Tools to automate LinkedIn routine: which one to choose?

As you already know, LinkedIn is a great resource for lead generation, it provides its users with a great opportunity for doing B2B sales, hiring people, or social networking. The process of lead generation through LinkedIn requires an everyday series of routine assignments, which, fortunately, can be partially avoided.

There are plenty of Chrome extensions that facilitate the everyday routine of any lead generator. Despite the fact that LinkedIn ULA states that the usage of third-party tools breaks its rules, it is hard to imagine that lead generators will avoid using such tools.

Read our article about LinkedIn rules and regulations to know how to avoid LinkedIn block:

https://medium.com/sales-crew-blog/how-to-avoid-linkedin-block-6612247a1001

Unless those extensions, you just would have to perform everything manually, which would take a lot of time. Using LinkedIn tools for automation enables you to spend more time communicating with clients, not just sending invitations or follow-ups.

Unlike many people think, LinkedIn tools do not facilitate sales or win any deals, they just help you connect people and look for prospective clients. Most of such tools for automation provide users with similar functionality, but some of them have additional features, which differentiate them.

Having experience in lead generation through LinkedIn, I want to provide you with a comparison of the three most popular Chrome extensions — LinkedIn Helper, Dux-Soup, and Lead-Connect.

Below there is a full comparison of these 3 tools by 34 features.

As appears from the table above, each of these LinkedIn Chrome extensions has its advantages and disadvantages due to the different amount and complexity of functions they perform.

Let’s drop away all the similarities and focus on specific features each of these extensions provide.

Speaking about Linked Helper, it is the most popular tool nowadays with a significant growth rate. Since January 13, 2019, till June 15, 2019, the number of users increased by 132% (from 58k to 76k). What makes the extension so popular is that it covers almost all basic needs of lead generators, like uploading a list of profiles, auto-visiting LinkedIn profiles, auto-inviting with personalized messages, auto-messaging 1st-degree connections, auto-endorse connections, auto-InMail, reply detection, downloading visited profile data, etc. Linked Helper, unlike other tools, also enables users to invite 1st connections to join a LinkedIn group.

At the same time, the core focus of the extension on the functions has its weakness. The tool provides no features for setting up follow up campaigns, which makes the extension helpful only for the first 1–2 steps.

There are also some other disadvantages of Linked Helper, which are:

1. Complexity of interface.
2. Absence of integrations with CRM system.
3. Absence of teamwork possibilities.

The second tool of automation which we considered is Dux-Soup. This tool exists since 2006 and has the most prominent dynamics of growth. It provides its users with the biggest amount of various functions in comparison with other tools.

The core advantages are:

1. The possibility of multiple accounts management.
2. Downloading attached profile notes.
3. Multiple follow-ups.
4. Integration with email marketing systems through Zappier.

The main cons of Dux-Soup extension are:

1. Absence of teamwork possibilities.
2. Absence of invitations withdrawal.
3. High price (the full license, covering all the functions, costs $55/month).

Finally, the third LinkedIn Chrome extension, Lead Connect, is a newcomer, which we included to the list due to the highest growth rate — 227% from January till June 2019 (from 1700 in January till 3900 in June).

The key advantages of Lead Connect are:

1. Email finder.
2. Teamwork possibilities.
3. Multiple follow-ups.

If to speak about the disadvantages of this tool of automation, these are:

1. Absence of ability to upload own list of profiles.
2. No integration with email marketing systems.
3. Absence of ability to invite 1st connections to join a LinkedIn group.

It is obvious that there is no ideal LinkedIn Chrome extension which provides all possible functions. If such an extension already existed, it would head all the lists. As each tool has its advantages and disadvantages, each lead generator shall choose the one which fits the best his needs. But you should always remember that what really matters in lead generation isn’t which tool you are using but the way how you are using it.

NoviLeads team has its own approach to lead generation and is developing its own solution for sales processes. Watch our news to be the first who will know more about it.

Best wishes,
Viktoria Prysiazhna
Lead Generation Manager at NoviLeads
https://novileads.com/

Business Development Manager at Abweb
https://abweb.com.ua/

About the author: https://www.linkedin.com/in/viktoriaprysiazhna/