What is the Best Lead Generation Technology Stack in 2024?

The big problem, we’ve found with entrepreneurs, is the ‘stop-start’ problem.

They don’t know which tools are the right pick, how different tech tools integrate, or how could they possibly align a tech-stack with their business goals.

This slows down growth and keeps them in a constant cycle of trial and error, experimenting with different tools.

Not only does this drain out a huge chunk of resources but it can also be pretty frustrating!

What’s even more challenging is not knowing where to turn for advice…

Google, YouTube, and even the so-called expert Facebook groups have plenty of success stories and advice…

But they hardly ever spill the beans beyond the superficial on what truly makes a solid lead gen tech stack or why each part matters. 

And we get it… It’s not sexy to talk about accounting, even though it’s where many media buyers have a lot to gain.

Which leaves early entrepreneurs in the dark — trying to build something solid (that actually works) without a clear plan.

With this guide, we’re aiming to fix this problem.

Here we’ll walk you through six essential categories of tools required to build a strong and profitable tech setup for your lead generation business – along with why they’re needed and what are some top choices for each.

Ready to dive in? Let’s go ⚡

1. Tracking & Analytics 

You can’t know for sure how far you’ve come if you’re not measuring the distance between the starting point and where you at now. 

This means — for any task — you need tools to measure relevant metrics, record them, and help track progress.

The idea here is to analyze the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns, i.e., whether they are working as intended or not.

Without these ‘Tracking Tools’ in your tech arsenal, you’re likely to face several issues, such as:

• Ineffective Optimization: Tracking tools allow you to identify what’s working and what’s not. Without this information, you’ll struggle to optimize your campaigns.
  
  And instead you’ll keep investing resources in channels or strategies that don’t generate leads — which wastes both time and money.
• Difficulty in Targeting: Tracking tools provide insights into the behavior and preferences of your audience.
  
  Without such data, targeting becomes a guessing game. You may struggle to reach the right audience with the right message.
• Lack of Attribution: Knowing which channels or touchpoints contribute most to conversions is vital.
  
  Again — without this information, it can be challenging to decide where to allocate the marketing budget for best results.
• Missed Opportunities for Automation: Many of these tools integrate with automation platforms, allowing you to streamline processes and respond promptly to user actions.
  
  Without them you will miss opportunities to automate follow-ups — which in turn may lead to loss of quality leads that you couldn’t engage timely.
• You Starve the AI/ML Algorithms: Another benefit of tracking tools is that they generate valuable data that you can use to train artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) algorithms.
  
  Without feeding the algorithms with data, you won’t train your AI/ML tools for enhanced performance and be in a constant battle with high costs.

In a nutshell…

These tools are vital to make strategic & optimized marketing decisions and keep your Ad cost down. 

Now, in lead gen, what exactly will you need to track?

Here are a few essential metrics…

Metrics	How is it tracked?
Conversion Rate	The number of completed actions (form submissions, sign-ups, etc.) compared to the total number of visitors.
Click-Through Rate (CTR)	The number of clicks on a link or ad compared to the total impressions.
Cost per Lead (CPL)	The costs associated with acquiring leads over a specific period. 👉 Discover the true cost of the entire lead gen business here.
Return on Investment (ROI)	The revenue generated from lead generation activities against the overall costs.
Lead-to-Customer Conversion Rate	The percentage of leads that progress to become paying customers.
Lifetime Value (LTV)	The average revenue that a customer will generate throughout their lifespan as a customer
Bounce Rate	The percentage of visitors who navigate away from the site after viewing only one page.
Lead Source	Where leads are originating (social media, email, organic search).

Every media buying platform (such as Google Ads, Facebook Ads, etc.) offers its own tracking dashboard – with its specific metrics. So, if you’re using multiple media-buying platforms, you’ll have several different types of trackers available. 

However, tracking each platform separately can be confusing, chaotic, and time-consuming.

To streamline this process, we recommend using a tag management system (TMS), a tool that simplifies and centralizes tag management without modifying your website’s original code. You can think of it as a central control hub for all the tags currently being used on your website.

Here are some benefits of employing a TMS:

• Simplified Code Management: No need to individually insert the code for each active ad network directly on your website. A TMS enables you to manage all these codes from a single point.
• Unified Data Collection: It collects and organizes data from all tags in one place. This allows you to conveniently compare and analyze how your ads are performing across different networks.
• Reduced Developer Costs and Hassle: A TMS simplifies the process, making it accessible even for non-techies. This reduces both the need for developer assistance and the technical hassle of digging into the details of each ad network.
• Faster Decision-Making: Data centralization speeds up your decision-making process. You can quickly analyze and make informed decisions about your advertising strategy.
• Firing Conversion Events: Besides tracking, tag management systems can also record key data by firing conversion events. This recorded data can be fed into your AI/ML algorithms to help optimize your systems.

In summary:

• If you’re using one ad network and have limited lead generation efforts, a singular tracking tool (like Google Analytics) may suffice.
• If you’re using 2 or more ad networks and plan to implement granular lead segmentation, you’ll need both a tracking tool and a tag management system (like Google Tag Manager).

See what advanced tracking looks like.

2. Cashflow Planner

Next, to have any successful business, you need to know where do you stand with your money.

Otherwise, you could find yourself in a deep financial hole even when your business is profitable.

This is why a cashflow planner is vital.

By definition, a cashflow planner is a financial tool that helps businesses forecast and manage their incoming and outgoing cash over a specific period.

Examples of this tool include:

1. Simple Spreadsheets
   • Google Sheets
   • Microsoft Excel
   • Numbers (built-in Mac app)
2. Accounting or bookkeeping apps 
   • QuickBooks
   • Dynamic Planner
   • Xero (comes with extensions & plugins)

It is, of course, a staple tool for every business — otherwise, you could lose track of incoming and outgoing money. Consequently, ending up in a negative balance.

However, in the context of accounting for lead generation, it’s even more critical.

Why so?

Let me share a scenario with you…

Say you onboard a retainer client, and they don’t pay you upfront.

Now, the campaign you launch for them will be from your own pocket — meaning you are in negative at this point.

You can only balance this amount and get your profit when they settle their invoice.

However, if you don’t track the amount you’re spending, there’s a chance you could spend more on this campaign than what the client is paying you!
(Sounds obvious, but you’d be surprised how many businesses get caught out).

Similarly, if you go by the performance-based pay-per-lead model, your client might have a budget with no wiggle room.

And in pursuit of acquiring the highest possible quality of leads, and unexpected higher traffic costs, your costs might exceed this allotted budget —- this can mean you can quickly find yourself in the negative before all the leads have been delivered.

But generally, whatever model you choose the first steps of most lead generation campaigns are usually negative. 

You spend money (yours or the client’s) to first run the campaign. 

And then earn money when the campaign actually works and derives results (i.e., leads are generated). 

Which makes you very vulnerable to losses if you’re not vigilant enough.

Using a cash flow planner safeguards you from this potential risk of losing money.

To better understand this, let’s quickly review an essential aspect of business finance: 

Accrual Accounting VS. Cash Basis Accounting

• Accrual Accounting: This method records transactions when they occur, regardless of when the cash is exchanged. 

For instance, if you provide a service in December but get paid in January, accrual accounting recognizes the due amount as the revenue of December.

• Cash Basis Accounting: This approach concerns the actual movement of money—when it comes in and when it goes out. 

Using the same example, cash flow would record the revenue when you actually receive the payment in January. So, it’d be considered January’s cash flow.

Given these differences, having a cashflow planner tool can help avoid embarrassing situations… Like when you’ve made commitments to your clients but run out of cash to fulfill those commitments — despite being very much capable of delivering the promised results!

💡 Want to be more financially smart for your business?  Consider signing up for our Finance SOS course! It allows you to master cashflow, so you can quickly grow your revenue and company valuation.

This leads me on to:

3. Accrual Profitability Planner

An accrual profitability planner is a financial tool that helps businesses project and analyze their profits by accounting for revenues and expenses when they are incurred, providing a comprehensive view of financial performance over time.

In simpler terms, it helps determine how much money a business is making and spending per month by considering deals and bills as they happen, not when cash exchanges hands. 

This provides a clearer picture of a company’s financial health and aids in making informed plans for the future.

It’s worth noting that an accrual profitability planner doesn’t typically come as a standalone tool. 

Instead, it’s more of a ‘feature’ of cashflow planners or a use case.

Here are a few tool types that can perform this role:

• Accounting Software: QuickBooks, Xero, Wave
• Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Systems: SAP, Oracle Netsuite, Microsoft Dynamics
• Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A) Software: Adaptive Insights, Anaplan, Host analytics
• Custom Excel Models: Quicken Analytics, Zoho Sheets Finance, Microsoft Excel Insights

Now, if you’ve a small team with 1-10 employees or even under 50, an excel sheet or an accounting software should work fine for you.

But if you’re a larger business with over 100-200 employees, you might want to invest in ERP systems or FP&A software.

To understand the significance of this tool in your lead gen tech stack, let’s revisit the difference between accrual accounting and cash flow again — this time with an example.

Let’s say you get a client for a one-time deal. You earn $9000 in revenue via this client by selling 100 leads for $90 each.

Now, imagine two cases for this scenario:

• Upfront Payment

	Week 1	Week 2	Week 3
Opening balance	$10,000	$19000	$19000
Cash In	$9000	$0	$0
Cash Out	–	–	$6000
End of the Month Bank Balance	$19000	$19000	$13000

In this case, the client pays a week in advance (week 1) and the ad platforms charge you a week later (week 3).

The cash flow for this case tells that you have $9000 incoming cash and $6000 outgoing cash. $3000 is your profit.

So, your net cash flow is positive.

From an accrual accounting perspective, you’d be happy. Your costs are aligned with the revenue, so you know for sure that the profit is positive. 

From a cash flow perspective, however, you might be confused at the end of the third week when your bank account goes from $19000 to $13000. You’d be like: did I actually make money?

For that reason, tracking cash flow alone is not a wise move. You need to know if you’re actually making money on a week-to-week basis. 

• Payment upon delivery

	Week 1	Week 2	Week 3
Opening balance	$10,000	$4000	$4000
Cash In	–	$0	$9000
Cash Out	$6000	–
End of the Month Bank Balance	$4000	$4000	$13000

Now, consider different payment terms: the client pays you a week later (week 3), and the ad platforms charge you in advance (week 1).

In this case, you’re funding your client. You have no money in the first week and second week to fund another client of the same nature. The cash flow is negative until the third week.

Your profits are STILL $3000.

If you risk things and sign up another client during week 2, you’ll go completely bankrupt. The same will happen if your current client goes on a holiday and delays payment. 

From a cash flow perspective, you’d be happy in the third week when the big amount flows in. 

The math in both scenarios is the same though — you’re making a profit of $3000.

From an accrual accounting perspective, you’d be well aware during the first two weeks that your profit is negative. This will become a guiding light in further actions, and you will know what to commit to and what to avoid. 

Ultimately, the key is to monitor both cash flow and accruals. Cash flow ensures you have sufficient money to survive the current week/month, while accruals indicate if you’re selling at a profit.

Like I said before, this is a trap that even experienced companies fall foul of.

We’ve seen one company in particular face losses of up to $600,000 simply because it relied solely on cash flow and failed to notice a cost increase until it was too late! 

And THIS example is what triggered the creation of Finance SOS.

Where along with a full financial blueprint, we provide guidance and templates on setting up cash flow planning and accrual accounting for your own business.

Meaning you don’t spend cash you don’t physically possess yet, regardless of how solid the deal seems. 

You also learn how to keep your business profitable and identify any pitfalls or bad deals in advance.

4. Landing Page Tool

Shifting from back-end tools, let’s move on to customer-facing elements. 

These tools serve as your doorway to money-making opportunities. And needless to say, one of the most important of these tools is the ‘landing page tool’.

A landing page is basically a standalone page that prompts a specific action from the visitor, such as making a purchase or filling out a form. So, essentially, a landing page (LP) focuses on conversions.

And your traffic usually arrives organically via an ad campaign. 

If you’re using platforms such as Facebook Ads or LinkedIn Ads to drive traffic and generate leads, you don’t necessarily need to build a separate LP on your website. You can utilize the platform’s built-in landing page features to guide user journey and prompt the desired action.

However, if you’ve got a website, it’s a good idea to create a dedicated landing page on the site too. It will enable you to add custom elements to a user’s journey, such as making your web pages load faster than other platforms — reducing wait times for your visitors. Or perhaps, making user journey more interactive with quizzes, mini games, and guides along the way.

So, it best utilize both your options; it increases your chances to maximize conversions!

That being said, having a landing page is one thing, and having a good landing page is another.

Here are the key components of a high-performing landing page: 

• Web design
• HTML & CSS
• Copy
• Graphic design
• Optimized For Page Speed
• Mobile Responsive

All of which should optimized for higher conversions.

For better visibility and reach, the landing page should also have:

• Integrated analytics tool to track your data to base future marketing decisions off. 
• Integrated marketing automation tools for effective lead nurturing such as a CRM or Email Platform at a minimum. (More on that later.)

Since all of these features fall into their own specialized, in-depth field, you might need to hire experts to help you execute.

Alternatively, if you’re building a landing page on your own using any of the modern page builders, you could get started with basic YouTube tutorials 

And improve your landing page later when you have the budget.

But an important point here is — if you choose to build it yourself, settle for a landing page tool that makes your life easier — especially in the technical aspects (namely HTML & CSS, web design, responsiveness, etc.).

Also opt for a tool that’s easy to learn, navigate, or popular (so you don’t have trouble finding experts). 

But with so many on the market, it’s not always easy to decide which one to go for.

For example, Tom Blake —- an expert lead generator and also a LeadsHook user has his own preference.

Good ol’ WordPress.

And he has his reasons…

He begins his post by emphasizing a key factor that most people miss when building a landing page, i.e, page speed.

You see, slower loading speeds can potentially cause a loss in conversions — turning an otherwise effective funnel into a costly endeavor. You could have the best product/services and the most streamlined funnel yet lose opportunities with high-quality leads due to slow loading.

Here is a breakdown of Tom’s recommended Tech Stack that along with reducing page load times, also ticks all his other boxes.

Tom’s WordPress-Centric Recommended Tech Stack 

Purpose	Tool	Why this one?	Additional Tips	Cost
Hosting	Cloudways	Versatile, high-security, inexpensive	Install Vultr high-frequency server for quick page load speed. Use 2 GB of RAM for future-proofing website for large traffic spikes	$26/month
Landing Page and Theme Builder	WordPress: Elementor + Hello Elementor theme	Extremely flexible, reasonably priced, can build full websites	Avoid ALL Elementor addons to prevent slowing down website, compromise with what Elementor offers	$199/year
Funnel Builds & Split Testing	Cartflows	Simple split-testing and CRO within WordPress	Build funnels in a subdirectory on the main website for easy management	$249/year
Forms / Quiz Software	LeadsHook	Valuable software outside of WordPress	Refer to ‘how to build a high-performing lead capture quiz’	$49/month
Lead Distribution	Leadbyte (later stage)	Essential for lead distribution, not recommended for beginners	Start with Leadshook for the first 2-3 clients, use Leadbyte once you have regular clients and profitable campaigns	N/A (not recommended for beginners)
Other WordPress Plugins	Insert Headers and Footer, Code Snippets, Disable Comments, etc.	Various purposes such as SEO, security, backups, etc.	Use necessary plugins only	$75/month (hosting + Leadshook), $523/year (Elementor Pro + Cartflows)

Again, notice how the entirety of his tech stack revolves around optimizing load speed. Feel free to adopt his approach if it aligns with your needs!

To explore the rest of his high-performing lead gen tech stack in more detail, check out the rest of his post: Tom Blake’s Tech Stack

P.S. He wrote this post quite a bit ago, so there may be changes in the costs. 

5. Lead Capture Tool 

Once you get your lead’s attention, and you manage to direct them to a dedicated landing page, your next step is to collect their info.

This is usually done using some type of static optin in forms or generic lead magnet

But at LeadsHook, we do it a bit differently.

By using interactive Decision Tree’s (Think quizzes on steroids). 

Why interactive?

Because according to qualifio.com, interactive content could increase your submission rate by up to 80%. 

LeadsHook-generated interactive experiences have also made it possible for marketers to conveniently collect unlimited data points from leads without drop off — allowing for the highest level of lead qualification.

So, how does LeadsHook make it possible? 

✅ Super personalized lead magnets: Maximize lead engagement with hyper-customized incentives, such as irresistible, individualized lead magnets (e.g: your Lead Gen IQ)

✅ Micro-level segmentation: Tailor your questions with precision and create deeply customized interactions that resonate with each user’s unique needs.

✅ Conditional logic: Streamline user experiences by dynamically adjusting the flow of questions based on responses.

✅ Dynamic CTA buttons: Boost user engagement with dynamically changing call-to-action buttons. These adapt in real-time to guide leads through a personalized conversion path.

These are just a few features that create an experience so tailored that users feel like they’re in a one-on-one conversation.

Obviously, you need some copy skills to make it all work. 

Even if you’re not, this is the best place to start.

Our beginner-friendly ‘personalized marketing‘ course has got you covered, turning you into a pro in no time.

But as far as LeadsHook’s capabilities are concerned, don’t just take our word for it!

Industry giants like:

⚡ Dan Wardrope – Founder of Flexxable Agency 

⚡ David Jenyns — Founder at Melbourne SEO Services

⚡ Marius Du Preez — Founder of Swell Marketing Media 

… and many more have endorsed LeadsHook as one of the best lead capture tools on the market!

Suggested read: Complete Guide to Lead Capture Mastery

6. Backend Nurturing Tool: Customer Relationship Management (CRM) 

Once you’ve collected lead data, it needs to be sent somewhere so you can nurture and build a stronger relationship.

This is where a combination of a customer relationship management (CRM) tool and email platform comes into play.

Examples of these tools include:

• GoHighLevel
• Active Campaign
• Salesforce

These tools store the email addresses, phone numbers, and other data points you’ve collected about a lead.

They allow you to segment leads based on their actions, which can be crucial for successful remarketing efforts.

In most marketing campaigns, only a small number of leads will convert immediately. 

For instance, out of 100 people who click an ad, only 15-50% might provide their details, and out of those, perhaps only 10% will make a purchase.

Therefore, the majority of leads may not convert right away, but they are already on your email list and can be targeted with emails, SMS…

…Or outside the platform with remarketing Ads to close the sale.

To further pursue leads and close deals, you’ll need additional tools like booking systems, sales systems, invoicing tools, and more.

Beyond the tool itself, you need to effectively motivate people to act on the Call to Action (CTA).

For this, you really need technical prowess in online marketing. So, either polish your own skills or hire a skilled team to handle these advanced strategies and ensure successful lead nurturing and conversion.

Your Complete Lead Gen Tech Stack – Recommended Tools

Type of Tool	Recommended	Pricing
Tracking tool	Google Analytics	Free
Tag Management tool	Google Tag Manager	Free
Cashflow planner	QuickBooks, Xero, Google Sheets	Varies
Accrual profitability planner	QuickBooks, Xero, Adaptive Insights	Varies
Landing page tool	Elementor	$0 – $41.99
Lead Capture tool	LeadsHook	$99 – $499
Backend Nurturing tool (CTA)	Active Campaign, GHL, Salesforce	Varies

Note: The prices of different tools vary depending on the specific features, number of users, and other factors. It’s best to check the respective websites for the most accurate and up-to-date pricing.

Now here’s the BIG caveat…

Online marketing is not easy when you are just starting out.

And anyone who tells you differently is a liar.

But with just a little bit of effort and consistency, trust us – you can be successful.

Now that you have a solid technical toolkit to start your lead gen business on the right foot, we hope you’ll be able maximize leads and conversions in no time…

So, without further ado, it’s time to get into the game! 

And if there are any questions or confusion along the way, you’ll find us right here.

Feel free to reach out to us at LeadsHook directly or our Facebook group! 🙂