Funnel Strategy

Lead Generation Platforms Compared – Which Fits Your Needs?

Want to make more sales?

Then you need to generate more leads.

And you can’t take your lead generation to the next level without the right software.

But how can you pick the right lead generation platform when there are so many options on the market?

Today we are going to take a closer look at the top five tools for generating leads online…

What Is Lead Generation?

Okay, so before we get into reviewing software, let’s define the most important term in this article. What is lead generation?

Lead generation is the process of converting potential customers into leads by persuading them to give you their contact details (typically an email address).

It’s important to understand that there’s a difference between lead generation and sales prospecting:

  • Lead generation is automated and is done by marketers.
  • Sales prospecting is manual and is done by salespeople via cold outreach.

In this article, we will be focusing specifically on software that you can use for lead generation, which is why we won’t review apps that are more suitable for sales prospecting (e.g. cold outreach tools, CRMs, etc.).

What Is a Lead Generation Funnel?

So what is the best way to generate leads online?

Building a lead generation funnel:

  1. You create a lead magnet.
  2. You create a landing page for that lead magnet.
  3. You drive traffic to that landing page.

Once the potential customer gives you their email address in exchange for the lead magnet, they become a lead and enter your sales funnel.

Note that the lead generation funnel is the first stage of the Value Ladder sales funnel (the Bait stage).

What Should You Look For in Lead Generation Software?

You need software that would enable you to build a lead generation funnel. 

Here are the two key features that it should have:

  1. A landing page builder. The app should make it easy to build a lead magnet landing page.

    Ideally, it should offer not only a landing page editor but also an extensive library of landing page templates.

    Word of warning, though: “looks amazing” and “converts well” aren’t necessarily the same thing when it comes to landing pages.

    Beware of companies that prioritize aesthetics over conversions. Do you want your landing page to look pretty or do you want it to convert well?

    Obviously, we aren’t saying that aesthetics don’t matter, your landing page shouldn’t look like something that a toddler drew with MS Paint.

    But when it comes to landing pages, the priority should be maximizing the conversion rate, not creating the most beautiful page possible.
  2. An email marketing functionality. The purpose of the lead magnet landing page is to convert visitors into leads aka collect potential customers’ email addresses.

    That’s why the app should either have an in-built email marketing functionality or offer integrations with popular email marketing solutions. In other words, it should make it easy for you to build an email list.

    The less technical you are, the more important this is. You don’t want to waste time cobbling together some DIY Frankenstein solution that can break down at any moment.

Since these are the key features required to build a lead generation funnel, in this article we are going to review funnel builders, email marketing apps, and landing page builders that offer them.

Other features that you might want in lead generation software are:

  • Funnel building functionality. As we have already mentioned, a lead generation funnel isn’t some isolated thing, it’s the first stage of your sales funnel.

    That’s why it’s best to choose an app that allows you to build and manage your entire sales funnel.
  • Educational content that helps you make the most of that app. When you pay for the software, do you only get the tools required to build a sales funnel or also the training on how to do it?

    This is especially important if you are just starting out and don’t have much experience in building sales funnels.
  • Integrations with the apps that you use to run your business. You should automate as much of your workflow as possible.

    An app that offers integrations with other tools that you use to run your business can help you do that.

Also, you might want to look into the company’s history.

Here are the two most important questions that you should ask:

  1. What is the entrepreneurial track record of the founders?

    This is extremely important. Why?

    Because the entrepreneurial experience of the founders informs product development decisions.

    Would you want to use funnel building software made by someone who doesn’t have a track record of building successful sales funnels themselves?

    Probably not, right?
  2. How fast did this company grow?

    Surely, if the founders know what they are doing, they should be able to grow their own company fast using their software, right?

    Otherwise, how can they claim that their software will help you grow your business when clearly it didn’t do any wonders for theirs?

Choosing lead generation software is a decision that shouldn’t be taken lightly.

You will need to invest time, energy, and money in learning to use that tool and then utilizing it. So don’t waste all those resources on some app that you are going to ditch in a few months anyway.

Do your homework, investigate various options, then go with a solution that is powerful enough to serve you for years to come.

Okay, with all that out of the way, let’s get into the top five lead generation options…

ClickFunnels

We believe that our software is the best funnel builder on the market.

Here’s why…

From Zero to $100M+ in Annual Revenue

When our co-founders Russell Brunson and Todd Dickerson launched ClickFunnels back in 2014, they were already successful entrepreneurs.

Moreover, at the time of the launch, they both had over a decade of experience in selling online via sales funnels.

In fact, Russell had developed a Value Ladder sales funnel, which we believe is the most effective way to sell anything online.

He then used ClickFunnels software + the Value Ladder sales funnel to take ClickFunnels from zero to $10M+ in annual revenue in just one year. Talk about explosive growth!

Today ClickFunnels is at $100M+ in annual revenue.

We know that our software works because we used it to build a nine-figure business in just seven years.

The proof is in the pudding!

ClickFunnels Features

So what’s included in ClickFunnels?

Here are some of the key features:

Funnel builder.

You can build your entire sales funnels with our software.

We have a powerful page editor and loads of templates that have been optimized for conversions.

Moreover, within the software, we guide you through the process of building a sales funnel step-by-step, following proven funnel templates.

Email marketing.

With our regular plan, you can easily integrate ClickFunnels with the most popular email marketing apps such as ConvertKit, MailChimp, Aweber, and more.

Meanwhile, if you choose our Platinum plan, you get access to our in-built email marketing functionality.

Either way, with ClickFunnels, building an email list is easy!

Affiliate marketing.

Want to incentivize other people to promote your products by offering them a commission on each sale?

With our Platinum plan, you get access to our Backpack affiliate marketing tool which allows you to create your affiliate program, manage your affiliates, payout commissions, and more.

In other words:

ClickFunnels has everything that you need to grow your online business!

More Than Just Software

We don’t just give you the tools and leave it at that, we give you the knowledge that you need to build a profitable sales funnel.

In fact, we have our own educational platform called FunnelFlix, which features content from some of the greatest business minds in the world.

Want to learn from proven entrepreneurs?

You can do that with FunnelFlix.

Community of Entrepreneurs Just Like You

Let’s keep it real:

Entrepreneurship can be a lonely path.

That’s why we have created a community of entrepreneurs just like you who are building online businesses with ClickFunnels.

Our official ClickFunnels Facebook group has more than 270k members from all over the world. It’s a great place to get support, ask for advice, and share your knowledge.

ClickFunnels Success Stories

Over the years, our software has helped thousands upon thousands of people change their lives, at least 737 of whom have generated over $1M within their sales funnels.

Here are three incredible ClickFunnels success stories:

Colin Wayne Built a $40 Million Ecommerce Business

Colin used to be one of the most successful fitness models on the planet, pulling in $30k – $40k per month and regularly appearing on fitness magazine covers.

But he wasn’t just handsome. He was also intelligent. He knew that success built on looks couldn’t last forever. That’s why at the peak of his modeling career, he started asking himself “What’s next?”.

And then he decided to go into business…

Brandon Carter Made Over $1,000,000 As a Personal Trainer

One day, when Brandon Carter was just a kid, he and his mother were mugged at gunpoint when she was walking him to school.

That was the day when he decided to become strong so that he could protect both himself and his loved ones.

When he started working out, he soon fell in love with fitness, and then with helping other people get fit.

But how did he go from a personal trainer struggling to make ends meet to a successful entrepreneur who owns a fitness empire?

How Mark Brown Sells 6,000+ Books Every Month

When Mark Brown’s son was born, he knew that he didn’t want his son to repeat his mistakes.

So he created a children’s book to share the lessons that he had learned. When he showed it to other people, they loved it and asked for copies for their own kids.

However, as anyone who has ever written a book knows, writing a book is one thing, selling it is another.

So how does Mark sell 6,000+ books every month?

We have heard so many success stories like these three over the years. Will you be the next one?

ClickFunnels Pricing

So how much does ClickFunnels cost?

We have three pricing plans:

ClickFunnels plan ($97/month)

You get access to the funnel building functionality.

This plan is the best option for entrepreneurs who are just starting out.

ClickFunnels Platinum plan ($297/month)

You get access to:

  • The funnel building functionality.
  • Email marketing functionality.
  • Affiliate marketing functionality.
  • Hours of additional FunnelFlix content.
  • Priority support.

This plan is a great choice for entrepreneurs who want to grow an existing business.

TwoCommaX Club ($2,497/month)

You get access to:

  • Funnel building functionality.
  • Email marketing functionality.
  • Affiliate marketing functionality.
  • Hours of additional FunnelFlix content.
  • Bonus training materials.
  • Bonus virtual and live experiences.
  • Live support.

This plan makes sense for entrepreneurs who have built a lucrative business and now want to take it to the next level.

Try ClickFunnels For Yourself (FREE TRIAL)

We offer a FREE 14-day trial:

  • You can cancel any time.
  • There’s a 30-day money-back guarantee.
  • Our customer support is there to help you 24/7.

There’s literally ZERO risk.

So why don’t you go ahead and try ClickFunnels for yourself?

Claim 14 Days Of ClickFunnels For FREE!

Convertri

Convertri is a funnel builder app that was launched in 2016. Since then its customer base has grown to over 4,000 users.

Convertri Features

Here are some of the key features:

Drag-and-drop page editor.

Convertri’s page editor is their pride and joy.

In fact, the founders came up with the idea for the app when one of them got fed up with how inflexible funnel builder page editors were, to which the other responded by pointing out that he could build a better one. And so they created Convertri.

So it’s no surprise that their page editor is arguably the most powerful funnel builder page editor on the market. It offers the user much more creative freedom than say our page editor does.

However, we question whether that’s necessarily a positive thing since this creative freedom makes it easy to get bogged down in minute details that ultimately do not matter.

Sure, you can move the call-to-action button a few millimeters to the right if you want to, but is that really what you should be spending your time on as a business owner?

In contrast, our page editor is much less flexible but that was intentional on our part. We know what works and what doesn’t, so our software is designed to guide you towards the former and steer you away from the latter.

Sure, that means that our users have less creative freedom, but sales funnels aren’t about artistic expression, they are about making money!

Advanced video features.

Convertri offers exceptional video functionality.

In fact, they claim that they have the fastest video hosting that you have ever seen, which contributes to their fast page loading speed.

There are also a bunch of cool features such as the ability to automatically hide or show content based on how much of the video the viewer has watched (e.g. only displaying the “Buy Now” button once the sales pitch starts).

Shopping cart.

Convertri comes equipped with an in-built shopping cart functionality which means that you won’t need a shopping cart integration to sell your products.

This native shopping cart allows you to offer subscriptions, payment plans, both free and paid trials, one-click upsells, bump offers, and more.

There are also various other handy features such as inventory tracking, fulfillment tracking, and sales tax support.

Overall, Convertri is a great funnel builder that offers fast page loading speed, a powerful page editor, and innovative video features.

Convertri Pricing

Convertri has one pricing plan that gives you access to the app’s entire functionality.

It costs:

  • $99 per month when paid monthly.
  • $75 per month when paid annually. That’s a 24% discount!

Also, if you experience a spike in traffic and go over your traffic limit, you will be notified via email and will have the option to add extra traffic at a rate of $30 per 250k impressions.

The World’s Fastest Funnel Builder?

Convertri’s main selling point is their blazing fast page loading speed.

It might seem like some boring and irrelevant technical detail but page loading speed is actually extremely important for conversion rates.

A few years ago Google did a study where they measured the impact of page loading speed on the bounce rate.

Take a look at the results:

As you can see, every second matters, which is why Convertri’s < 3 seconds page loading speed can give you a competitive advantage.

However, while at the moment pages built with ClickFunnels load slower than pages built with Convertri, we are coming for Convertri’s “The World’s Fastest Funnel Builder” crown.

ClickFunnels, which we are going to release in March 2022, is faster than all major competitors, including Convertri:

Convertri’s 1.6 seconds vs. ClickFunnels one second.

So if you are considering Convertri because of their page loading speed, it probably makes more sense to go with our software given that pages built with ClickFunnels will likely load faster.

Read our full Convertri review:

“Convertri Review For 2021 – All You Need To Know About Convertri”

Get Response

GetResponse is an email marketing app that has been around for over 20 years.

Recently the company started expanding their software beyond its core email marketing functionality in an attempt to turn it into an all-in-one marketing platform.

GetResponse Features

Here are some of the key features:

Email marketing.

There’s no denying that GetResponse is a great email marketing app. It allows you to build an email list, create email autoresponder sequences, implement marketing automation, and more.

Lead generation funnels.

GetResponse makes it easy to build a lead generation funnel. All you need to do is pick a landing page template, customize it according to your needs, and add a lead magnet to it.

By the way, GetResponse offers a library of pre-made lead magnets, which can be super helpful if you want to start generating leads ASAP but don’t have the time to create a proper lead magnet from scratch.

Sales funnels.

You can also use GetResponse to build your entire sales funnel.

Webinars.

Email marketing software providers typically don’t offer webinar functionality, but GetResponse does which means that you can use it to build a webinar funnel.

This is certainly handy because it means that you won’t need to pay for a separate webinar app.

Social ads creator.

GetResponse also comes equipped with a social ads creator that makes it easy to create beautiful ads even if you don’t have any graphic design skills to speak of.

You can choose from 200+ ad templates, then customize them with your own text and images.

Overall, while GetResponse is first and foremost an email marketing app, you can certainly use it to build a profitable sales funnel.

GetResponse Pricing

So how much does GetResponse cost?

There are three main pricing plans:

Basic (start at $15/month for up to 1,000 email subscribers).

This plan includes:

  • Email marketing functionality.
  • Unlimited landing pages.
  • Unlimited automation templates.
  • Unlimited lead funnels.
  • One sales funnel.
  • Google Ads and Facebook Ads integrations.
  • Live chat.

Plus (starts at $49/month for up to 1,000 email subscribers).

This plan includes everything in the Basic plan,

In addition to that, you also get:

  • An automation builder with 5 workflows.
  • Webinars with a maximum of 100 attendees.
  • Contact scoring and tagging.
  • 5 sales funnels.
  • 5 webinar funnels.
  • A collaboration feature with 3 users.

This is GetResponse’s most popular plan. 

Professional (starts at $99/month for up to 1,000 email subscribers). 

This plan includes everything in the Plus plan.

 In addition to that, you also get:

  • An unlimited automation builder.
  • Web push notifications.
  • Paid webinars.
  • Webinars with a maximum of 300 attendees.
  • Unlimited sales and webinar funnels.
  • On-demand webinars.
  • A collaboration feature with 5 users.

You can get an 18% discount if you pay for 12 months and a 30% discount if you pay for 24 months (applies to all three plans).

Read our full GetResponse review:

GetResponse Review For 2021 – Details, Features & Pricing

ConvertKit

ConvertKit is another email marketing app that you can use to build a lead generation funnel.

One major difference between ConvertKit and GetResponse is that the former was designed specifically for “creators” while the latter was designed as a generic email marketing app.

What does “creators” mean? Anyone who either wants to create for a living or already does. This includes people who create content, music, art, whatever.

ConvertKit Features

Here are some of the key features:

Email marketing.

Since ConvertKit is an email marketing app, it’s no surprise that this functionality is their main strength. 

You can use it to build an email list, set up an autoresponder sequence, implement marketing automation, and more.

Landing pages.

ConvertKit offers fully customizable landing page templates that allow you to create a beautiful landing page within minutes. You can use them to build your entire sales funnel. 

It’s worth noting that Nathan Barry, the founder of ConvertKit, is a web designer and an author of several books on web and application design, so the company values design and that’s reflected in their landing page templates.

Commerce

ConvertKit has eCommerce features that allow you to sell digital products and subscriptions. This is great if you want to sell ebooks, newsletters, online courses, etc.

Overall, ConvertKit is probably the best email marketing app for creators and you can definitely use it to set up a basic sales funnel for selling digital products.

ConvertKit Pricing

So how much does ConvertKit cost?

There are three pricing plans:

Free

This plan is super basic.

It only includes:

  • Unlimited landing pages and forms.
  • Email broadcasts.
  • Digital products and subscriptions.
  • Community support.

That’s enough if you are just getting started, but be prepared to upgrade soon because you can’t create email autoresponder sequences with this plan.

Creator ($29/month for up to 1,000 subscribers)

This plan includes:

  • Unlimited landing pages and forms.
  • Email broadcasts.
  • Digital products and subscriptions.
  • Live chat and email support.
  • Free migration from another tool.
  • Automated funnels and sequences.

This is probably the best option if you are serious about building your email list. 

Creator Pro ($59/month for up to 1,000 subscribers)

This plan includes:

  • Unlimited landing pages and forms.
  • Email broadcasts.
  • Digital products and subscriptions.
  • Priority live chat and email support.
  • Free migration from another tool.
  • Automated funnels and sequences.
  • Facebook custom audiences.
  • Newsletter referral system.
  • Subscriber scoring.
  • Advanced reporting.

This option makes the most sense for established creators that want to scale their businesses. 

Also, if you choose to pay annually, you will get 2 months for free. This applies to both the Creator and Creator Pro plans. 

Leadpages

Leadpages is a landing page builder and our old nemesis. 

In fact, our co-founder Todd Dickerson came up with the idea for ClickFunnels when he saw that Leadpages raised $5M in series-A funding. 

He was outraged because he believed that he could build a much better product. And, arguably, he did – he built ClickFunnels.

Anyway, let’s take a closer look at Leadpages…

Leadpages Features

Here are some of the key features:

Landing page builder. 

This is the core functionality of Leadpages. 

Choose a template from their template library, then use their drag-and-drop page editor to customize it according to your needs. 

You can build both lead generation pages and sales pages this way, which means that you can use Leadpages to build a basic sales funnel. 

Site builder. 

Leadpages also offers a site builder that allows you to build your own website. 

The process is similar to that of creating landing pages – pick a template from a template library, then use their site editor to customize it. It’s worth noting that website templates are optimized for conversions.

Pop-up forms. 

You can use Leadpages to create pop-up forms to grow your email list faster. 

There are several types of them, including event-triggered pop-ups, time-delay pop-ups, and exit-intent pop-ups. 

Alert bars. 

There’s also an alert bar feature that allows you to display a bar at the top of the page that you can use to showcase new content, inform the visitors about special promotions, etc. 

While you can certainly use Leadpages to build a basic sales funnel, it’s important to remember that this app isn’t a funnel builder, it’s a landing page builder. 

As such, it’s great for creating landing pages, but it falls short when it comes to building profitable sales funnels.

Lead Pages Pricing

So how much does Leadpages cost?

There are two pricing plans:

Standard plan ($49/month)

This plan includes:

  • 1 Site.
  • Landing Pages, Pop-Ups, Alert Bars.
  • Unlimited Traffic and Leads.
  • Free Hosting.
  • Mobile-Responsive Site Templates.
  • Lead Notifications.
  • Tech Support (Email).
  • 40+ Standard Integrations.

Pro plan ($99/month)

This plan includes:

  • 3 Sites.
  • Landing Pages, Pop-Ups, Alert Bars.
  • Unlimited Traffic and Leads.
  • Free Hosting.
  • Mobile-Responsive Site Templates.
  • Lead Notifications.
  • Priority Tech Support (Phone, Chat, Email).
  • 40+ Standard Integrations.
  • Online Sales & Payments.
  • Unlimited A/B Split Testing.

Read our full Leadpages review:

“ClickFunnels VS. Leadpages: Which Service is Right For You?”

Which App Is the Best for Lead Generation?

We believe that ClickFunnels is the best option because in our opinion it’s the most powerful funnel builder on the market. 

Moreover, we don’t just give you the tools required to build a profitable sales funnel, we also teach you everything that you need to know in order to do that. 

But don’t take our word for it. 

We offer a FREE 14-day trial:

  • You can cancel any time.
  • There’s a 30-day money-back guarantee.
  • Our customer support is there to help you 24/7.

There’s literally ZERO risk.

So why don’t you go ahead and try ClickFunnels for yourself?

Claim 14 Days Of ClickFunnels For FREE!

John Parkes

John Parkes is a Master at driving web traffic. For more than five years now John has been a coach and stage presenter to tens of thousands of marketers looking to up their Facebook ads game. As Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) at ClickFunnels he runs the entire organic and paid traffic teams and dominates the markets he jumps into. Having spent millions in ads and generated tens of millions he knows his way around ad campaigns like the back of his hand. John has been featured on several podcasts: FunnelHacker Radio, Just The Tips, Next Level Facebook Ads Podcast, Trent Talks, and The Big Shift to name a few. Whether it’s optimizing things on the campaign, audience, or ad creative level, John is the man with the skills, strategy, and experience to create world class results.

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