Best Sales Automation Software: Tools That Actually Work

Sales automation software handles repetitive tasks like email sequences, follow-ups, lead enrichment, and CRM updates so your team can focus on closing deals. The right tool can 10x your outreach capacity. The wrong one wastes time and gets your domain blacklisted.

I've tested dozens of these platforms. Here's what actually works, what each tool costs, and which one you should pick based on your specific needs.

What Sales Automation Software Actually Does

These tools automate the grunt work of sales:

The best platforms do this without making your emails look robotic or getting you flagged for spam.

Close: Best CRM With Built-In Automation

Close is a CRM designed specifically for sales teams that need automation built into their workflow, not bolted on as an afterthought.

What Close Does Well

The Power Dialer lets you blast through call lists without manually dialing numbers. Email sequences integrate directly with the CRM, so every touchpoint automatically logs to the contact record. The platform tracks calls, emails, and SMS in one timeline.

Close shines for teams doing high-volume outbound. If you make 50+ calls per day, the built-in calling features save hours compared to switching between a CRM and separate phone system.

Close Pricing

Most teams need Professional to get the automation features that make Close worth using.

Try Close free for 14 days to test the calling and sequence features with your actual prospects.

Instantly: Pure Cold Email at Scale

Instantly focuses exclusively on cold email. No CRM bloat, no LinkedIn features, just email infrastructure designed to send thousands of messages without landing in spam.

Why Instantly Works for Cold Email

The platform uses unlimited email accounts to distribute sending volume. Instead of sending 200 emails from one address (spam trigger), you send 20 emails each from 10 different domains. This keeps your sender reputation clean.

Instantly includes email warmup, deliverability monitoring, and A/B testing built in. The interface is dead simple - upload a CSV, write your sequence, and launch. No learning curve.

Instantly Pricing

The Growth plan works for most small teams. You can always upgrade as volume increases.

Start with Instantly if you're doing pure cold email outreach and don't need LinkedIn or phone features.

Smartlead: Advanced Email Personalization

Smartlead handles cold email like Instantly but adds sophisticated personalization and multi-channel capabilities. It's more complex but more powerful.

Smartlead's Key Features

The platform supports unlimited email accounts for sending distribution. Dynamic personalization goes beyond {{FirstName}} - you can customize entire paragraphs based on industry, company size, or any custom field.

Smartlead's deliverability features include automatic spam testing, inbox rotation, and real-time blacklist monitoring. The AI-powered warmup gradually increases sending volume to build sender reputation.

Smartlead Pricing

Smartlead costs slightly more than Instantly but offers better personalization options if your campaigns need sophisticated targeting.

Try Smartlead for campaigns requiring advanced personalization and segmentation.

Reply: Multi-Channel Automation Platform

Reply combines email, LinkedIn, calls, and SMS into unified sequences. If you're running coordinated outreach across multiple channels, Reply handles the orchestration.

What Makes Reply Different

You can build sequences that email on day 1, connect on LinkedIn day 3, email again day 5, then trigger a call task day 7. The platform coordinates timing across channels automatically.

Reply includes a Chrome extension for LinkedIn automation, built-in email finder to enrich leads, and native integration with major CRMs. The AI assistant suggests sequence improvements based on performance data.

Reply Pricing

You need the Multi-Channel plan to use LinkedIn automation, which is Reply's main advantage over email-only tools.

Start with Reply if you need coordinated outreach across email, LinkedIn, and phone.

Clay: Data Enrichment and Workflow Automation

Clay isn't just a sending tool - it's a data platform that finds and enriches leads, then feeds them into your outreach sequences. Think of it as the data layer that powers your automation.

How Clay Works

Clay connects to 50+ data sources to find contact information, company data, and behavioral signals. You build workflows that automatically enrich leads, score them based on criteria, and push qualified prospects to your outreach tools.

The platform uses waterfall enrichment - if one data source doesn't have an email, it automatically tries the next source. This dramatically improves contact coverage compared to single-source tools.

Clay Pricing

Clay is expensive per enrichment credit, but you get access to multiple data providers without separate subscriptions. Calculate your monthly lead volume to determine which plan makes sense.

Try Clay if you need sophisticated lead enrichment and data workflows before outreach.

Lemlist: Personalization-Focused Email Platform

Lemlist specializes in visual personalization - adding custom images, videos, and landing pages to cold emails. It works for campaigns where high-touch personalization matters more than volume.

Lemlist's Unique Features

The image personalization engine adds recipient names, company logos, or custom messages to images automatically. Video personalization creates unique landing pages with personalized video messages for each prospect.

Lemlist includes email warmup, A/B testing, and CRM integrations. The deliverability features are solid, though not as advanced as Instantly or Smartlead.

Lemlist Pricing

You need Email Pro to access the image and video personalization features that make Lemlist worth using over cheaper alternatives.

Start with Lemlist for high-touch campaigns requiring visual personalization.

Amplemarket: AI-Powered Sales Platform

Amplemarket combines lead generation, enrichment, and multi-channel outreach with AI that suggests next actions based on buyer signals.

Amplemarket Features

The platform includes a database of 300+ million contacts with built-in enrichment. AI buying intent signals identify prospects showing active interest in solutions like yours.

Email sequences integrate with LinkedIn automation and phone dialers. The AI assistant recommends which prospects to contact, what message to send, and when to follow up based on engagement patterns.

Amplemarket Pricing

Amplemarket uses custom pricing based on team size and features needed. Expect $100-150/user/month for the full platform. There's no self-serve pricing - you need to request a quote.

Request Amplemarket pricing if you want an all-in-one platform with built-in prospect data.

Which Sales Automation Tool Should You Use?

Pick based on your specific workflow:

Best for teams that need a CRM with automation built in: Close - The calling features and native integration make it the best choice for teams doing high-volume phone and email outreach who don't want to juggle separate tools.

Best for pure cold email at scale: Instantly - Cheapest option with unlimited email accounts and solid deliverability. Perfect if you're only doing email outreach.

Best for advanced email personalization: Smartlead - More sophisticated than Instantly with better segmentation and dynamic content options.

Best for multi-channel sequences: Reply - Coordinates email, LinkedIn, calls, and SMS in unified workflows. Use this if you're running coordinated campaigns across channels.

Best for data enrichment and workflows: Clay - Not a sending tool but the best data platform to feed your outreach. Use it upstream of your sending platform.

What You Actually Need to Get Started

Here's the minimum viable stack for effective sales automation:

  1. A sending platform: Instantly or Smartlead for email, Reply for multi-channel
  2. Email infrastructure: 3-5 secondary domains with Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 accounts
  3. Lead list: Either build in Clay or buy from a data provider
  4. Email warmup: Built into Instantly/Smartlead or use a standalone tool
  5. CRM: Close if you need sales features, or connect your existing CRM

Don't overthink it. Start with one platform, test with 500 contacts, and expand once you've proven the process works.

Common Sales Automation Mistakes

Sending too much volume too fast: Warm up new domains for 2-3 weeks before hitting full volume. Going from 0 to 500 emails/day gets you blacklisted.

Using your primary domain for cold outreach: Always use secondary domains (yourcompany.co, yourcompany.io) for cold email. When deliverability tanks, it won't affect your main domain.

Ignoring unsubscribe requests: Automation doesn't excuse ignoring opt-outs. Process unsubscribes immediately or risk spam complaints.

Writing sequences that sound automated: If every email is templated fluff, automation amplifies your mediocrity. Write messages that sound like actual humans.

Not testing deliverability: Use tools like Mail-Tester or GlockApps to check if your emails land in spam before launching campaigns.

Integrating Sales Automation With Your Stack

Most automation platforms integrate with major CRMs like Salesforce, HubSpot, and Pipedrive. Close has its own CRM built in, which eliminates integration headaches.

For data enrichment, connect tools like Lusha or RocketReach to find contact information, or use Clay to orchestrate multiple data sources.

Most teams also need meeting scheduling software (Calendly, Chili Piper) to automatically book calls when prospects reply. All major automation platforms integrate with these tools.

Final Take on Sales Automation Software

Sales automation works when you're sending good messages to the right people. The software just handles scale and follow-up consistency.

If you're starting fresh, use Instantly for pure email campaigns or Close if you need calling and CRM in one platform. Both offer free trials so you can test with real campaigns before committing.

For more specific recommendations, check out our guides on cold email software, CRM tools, and lead generation platforms.