the average B2B buyer journey includes 10 channels, up from 5 in 2016. Belkins is navigating it through an omnichannel approach. More on that below.

2) Does the outsourced lead generation company’s approach align with industry trends as well as your goals?

(a) Channels: Single vs. multichannel

If you’re a new business requiring 1–2 initial clients, any single-channel outreach campaign (like LinkedIn, cold emails, or cold calling) will deliver quick wins with minimal investment.

Let’s break down the numbers.

Assuming the vendor is calling 100 prospects, it should yield you approximately 1 lead — a promising figure for small-scale growth. However, scaling to 10–30 clients would require calling approximately 1,000 prospects through the same channel, where diminishing returns will begin to impact your ROI. As you can see, it’s unsustainable to rely on a single channel, since your conversions will decrease at a larger scale. 

In this case, a multichannel campaign is more suitable. It diversifies your prospect pools. On top of broadening your search, it’s also effective for testing businesses or refining messaging based on each channel’s advantages.

Our client data consistently proves that omnichannel strategies deliver astounding pipeline growth:

• 100–400 qualified appointments yearly
• 50%–200% higher pipeline growth
• Minimum 200% ROI

Engaging with prospects where they’re most active and receptive keeps you top of mind, creates a unified customer experience, and makes you stand out from competitors.

(b) Lead quality: AI-driven vs. manual?

Your goal isn’t just generating lead volume — it’s improving lead quality and creating a predictable pipeline of qualified opportunities that convert into sales.

Check how the outsourced lead generation company qualifies prospects.

Does it rely solely on AI algorithms and automation? Can the vendor demonstrate successful campaigns in niche industries like yours? How does the process differ for SMBs and enterprise clients?

Recognize the trade-offs of AI-based only qualification. While AI saves time, it’s incapable of managing complex customer interactions, leading to poorer lead quality.

(c) Deliverables: Only leads vs. qualified appointments?

Companies with long sales cycles and high-ticket products need more than contact lists — they often require third-party expertise to convert leads into appointments.

If this describes your business, look for an agency with scalable frameworks that maximize conversions at every pipeline stage — from outreach to appointment setting to no-show prevention.

Example: At Belkins, we don’t just book meetings. We improve your entire sales process through specialized expertise. Here’s how it looks:

• Refining your ICP to identify the most promising markets
• Improving messaging and positioning to spotlight a unique selling proposition (USP)
• Breaking into new industries or accounts for revenue growth
• Aligning your internal metrics and business objectives to ensure zero silos
• Tracking and updating our collective progress in CRM
• Adjusting the pipeline weekly with AEs to drive a predictable stream of qualified meetings
• Planning proactively instead of staying unprepared for challenges (like industry shifts)

As I’ve shared in my From Zero to Agency Hero newsletter, hiring an outsourced lead generation company isn’t about "tricking" your way into inboxes. It’s about building a high-impact outbound program that grows your business infinitely.

3) Do you need partial implementation or an end-to-end tailored strategy?

If you have some internal capabilities but need external help for support functions, partial implementation is the way to go. Why? You gain access to specialized expertise while building your in-house capabilities.

That’s exactly what Black Hills AI did. They maintained control of their core lead generation functions while engaging Belkins for CRM migration.

During our partnership, our team migrated its data from Salesforce to HubSpot, resulting in a 50% reduction in CRM costs and a 20% increase in team productivity. With a unified customer journey view in one hub, silos were eliminated, and everything else fell into place.

A comprehensive end-to-end strategy, on the other hand, is ideal for fully outsourcing your lead generation efforts.

This includes everything from setup to conversions: configuring infrastructure, refining ICPs, creating messaging for each target prospect, nurturing those prospects, and scheduling appointments with sales-ready leads.

If you’re going with a tailored end-to-end strategy implementation, here’s what to watch out for during your partnership:

Months 1–4:

Build a strong foundation for sustainable growth.

Instead of stressing over the number of leads or appointments, start by evaluating the vendor’s decision-making process and problem-solving skills (e.g., “The ICP isn’t working. How are you fixing it? What extra research are you doing?”).

It’s impossible to scale without solid fundamentals.

Months 5–8:

At this stage, everyone’s learning. Your outsourced lead generation company is experimenting and brainstorming new ideas 7–8 months into the campaign.

Set your new KPIs in this next phase, including:

• Number of monthly meetings
• Proposals sent
• Total new pipeline forecast

This lets you project the pipeline and investment needed, alongside the channels with the highest growth potential.

Months 9–12:

It’s time to scale what works (and stop what doesn’t). Establish clear, measurable quarterly targets with your vendor. As you benchmark the numbers, focus on metrics like:

• Reply rate
• Engagement rate
• Lead-to-appointment conversion rate

While you’re at it, track bounce rate, email deliverability rate, call-through rate, etc. to gauge pipeline bottlenecks.

Example: Suppose you generated 10 meetings in the pilot campaign. Raise it by 25% next month. In the next two months, optimize it steadily by another 10% and 20%.

Next 12+ months: Finally, integrate other marketing channels to create an allbound motion. 

By orchestrating these inbound and outbound platforms together, you cast a wider net, engage buyers across multiple touchpoints, and ultimately increase your odds of converting them into customers.

Here, you can expect coordinated outreach across channels, more shared responsibilities between marketing and sales, and an even bigger ROI.

4) Does it have expertise in your industry?

Lack of expertise damages quality.

Inexperienced agencies usually deploy generic outreach campaigns across industries, missing technical nuances and regulatory concerns that drive decision-making. No wonder it results in low engagement rates and conversions.

On the other hand, industry-specialized agencies execute campaigns that address sector-specific challenges while understanding each buyer’s unique position in the decision-making process.

Example: Manufacturing-experienced sales development representatives (SDRs), for instance, know exactly when and how to dive into the technical specifications.

It’s a no-brainer: Choose a provider with expertise in your domain.

5) What’s the size of the outsourced lead generation company?

Partner with a service provider that matches your organization’s size.

Lead generation outsourcing for small businesses, mid-sized companies, and enterprises comes with unique challenges.

Example: As head of marketing at a mid-sized company, you often navigate internal politics with department heads who have their own competing agendas. Mid-sized agencies have lived this reality — they understand the cross-departmental clashes that impact campaigns.

By working with a vendor that’s the same size as your company, you match in speed, protocols, processes, mindset and culture.

The only exception is enterprises.

For enterprises, collaborations with enterprise-sized agencies never end well.

That’s because these vendors usually offer rigid packages, and it’s only a matter of time before their inflexible approaches create friction for enterprises seeking customization.

6) What budgets or pricing models does it specialize in?

Outsourced lead generation companies typically offer six pricing models:

• Pay-for-lead lists
• Pay-for-appointments
• Monthly retainer
• Hourly rate with full outsourcing (staff augmentation)
• Project-based
• Commission-based

Selecting the right model depends on various factors, including in-house capabilities, budget, and target market complexity.

Budget-strapped startups might benefit from performance-based models (pay-per-lead or pay-for-appointments) to minimize upfront costs and align marketing spend with results. 

On the other side of the coin, established companies seeking a predictable pipeline might prefer retainers to ensure consistent lead volume during market fluctuations.

📚 Relevant reading:

• B2B lead generation cost: How much to pay for leads?
• How to effectively outsource lead generation in 2025

7) What’s the level of integration with your internal sales & marketing departments?

Poor sales and marketing alignment creates silos, leading to inefficient collaboration and, unsurprisingly, confused customer journeys and longer sales cycles.

Conversely, organizations with tightly aligned marketing and sales teams see seamless collaboration throughout the customer journey and achieve 3X higher customer acquisition targets.

Consider these questions to assess the vendor’s ability to integrate with your marketing and sales teams:

• How does it orchestrate cross-channel campaigns with your existing teams? Probe the vendor’s process for mapping the customer journey, creating consistent messaging across channels, defining roles and responsibilities, and implementing tracking that connects activities to revenue impact.
• What tools does their team use? Insist on integrated tools. By gathering all marketing and sales data in one place, everyone has complete visibility into every lead’s journey.
• How does it establish shared goals and metrics across marketing and sales activities? The ideal outsourced lead generation company will conduct workshops to help sales and marketing leaders define them (e.g., ICP = number of sales opportunities, MQL-to-SQL-to-closed deals ratio).
• How does it split sales-related tasks and marketing-focused responsibilities? Even though only one department is responsible for each funnel stage, there must still be some effort made by the other party to achieve the shared goals (e.g., upselling may be sales’ responsibility, but marketing should support it with relevant sales content).
• How often does the vendor communicate with the in-house team? What’s the feedback loop like? A weekly 30-minute to 1-hour meeting is the bare minimum to review shared goals and metrics, gather input from marketing and sales, and evaluate tactical and strategic directions.

The 7 best outsourced lead generation companies to choose from

I’ve been in the marketing trenches for a long time. Here’s my picks for the best lead generation outsourcing companies based on my experience and hundreds of conversations with my prospects and peers.

Belkins: Best for tailored, customized lead generation for mature companies ready to scale

Industry focus: B2B product, technology, and industrial businesses like healthcare, manufacturing, marketing and creative agencies, SaaS, and financial services

Notable clients: Cisco, GE HealthCare, Berkeley College, Sekisui, Columbus Chamber of Commerce, Citcon, DeepDyve

Pricing: Belkins offers 3 plans with custom packages available; 6- and 12-month contracts with guarantees.

• Limited: $2,000–$4,000/month for 30+ yearly appointments
• Growth: $5,000–$8,000/month for 100+ yearly appointments
• Growth Plus: $8,000+/month for 200+ yearly appointments

Note: All plans represent estimated ranges only and may vary based on your individual case (e.g., number of channels involved, your market specifics, etc.). 

Belkins (that’s us👋🏻) is a top lead generation outsourced companies, evidently shown by the reviews and awards it’s won over the years. Having partnered with 1,000+ clients across 50+ industries since 2017, our proven methodology consistently delivers up to 400 (or more) qualified appointments annually.

Strengths:

• Bespoke strategies: No single strategy works all the time. You get a unique playbook tailored to your specific needs and challenges. These bespoke go-to-market (GTM) strategies align with your business goals and target market, driving the highest possible campaign performance.
• Granular lead research: Belkins is the only outsourced lead generation company that employs specialists to manually verify every lead. Our intensive process begins with preliminary research on your ideal clients. After preparing test leads and determining your total addressable market (TAM), we A/B test multiple ICPs simultaneously. We constantly refine your ICPs, positioning, and messaging, ensuring an uninterrupted flow of high-quality leads.
• Advanced audience profiling: You’re not selling to an individual buyer but a buyer committee. We dive deep into your ICP and buyer personas. These in-depth profiles detail their roles, goals, pain points, and decision-making processes. This advanced profiling raises your odds of connecting with the right people and converting them into leads and appointments.
• End-to-end strategy implementation: Improve your entire sales process. Let us handle your deal generation, from setup and strategy all the way to nurturing and conversion. With our proven expertise and proprietary products (Forderly, Charge, and Frostbite), enjoy sustained engagement across the funnel.
• Cross-functional and cross-channel approach: Partner with our elite team of account managers, content writers, email deliverability specialists, SDRs, and lead research specialists. These folks boast the extensive skills needed to improve specific stages in your funnel at scale. Need a complex, sophisticated omnichannel strategy? Tap into our entire family of agencies specializing in SEO, paid ads, branding, and more. Together with this dedicated center of excellence (COE) team, we’ll develop a strategy that spreads far and wide and accelerates your pipeline. 
• Ongoing strategy improvements: There’s always a chance to do better, even in today’s turbulent economy. Running out of leads that fit your ICP? We’ll expand the pool of titles or widen our search to other subverticals. With this long-term strategy refinement, you attract a predictable flow of high-fit leads and stay competitive.

Awards:

• Clutch Top Lead Generation Company 2024 (Note: Belkins was the only company in the lead gen space in the top 100)
• Clutch Top 1000 B2B Service Providers 2024
• Clutch Top Appointment Setting Company 2024
• Corporate Vision Most Innovative B2B Lead Generation Agency 2024 — East Coast U.S.A.
• Inc. Regionals 2024: Mid-Atlantic

Case studies:

• Omnicharge, an electronics manufacturer of portable power solutions, struggled with low market coverage and brand awareness, especially on LinkedIn. We sent a demo unit to interested prospects and revamped its SEO and content on LinkedIn. We even launched an influencer program in the process! Eventually, Belkins delivered 320+ qualified appointments in 12 months.
• GoHealth Urgent Care’s inefficient sales process led to revenue loss. With 4 SDRs in 9 states, consistent follow-up and building a predictable pipeline was challenging. After engaging Belkins to overhaul its follow-up campaigns, expand the ICP, and set up an outreach campaign, the online health insurance marketplace booked 570+ appointments in 29 months.
• Juggling multiple vendors alongside an in-house team often leads to fragmented collaboration and inconsistent results. Our client, a leading startup investment platform, witnessed it firsthand. After engaging Belkins to streamline its lead generation efforts, our team implemented an email outreach campaign before expanding it to an omnichannel strategy. In just 15 months, we drove 346 appointments with a 125% ROI. Currently, we’re rolling into year 2 banking on an even greater impact.

What clients appreciate:

Revit: Best for pay-per-appointment with flexible terms

Industry focus: SMBs and startups in business consulting, IT, marketing, and more

Notable clients: BAROS International, SCADEMY, Hustler Marketing, Umbrelly

Pricing: Starts at $2.6K/month for a 3-month pilot

Revit was founded on the principle that high-quality lead generation services with low-commitment terms should be readily accessible. This makes it suitable for budget-strapped SMBs that don’t want to lock into lengthy contracts.

This agency is known for its pay-per-appointment model where you only pay for leads that result in sales-ready meetings.

Strengths:

• Results-driven framework: Revit’s pricing model ensures your marketing spend correlates to appointments, not unconverted leads.
• Scalability: Adjust your appointment volume based on budget or business needs. You can easily ramp up your lead generation efforts or maintain a regular flow of appointments, thanks to Revit’s flexible model.

Awards: None yet, but it has received positive reviews from clients across 50+ industries.

Case studies:

• BAROS International, a Munich-based software provider for Amazon first-party vendors, sought to expand into North America but faced challenges around lead generation, budget constraints, and maintaining brand integrity. Partnering with Revit gave them a high-value, quality solution that felt like an extension of their team, delivering consistent communication, genuine outreach, and a steady flow of valuable leads.

What clients appreciate:

Outbound Consulting: Best for small businesses seeking their first client

Industry focus: SMBs

Notable clients: Jaya Jaya Myra Productions, Blue Goose Solutions, The Gala Team

Pricing: Custom quotes with packages for 4, 6, and 12 months

Outbound Consulting specializes in SMB growth. This means it understands the unique challenges smaller companies face daily, like outgrowing referrals or struggling to grow your pipeline with a small team.

Strengths:

• Systematic approach: Outbound Consulting uses proven systems from its 10+ years of outbound expertise to secure 1–3 new deals per month for its SMB clients.
• High-caliber coaching: With Outbound Consulting, you get a coach, not just a partner. Regardless of your plan, the team runs regular coaching sessions to guide you on the best practices to convert appointments into deals.

Awards: None yet, but the agency’s received glowing reviews from over 2,000 clients in 25 industries in the last 10+ years.

Case studies:

• After hiring Outbound Consulting to locate high-level decision makers, Bold Retail saw 13–16 appointments per month with a 28% close rate.

What clients appreciate:

Martal Group: Best for companies seeking full-cycle support

Industry focus: Technology, SaaS, education and training, logistics and supply chains, retail, telecom, and more

Notable clients: Monday.com, Pinterest, Zoho, Bosch

Pricing: Custom plans, with a 3-month pilot campaign for outbound lead generation services and 4-month pilot campaign for complex needs (e.g., customer onboarding).

Leave it to Martal Group to connect you with your best buyers today, from weekly curating a list of pre-qualified leads all the way to acting as a focal point for your business. It’s a great vendor if you’re looking to maximize value and upsell more customers in the long term.

Strengths:

• Full-cycle support: Martal Group handles all stages of the sales cycle. In its premium plan, it assigns a fractional sales executive as an account manager for your business — even after the deal is signed.
• Technology-oriented: Martal Group’s SDRs understand the tech industry. ITheir evidence-backed methodologies across sub-sectors like cloud computing, robotics, and edtech make them a competent partner for staying competitive in the evolving tech landscape.
• Onshore team on demand: Access 200+ onshore sales reps in the EU, North America, and LATAM. Closer proximity enables easier communication and collaboration with reps who understand local market dynamics.

Awards: 

• Clutch Global Leader Award 2024 Spring
• Clutch Champion Award 2024 Spring
• UpCity 2023 Local Excellence Award Winner

Case studies:

• Spirit AI, a UK-based AI character engine software company, sells highly niche products. After hiring Martal Group to tap into the US market, it saw 15,000 prospects and 35 qualified leads per month.

What clients appreciate:

CIENCE: Best for companies looking for technology-first providers

Industry focus: B2B, IT, software development, education and training, e-learning, biotechnology, manufacturing, and more

Notable clients: Uber, Salesforce, Google, Microsoft, Yamaha

Pricing: Custom monthly or annual subscription plans

CIENCE blends AI technology and human expertise to grow your sales pipeline.

Its all-in-one, AI-powered lead generation and analytics platform offers an interesting spectrum of tools, including prospect databases and chatbots. Prioritize technology in your operations and service delivery? This vendor is worth a look.

Strengths:

• Expansive database: CIENCE offers globally compliant and accurate campaign-verified data across 149 industries. It’s sourced from millions of hand-curated leads, third-parties, partnerships, and proprietary technology. However, since the database includes only US-based businesses, companies selling internationally might want to consider alternatives.
• Customized offers: Based on case studies and reviews, CIENCE is one of the few enterprise-sized agencies that customizes its plans to match your needs. If you don’t want to get boxed in by an offer, CIENCE is a contender.
• AI and human expertise: Drive leads with precision and speed. By assigning SDRs to fill in the gaps — because let’s face it, AI isn’t perfect — CIENCE ensures you receive leads that fit your ICP across all channels.

Awards: 

• Clutch Top 1,000 Global Service Providers (ranked 6 times)
• UpCity National Excellence Award 2024

Case studies:

• Okta delegated its contact acquisition efforts to CIENCE so its SDRs could focus on prospecting. After building and enriching the contact information for these personas through its sales data solution, CIENCE had saved 2,800 weekly hours.

What clients appreciate:

Abstrakt: Best for companies needing a digital marketing suite

Industry focus: Accounting, commercial cleaning, roofing, construction, realtor recruitment, telecom, and more

Notable clients: ISS Mechanical, CK Supply, Solid Networks, Inc.

Pricing: Custom quotes, but based on reviews, most projects cost from $10K to $49,999

Describing Abstrakt as an outsourced lead generation company wouldn’t be accurate. Based on the services offered, it’s more fitting to refer to it as a business growth firm. Besides B2B appointment setting, it offers talent recruitment and multiple digital marketing solutions.

Strengths:

• All-in-one solution: Abstrakt offers a wide range of digital marketing solutions (e.g., on-page and technical SEO, web design). If you want to manage all activities under one roof — outbound and everything else —  add this vendor to your shortlist.
• Exclusivity: The most interesting tidbit about Abstrakt? This business growth company offers market exclusivity, ensuring you’re the only one in the market reaching out to prospects.
• Internal team health: Abstrakt’s known for its distinctive culture and top talent, evidenced by its workplace awards. Excellent internal team health usually signals better culture, productivity, and collaboration.

Awards: 

• INC5000 2024
• SBM 2024 Best Marketing Firms
• Top Workplaces USA 2024

Case studies:

• An unnamed heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) client hired Abstrakt during the pandemic to drive leads and increase market share. After months of work, it set 26 appointments and closed a $200,000+ project deal.

What clients appreciate:

SalesRoads: Best for IT and tech companies looking for niche support

Industry focus: Industrial SaaS and tech (e.g., InsurTech, Fintech)

Notable clients: Quest Diagnostics, Microsoft, Shell, Parker

Pricing: Custom, with quotes starting at $5,500 per month

Don’t let the old-school logo fool you. SalesRoads is a mighty lead generation outsourcing company. After 17+ years, it has set 1,000+ appointments for growing companies. It often works with IT companies needing 10 or more SDRs, making it an excellent choice for SMBs.

Strengths:

• 4-step methodology: SalesRoads uses a specific methodology — Discover, Strategize, Test, and Accelerate — to find the best plan for sustainable growth. The process involves researching your business, analyzing campaign metrics from the initial strategy, gathering feedback from SDRs, and iterating with new tactics.
• SDRs with deep industry experience: SalesRoads doesn’t see its SDRs as agents but as expert brand ambassadors for your business. They have 7 years of experience on average and have received 3 times worth of industry training.

Awards: 

• Clutch Global Top 1000 Companies 2021 and 2024
• INC5000 Winner (3 times)

Case studies:

• ZoomIn engaged SalesRoads to refine its value proposition, refine its cold call script, and build a targeted contact list. After 4 months of the campaign, it closed its first deal.

What clients appreciate:

How to pick the best outsourced lead generation company for your needs

You have 3–5 agencies in your shortlist. In this phase, your goal is to understand each vendor’s differentiators. As you ask these questions, watch for red and green flags.

1. What lead generation tactics do you use?

🚩 Red flags:

• Focuses on mass outreach
• Depends on AI tracking alone
• Focuses on intent signals only: There’s a limitation to intent data. You’ll finish in a couple of months and struggle to scale campaigns in the future.

✅ Green flags:

• Focuses on relevancy, not just personalization: Positioning, messaging, and target groups are equally important. If the outsourced provider nails these, you’ll see more leads.
• Tailors tactics according to your ICP, market potential, etc.: Ideally, you should receive a roadmap before signing the contract.

2. What approaches or processes do you use to accomplish the goals?

🚩 Red flags:

• Executes on the fly: has zero strategic direction
• Uses outdated databases and surface-level research
• Refuses to experiment with new processes

✅ Green flags:

• Customizes processes based on unique workflows
• Updates approaches based on market changes, trends, etc.
• Owns proprietary tools for enhanced data and insights

3. How do you guarantee it will work?

🚩 Red flags:

• Makes big promises and guarantees
• Uses blanket statements (lacking the complex nuances about your industry)
• No clear process for estimated guarantees when probed

✅ Green flags:

• Provides clear estimates (e.g., industry composition, opportunity analysis)
• Focuses on the delivery team: Vendors that heavily invest in their service delivery team have a higher chance of driving sustainable results.

4. What’s your pricing model and contract structure? 

🚩 Red flags:

• Offers one-size-fits-all packages
• Avoids adding contingency plans against underperformance to contracts 
• No termination clause

✅ Green flags:

• Outlines transparent pricing structures in contracts
• Offers various pricing models (e.g., monthly retainer, pay-per-lead, project-based, and hourly rate)
• Provides custom packages based on company size, digital footprint, TAM, revenue and deal velocity goals, marketing and sales-enablement content, and channels required

5. What’s your communication and reporting process like?

🚩 Red flags:

• No regular check-ins
• Lack of feedback loops
• Lack of insights and specific data in reports

✅ Green flags:

• Offers flexibility to choose the frequency and format (e.g., start weekly and switch to bi-weekly as the campaign progresses)
• Offers 24/7 access to transparent reports
• Runs all-hands meetings to align stakeholders
• Shares detailed performance in a structured report, including messaging engagement, tactics and strategies implemented, insights gathered, what worked and what didn’t, and plans moving forward

6. Do they offer a pilot campaign? 

🚩 Red flags:

• Pushes you to sign a long-term contract

✅ Green flags:

• Runs a pilot campaign with clear deliverables and estimates

7. Are the leads exclusive?

🚩 Red flags:

• Uses vague terms in the contract (e.g., quality leads)
• Lack of distinction between exclusive and non-exclusive leads

✅ Green flags:

• Lays out specific terms (i.e., explicitly says "exclusive leads")
• Explains how leads are sourced and qualified, along with their consent and demographics

8. How do they hand off leads?

🚩 Red flags:

• No feedback loop
• Fails to establish protocol (e.g., doesn’t give lead response time)

✅ Green flags:

• Trains your internal team on lead hand-off protocol and practices (e.g., assigns lead ownership).
• Runs regular meetings to provide feedback and address challenges
• Tracks metrics like conversion rates and speed to lead

Which B2B outsourced lead generation company have you decided on?

These factors and questions, along with my handpicked list, take into account what’s happening in your industry and the current sales landscape.

Belkins is, arguably, the best outsourced lead generation company for organizations seeking tailored strategies to connect with their best buyers today. If it doesn’t fit what you’re looking for, the other vendors in this list offer great alternatives.

Outsourcing leads isn’t about tricking your way into inboxes. It’s about building sustainable outbound programs that will fuel your pipeline and weather any kind of storm.