# Win customers

> Find people, follow up, close.

Start with the step where you lose most customers today. If nobody knows you exist, a social scheduler or a lead database comes first; if enquiries arrive but go cold, a free CRM and a booking link fix more than any outreach tool. Restaurants sit apart: a reservation system with deposits does the work of a CRM for diners. Hold off on cold email platforms and AI sales agents until you know which message gets replies.

## [Building your first list of people to contact?](https://suiteintent.com/discover/lead-generation)

Apollo pairs a large B2B contact database with sequences, a dialer and meeting booking, and its free plan covers a founder doing their own outbound. Hunter does one narrower job: it finds work addresses from a company domain and checks they deliver, with free monthly credits. Clay suits agencies, since its AI research steps read company websites to fill custom fields for very targeted lists.

- **[Apollo](https://suiteintent.com/t/apollo?m=GB)**: B2B contact database with email outreach. · Best for: Founders building their first outbound pipeline · Free plan · 50%
- **[HubSpot](https://suiteintent.com/t/hubspot?m=GB)**: CRM with marketing, sales and service hubs. · Best for: Teams sharing one record of every customer · Free plan · 90%
- **[Hunter](https://suiteintent.com/t/hunter?m=GB)**: Finds and verifies work email addresses. · Best for: Founders doing their own outreach · Free plan
- **[lemlist](https://suiteintent.com/t/lemlist?m=GB)**: Personalised cold email and outreach. · Best for: Personalised cold outreach at scale · Pricing on request · 14 days
- **[Clay](https://suiteintent.com/t/clay?m=GB)**: Lead enrichment and research in a spreadsheet. · Best for: Agencies running outbound at volume · Free plan

## [Need somewhere to track every deal and contact?](https://suiteintent.com/discover/crm)

HubSpot gives you a free CRM and lets you add paid hubs for marketing or service once more of the team needs the same customer record. Pipedrive starts at $14 a month and lays deals out as a visual pipeline a small sales team can learn in an afternoon. Attio builds itself from your email and calendar, so startups leaving a contacts spreadsheet can start on its free plan.

- **[Pipedrive](https://suiteintent.com/t/pipedrive?m=GB)**: Sales CRM built around a visual pipeline. · Best for: Small sales teams closing deals by stage · From $14/mo · 14 days
- **[HubSpot](https://suiteintent.com/t/hubspot?m=GB)**: CRM with marketing, sales and service hubs. · Best for: Teams sharing one record of every customer · Free plan · 90%
- **[Attio](https://suiteintent.com/t/attio?m=GB)**: CRM you shape like a database. · Best for: Startups replacing a spreadsheet of contacts · Free plan
- **[folk](https://suiteintent.com/t/folk?m=GB)**: Lightweight CRM for managing relationships. · Best for: Teams who find a sales CRM too heavy · Pricing on request
- **[Close](https://suiteintent.com/t/close?m=GB)**: Sales CRM with calling, SMS and email built in. · Best for: Sales reps who live on the phone · Pricing on request

## [Sending cold emails without landing in spam?](https://suiteintent.com/discover/cold-email)

Instantly and Smartlead both connect as many inboxes as you like and warm each one up before campaigns go out. Smartlead starts at $39 a month and rotates sends between mailboxes, with every reply in one shared inbox, a setup agencies favour. A founder sending a few dozen emails can begin with Hunter, which verifies addresses and sends simple campaigns from your own inbox on a free plan.

- **[Apollo](https://suiteintent.com/t/apollo?m=GB)**: B2B contact database with email outreach. · Best for: Founders building their first outbound pipeline · Free plan · 50%
- **[HubSpot](https://suiteintent.com/t/hubspot?m=GB)**: CRM with marketing, sales and service hubs. · Best for: Teams sharing one record of every customer · Free plan · 90%
- **[Instantly](https://suiteintent.com/t/instantly?m=GB)**: Cold email sent from many inboxes at once. · Best for: Outreach at volume that reaches the inbox · Pricing on request
- **[Smartlead](https://suiteintent.com/t/smartlead?m=GB)**: Cold email sent from many mailboxes at once. · Best for: High-volume outbound for agencies · From $39/mo · 50%
- **[lemlist](https://suiteintent.com/t/lemlist?m=GB)**: Personalised cold email and outreach. · Best for: Personalised cold outreach at scale · Pricing on request · 14 days

## [Want clients to book a call without ten emails?](https://suiteintent.com/discover/booking)

Calendly has a free plan and most clients already know its booking link, so nobody needs instructions. Cal.com is open source and free too, which lets you host it yourself and keep booking data in Europe. Coaches and therapists who charge per session can pick Acuity Scheduling, where clients fill in an intake form and pay a deposit as they book.

- **[Calendly](https://suiteintent.com/t/calendly?m=GB)**: Booking links that clients already recognise. · Best for: Taking bookings with the least friction · Free plan · 14 days
- **[Cal.com](https://suiteintent.com/t/cal-com?m=GB)**: Open-source scheduling you can self-host. · Best for: Booking pages you can host and customise · Free plan · 25%
- **[Acuity Scheduling](https://suiteintent.com/t/acuity?m=GB)**: Appointment booking with payments and intake forms. · Best for: Charging upfront for one-to-one sessions · Pricing on request
- **[HighLevel](https://suiteintent.com/t/highlevel?m=GB)**: Marketing CRM that agencies resell. · Best for: Agencies running marketing for local businesses · From $97/mo · 14 days
- **[SavvyCal](https://suiteintent.com/t/savvycal?m=GB)**: Scheduling links that respect both calendars. · Best for: Consultants booking calls with clients · Pricing on request

## [Running a restaurant and tired of empty tables?](https://suiteintent.com/discover/restaurant-bookings)

Zenchef puts a booking widget on your own website, takes card guarantees against no-shows and charges no commission per cover. TheFork Manager lists you on the big diner app in France, Spain and Italy, and its promotions can fill quiet services. Restaurant groups chasing repeat visits can look at SevenRooms, which keeps guest data and marketing in your hands.

- **[SevenRooms](https://suiteintent.com/t/sevenrooms?m=GB)**: Reservations, guest data and marketing for hospitality. · Best for: Groups building repeat visits from their own data · Pricing on request
- **[OpenTable](https://suiteintent.com/t/opentable?m=GB)**: Restaurant reservations with a diner network. · Best for: Restaurants looking for new diners · Pricing on request
- **[Zenchef](https://suiteintent.com/t/zenchef?m=GB)**: Restaurant bookings with no per-cover commission. · Best for: Cutting no-shows with card guarantees · Pricing on request
- **[ResDiary](https://suiteintent.com/t/resdiary?m=GB)**: Commission-free restaurant reservations. · Best for: Independents tired of paying per diner · Pricing on request
- **[TheFork Manager](https://suiteintent.com/t/thefork?m=GB)**: Restaurant bookings software linked to TheFork. · Best for: Filling quiet services with new diners · Pricing on request

## [Sending newsletters and campaigns to customers?](https://suiteintent.com/discover/email-marketing)

MailerLite is free up to 500 subscribers and suits a first newsletter. Brevo, a French provider, sends 300 emails a day for free and adds SMS and WhatsApp. Shops on Shopify get abandoned cart emails from Klaviyo or Mailchimp, using their order data.

- **[Klaviyo](https://suiteintent.com/t/klaviyo?m=GB)**: Email and SMS marketing for online shops. · Best for: Shopify stores recovering abandoned carts · Free plan
- **[MailerLite](https://suiteintent.com/t/mailerlite?m=GB)**: Simple email marketing with landing pages. · Best for: Your first newsletter on a free plan · Free plan · 30%
- **[Brevo](https://suiteintent.com/t/brevo?m=GB)**: Email, SMS and WhatsApp marketing from an EU company. · Best for: Small businesses that want an EU provider · Free plan
- **[CleverReach](https://suiteintent.com/t/cleverreach?m=GB)**: Email marketing from Germany, with German servers. · Best for: Keeping your mailing list on German servers · Free plan
- **[Mailchimp](https://suiteintent.com/t/mailchimp?m=GB)**: Email campaigns and automations for small firms. · Best for: Small shops selling on Shopify or WooCommerce · Free plan · 15%

## [Losing leads because nobody followed up in time?](https://suiteintent.com/discover/follow-ups)

Zapier connects your form, CRM and chat apps on a free plan, so a new enquiry can create a contact and ping the team on Slack. Pipedrive, from $14 a month, adds automations and AI suggestions that flag deals going quiet. HubSpot keeps emails, forms and deals on one record, so anyone in the team sees the last contact before replying.

- **[Zapier](https://suiteintent.com/t/zapier?m=GB)**: No-code automation between thousands of apps. · Best for: Your first automations, with no developer · Free plan · 14 days
- **[Pipedrive](https://suiteintent.com/t/pipedrive?m=GB)**: Sales CRM built around a visual pipeline. · Best for: Small sales teams closing deals by stage · From $14/mo · 14 days
- **[HubSpot](https://suiteintent.com/t/hubspot?m=GB)**: CRM with marketing, sales and service hubs. · Best for: Teams sharing one record of every customer · Free plan · 90%

## [Can AI draft outreach and research leads for you?](https://suiteintent.com/discover/ai-sales-agents)

Claude connects to MCP servers through Claude Desktop, so it can read your own tools and files while it researches a prospect, and a free plan lets you try it. HubSpot and Attio both offer free CRM plans that store the records an AI agent works from. Attio enriches contacts and companies by itself, which saves the lookup work before any message goes out.

- **[Claude](https://suiteintent.com/t/claude?m=GB)**: Anthropic's AI assistant, with MCP connections. · Best for: Connecting AI to your own tools with MCP · Free plan
- **[HubSpot](https://suiteintent.com/t/hubspot?m=GB)**: CRM with marketing, sales and service hubs. · Best for: Teams sharing one record of every customer · Free plan · 90%
- **[Attio](https://suiteintent.com/t/attio?m=GB)**: CRM you shape like a database. · Best for: Startups replacing a spreadsheet of contacts · Free plan

## [Planning a week of posts in one go?](https://suiteintent.com/discover/schedule-posts)

Buffer schedules to Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, X and more from one calendar, and its free plan covers a few channels. Publer also starts free and can resend your top posts, a good fit for solo marketers on a tight budget. Later shows how your Instagram or TikTok feed will look before anything publishes, which matters to creators who plan their grid.

- **[Buffer](https://suiteintent.com/t/buffer?m=GB)**: Schedule social posts from one calendar. · Best for: Planning a week of posts in one sitting · Free plan · 50%
- **[Publer](https://suiteintent.com/t/publer?m=GB)**: Affordable social media scheduler. · Best for: Posting often on a tight budget · Free plan
- **[Metricool](https://suiteintent.com/t/metricool?m=GB)**: Social scheduling and analytics, made in Spain. · Best for: Managing several clients' social accounts · Free plan
- **[Later](https://suiteintent.com/t/later?m=GB)**: Visual planner for social media posts. · Best for: Instagram and TikTok-first creators · Free plan
- **[Planoly](https://suiteintent.com/t/planoly?m=GB)**: Visual planner for Instagram and Pinterest. · Best for: Brands that care how their grid looks · Pricing on request

## [Finding clients on LinkedIn, X or Instagram?](https://suiteintent.com/discover/social-media)

Taplio, from $39 a month, drafts LinkedIn posts with AI and suggests people to engage with, which suits founders who win clients there. Typefully has a free plan and a clean editor for threads on X, LinkedIn, Threads and Bluesky. Metricool, a Spanish tool with a free plan, reports on social accounts, website and ads together, handy for freelancers managing several brands.

- **[Metricool](https://suiteintent.com/t/metricool?m=GB)**: Social scheduling and analytics, made in Spain. · Best for: Managing several clients' social accounts · Free plan
- **[Typefully](https://suiteintent.com/t/typefully?m=GB)**: Write and schedule posts for X, LinkedIn and Threads. · Best for: Founders building an audience through threads · Free plan
- **[Taplio](https://suiteintent.com/t/taplio?m=GB)**: LinkedIn post writing, scheduling and analytics. · Best for: Founders finding clients on LinkedIn · From $39/mo
- **[Hypefury](https://suiteintent.com/t/hypefury?m=GB)**: Post scheduler that reshares your best posts. · Best for: Creators recycling their top posts · From $6/mo

## [Writing ads and product pages that sell?](https://suiteintent.com/discover/marketing-copy)

ChatGPT drafts posts, emails and landing page text on its free plan, and paid plans add usage for daily work. Anyword scores each headline or ad line before you publish, so teams paying for ads can choose by predicted performance. Shops with hundreds of products can hand the catalogue to Hypotenuse, which writes descriptions and SEO copy in one batch.

- **[ChatGPT](https://suiteintent.com/t/chatgpt?m=GB)**: OpenAI's general-purpose AI assistant. · Best for: Daily writing, research and quick answers · Free plan
- **[Claude](https://suiteintent.com/t/claude?m=GB)**: Anthropic's AI assistant, with MCP connections. · Best for: Connecting AI to your own tools with MCP · Free plan
- **[Anyword](https://suiteintent.com/t/anyword?m=GB)**: AI copywriting with performance prediction. · Best for: Choosing ad copy before you spend on it · Pricing on request
- **[Hypotenuse AI](https://suiteintent.com/t/hypotenuse?m=GB)**: AI product descriptions for online shops. · Best for: Shops with hundreds of product pages · Pricing on request

## Questions

### Which tools should a new business set up first to get customers?

Most new businesses need two things before anything else: a place to record every lead and a way for people to book you. HubSpot and Attio both have free CRM plans, and Calendly or Cal.com give you a free booking link to share. With those in place, nobody who shows interest slips through. Add outreach or post scheduling once you have a few weeks of contacts to work with.

### Can one app cover my CRM, outreach and meeting booking?

Apollo comes close for B2B sellers: it pairs a contact database with email sequences, a dialer and meeting booking, and its free plan is generous. HubSpot keeps contacts, deals, emails and forms on one record, and you add paid hubs as your marketing grows. Many small teams still prefer separate tools that each do one job, such as Pipedrive for the pipeline and Calendly for calls. Zapier can link them so a new booking creates a deal without copying.

### How much does it cost to start finding customers with software?

You can start at zero. Apollo, HubSpot, Buffer, Metricool, Calendly and Cal.com all have free plans that cover a small business's first months. The first paid step tends to be a dedicated CRM such as Pipedrive, from $14 a month, or a LinkedIn tool like Taplio, from $39 a month. Pay for a tool once its free limits are what holds you back.

### Is cold email worth it for a small business in Europe?

Cold email works best for B2B offers where you can name the exact company and person you want to reach. Hunter finds and verifies work addresses from a company domain, and Instantly sends campaigns across several inboxes with warm-up to keep you out of spam. EU data protection rules apply to prospect lists too, so keep them small, relevant and easy to opt out of. If you sell to consumers, social media and bookings will bring you more customers than cold outreach.

### Which tools help a restaurant or salon fill tables and appointments?

Restaurants need a reservation system rather than a sales CRM. Zenchef gives you your own booking widget with deposits and card guarantees and charges no commission per cover, while SevenRooms adds a guest CRM and marketing for groups. OpenTable lists you in its diner app, which brings new guests but ties bookings to its marketplace. Salons, coaches and therapists do better with Acuity Scheduling, where clients leave a deposit and fill in your intake form as they book.