Tool Directory
The Outbound Stack
What the best GTM teams actually use for outbound. Every tool reviewed by an outbound consultant who's built these stacks for scaling B2B SaaS companies.
Featured Tools
Apollo
Data EnrichmentThe best entry point for teams starting outbound. Apollo's database is solid for North American B2B, and the built-in sequencing means you can run basic campaigns without buying a separate tool. But don't mistake it for an enterprise enrichment solution — the data gets thinner outside tech/SaaS.
Clay
Workflow OrchestrationThe Swiss Army knife for outbound ops. Essential for Tier 1 account research, but watch credit usage at scale. Where Clay shines is chaining multiple data sources into a single workflow — no other tool does waterfall enrichment this cleanly. If your team is still copy-pasting between tabs, Clay is the unlock.
Gong
Revenue IntelligenceGong is the best investment a scaling outbound team can make. Not for the call recording — for the pattern recognition. When you can see which discovery questions correlate with pipeline progression, you stop guessing and start coaching from data. The teams that use Gong well don't just record calls — they build playbooks from winning patterns.
All Tools
6sense
Intent & Signals6sense is the most comprehensive intent platform on the market, but it's only worth the investment if you have the ops capacity to act on the signals. Most teams buy 6sense and then don't change their workflows — which makes it an expensive dashboard. Pair it with a clear signal-to-action playbook or skip it.
Apollo
Data EnrichmentThe best entry point for teams starting outbound. Apollo's database is solid for North American B2B, and the built-in sequencing means you can run basic campaigns without buying a separate tool. But don't mistake it for an enterprise enrichment solution — the data gets thinner outside tech/SaaS.
Clay
Workflow OrchestrationThe Swiss Army knife for outbound ops. Essential for Tier 1 account research, but watch credit usage at scale. Where Clay shines is chaining multiple data sources into a single workflow — no other tool does waterfall enrichment this cleanly. If your team is still copy-pasting between tabs, Clay is the unlock.
Gong
Revenue IntelligenceGong is the best investment a scaling outbound team can make. Not for the call recording — for the pattern recognition. When you can see which discovery questions correlate with pipeline progression, you stop guessing and start coaching from data. The teams that use Gong well don't just record calls — they build playbooks from winning patterns.
HubSpot
CRMHubSpot is the best CRM for teams that want marketing and sales in one system without Salesforce complexity. The Sequences tool is good enough for basic outbound, and the reporting keeps improving. The trap is over-customizing it early — keep your properties clean and your pipeline stages simple.
LinkedIn Sales Navigator
Social SellingSales Nav is table stakes for B2B outbound. The advanced search filters alone justify the cost — finding the right 50 people at a target account takes minutes, not hours. But treat it as a research tool, not an outreach tool. InMail response rates are mediocre. Use Sales Nav to find people, then reach them through email and phone.
Orum
DialersIf phone is a channel in your outbound mix — and it should be — Orum makes your reps 3-5x more productive on the phone. The parallel dialer skips voicemails and connects reps to live humans. The ROI math is simple: if a rep makes 100 dials in an hour instead of 25, you need fewer reps to hit the same number of conversations.
Outreach
Email SequencingThe enterprise standard for a reason. Outreach gives you the most control over multi-step, multi-channel sequences, and their analytics are unmatched for teams running 10+ reps. But it's overbuilt for small teams — if you have fewer than 5 SDRs, you're paying for complexity you don't need.
Why this directory exists
Most tool directories are pay-to-play. Vendors buy placement, reviews are astroturfed, and you can't tell what's actually worth your budget.
Every tool here has an honest "Elric's Take" — what it's good at, where it falls short, and who should use it. These opinions come from building outbound systems for B2B SaaS companies, not from vendor partnerships.
Need help building your stack?Frequently Asked Questions
What tools do you need for outbound sales?
A modern outbound stack typically includes: a CRM (HubSpot or Salesforce), an enrichment tool (Apollo, Clay, or ZoomInfo), an email sequencing platform (Outreach, Salesloft, or Lemlist), and optionally a dialer, intent data provider, and conversation intelligence tool. The exact combination depends on your team size, budget, and outbound maturity.
How much does an outbound tech stack cost?
A basic outbound stack (CRM + enrichment + sequencing) starts around $200-400/rep/month. Enterprise stacks with intent data, parallel dialers, and conversation intelligence can reach $500-1,000+/rep/month. Start lean and add tools as your process matures — buying tools before you have a working playbook is the most common waste.
What is the best enrichment tool for outbound?
It depends on your use case. Apollo offers the best free tier and all-in-one simplicity. Clay excels at multi-source waterfall enrichment for account-based teams. ZoomInfo has the largest database but requires enterprise budgets. For most scaling teams, combining Apollo or Clay with one specialized provider gives the best coverage-to-cost ratio.
Should I buy all my outbound tools at once?
No. Start with CRM + one enrichment source + basic sequencing. Validate your ICP, messaging, and process before adding complexity. Intent data, parallel dialers, and AI tools amplify a working system — they cannot fix a broken one. Add tools to solve specific bottlenecks, not to check boxes.