Vidyard
You need to upgrade your outreach software stack — here’s why, how, plus top tools.
Because you’re here, reading this post, we’re going to make some assumptions…
You’re likely frustrated with your current outreach tools: low response rates, poor tracking, struggling to scale personalization. You’re not alone.
We also assume you want solutions that future-proof your tools, team, and revenue growth. “Desperate” might sound harsh, but in today’s tough top-of-funnel environment, many companies are eager to get outreach right.
Good news: we can help.
From building a modern tech stack to choosing the best tools in each category, this guide covers everything you need to know about outreach software in the age of AI.
The best outreach software enables teams to easily automate communication, personalize outreach, and track engagement. An outreach tech stack, a subset of your larger sales tech stack, may contain a few different types of tools including a CRM, sales engagement platform, and video outreach tools.
While you may have a few of these tools already, are you using them to their full potential? Oftentimes when we talk to revenue teams, they don’t even realize that their CRM has a new feature or that you can connect the system in a certain way to extract easier insights.
So, even if you have a few outreach tools, keep reading to see how teams can scale their efforts while maintaining a human touch (and why this is so important in today’s sales cycles).
Why modern outreach requires more
Ten years ago, we saw the meteoric rise of sales software like Hubspot, Outreach, and Gong. These platforms helped teams scale their outreach efforts through automated sales cadences and drip campaigns.
But, alongside of this growth came some bad habits, like the spray and pray method and a focus on volume rather than value.
We’re now seeing the effects on buyers, where they’re far less likely to engage with a generic cold outreach and may even blast you on social media for a flimsy sales pitch.
That’s why modern outreach tools must do more than just automate sales tasks — they need to add value to the buying experience through hyper-personalization, education, and human connection.
In other words, a modern outreach software stack must connect, engage, and adapt.
The case for upgrading your outreach stack
While you may already have a set of tools your team uses today, if you’re experiencing one or more of the following, it may be time for an upgrade.
- Your team is struggling to break through inbox noise.
- Manual personalization is slowing down reps.
- You’re juggling too many disconnected tools.
- You lack insight into what’s actually driving meetings and pipeline.
Did we hit a nerve? If any of these sound familiar, it’s time to rethink how you approach outreach — and which tools can help you scale personalization without sacrificing efficiency.
How to choose the right outreach software
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While the tools you choose will likely depend on where you are in your journey, every company is ultimately trying to solve the same problems. As you evaluate outreach software, think about today’s problems but also building for the next phase of the business, as you’ll ideally get there before you know it.
Identify your team’s needs
Get into the weeds with your team. What are the granular issues they’re facing with your current set of tools? For example, don’t just stop at “we’re getting low response rates” but dig into why that might be such as your emails ending up in spam or your sales team doesn’t know what subject lines actually work. Or maybe they’re able to get a response, but because of manual processes they often forget to follow up in a timely manner.
Take a look at your current tools and see if they have new features that directly address pain points, and if not, start to look at potential other solutions.
Evaluate feature compatibility
Are you more focused on cold calling over cold email campaigns? Does your sales team mostly focus on following up with inbound leads over generating their own? Make sure that the tools you choose align with how you sell today, and how you plan to sell tomorrow.
Beyond just features, having a tech stack that plays nicely together will save you a ton of headaches. While you may be able to duct tape a system together, by using tools that have direct integrations with each other can not only save you time but ultimately ensure that accurate, up-to-date data is flowing between all systems.
Consider scalability
It’s hard to keep up in today’s dynamic sales environment — but you should try to future proof your tech stack by choosing tools that can grow with you.
For example, maybe your organization just raised a seed round, and getting into the Salesforce ecosystem seems a bit overwhelming and too sophisticated for your needs.
There seems to be a new AI-powered outreach tool launching every week. So don’t just consider how they can grow with you, but also will the vendor actually exist in the future! A cheaper solution today might cause headaches tomorrow…
Like everything in life, it’s important to strike a balance.
- Create a comparison table at the start of this section to help readers quickly compare tools based on:
- Ideal company size (SMB, mid-market, enterprise)
- Primary use cases
- Ease of use
- Scalability
- Integration strength
- Pricing tier
| Company | ICP | Primary use case | Scalability | Integration strength | Pricing |
| Salesforce | Mid-market to enterprise | CRM | Very | High | Starting at $25/user/month |
| Microsoft Dynamics 365 | Enterprise | CRM + support | Very | Medium | Starting at $65 per user/month |
| Dreamhub | Mid-market to enterprise | AI CRM | Unknown | Low | 30 day free trial |
| Keap | SMB | SMB support | May outgrow | Medium | Starting at $299/month |
| Outreach | Mid-market to enterprise | Sales engagement | Very | High | Contact sales |
| Salesloft | Mid-market to enterprise | Sales engagement | Very | High | Contact sales |
| Groove by Clari | Mid-market to enterprise | Sales engagement | Very | Medium | Contact sales |
| Vidyard | SMB to enterprise | Personalized sales videos | Very | High | Free plan available – paid plans start at $59/user/month |
| Synthesia | Enterprise | Product demos | Designed for enterprises | Medium | Free plan available – paid plans start at $29/user/month |
| Colossyan | Enterprise | Corporate communications | Designed for enterprises | Medium | Free plan available – paid plans start at $27/user/month |
Now that we’ve talked about why and how to upgrade your outreach software stack, here are the top tools in the three main outreach software categories: CRM, sales engagement platforms, and video outreach.
Customer relationship management tools of the past were all about organizing contacts, tracking activities, and improving collaboration. Now, with the power of artificial intelligence, the best CRMs for outreach often include generative AI, AI agents, integrated data enrichment, and deeper data analysis.
Below you’ll find a mix of legacy providers and new players — all eager to be the top players of the highly competitive and highly sticky CRM space.
Salesforce
Salesforce is less of a CRM and more of an entire ecosystem with a comprehensive suite of tools designed to support sales, marketing, customer service, commerce, and analytics.
Best for:
Salesforce is best suited for mid-sized to large enterprises with complex sales cycles, multiple departments, or global operations. Technology, financial services, healthcare, retail, and manufacturing businesses can benefit from its specialized industry-specific solutions.
Key use cases:
- Sales pipeline management: Track leads, opportunities, and deals through every stage of the sales process, with automated reminders and forecasting tools.
- Marketing automation: Run targeted campaigns, segment audiences, and analyze performance to nurture leads and increase conversions.
- Customer service & support: Manage cases, route inquiries to the right agents, and use a centralized knowledge base to resolve issues faster.
Unique differentiators:
- Extensive customization & scalability: Highly adaptable to different industries and business sizes through custom objects, workflows, and low-code/no-code tools.
- AppExchange ecosystem: A vast marketplace of thousands of third-party apps and integrations that extend core CRM functionality.
Microsoft Dynamics 365
Microsoft Dynamics 365 combines Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) capabilities to help organizations manage sales, marketing, customer service, and operations in one unified system.
Best for:
Microsoft Dynamics 365 is best suited for mid-sized to large organizations using the Microsoft ecosystem that want an integrated platform for managing both customer relationships and business operations such as finance, supply chain, or field service management companies.
Key use cases:
- End-to-end sales management: Track leads, manage opportunities, automate follow-ups, and forecast revenue within an integrated sales hub.
- Field service management: Schedule and dispatch technicians, track inventory, and provide mobile access to service data for on-site teams.
- Customer service optimization: Manage cases, route service requests, and use AI-driven knowledge articles to improve resolution times.
Unique differentiators:
- Native Microsoft integration: Seamless connectivity with Microsoft 365 apps like Outlook, Teams, Excel, SharePoint, and Power BI for streamlined workflows.
Modular, pay-as-you-need structure: Businesses can start with specific apps (Sales, Marketing, Customer Service, etc.) and add more as requirements grow.
Dreamhub
Best for:
Dreamhub is designed specifically for mid-sized to large B2B SaaS companies that rely on complex, multi-stakeholder deals.
Key use cases:
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- Revenue workflow consolidation: Meant to replace separate tools for CRM, revenue intelligence, and sales activity tracking with a single, unified platform.
- Automated updates and activity tracking: Their AI updates and scores deals in real time based on buyer activity and conversations while allowing teams to chat with their CRM to extract insights.
Unique differentiators:
- AI-native architecture: Built from the ground up with AI and large language models, rather than adding AI features to a legacy CRM.
B2B SaaS–specific intelligence: Trained on B2B SaaS data, Dremahub is optimized for the buying cycles, qualification frameworks, and multi-stakeholder nature of SaaS sales.
Keap
Keap is a CRM and marketing automation platform designed primarily for small businesses, startups, and solopreneurs that combines contact management, sales pipeline tracking, marketing automation, appointment scheduling, invoicing, and payment processing in a single system.
Best for:
Keap is best for service-based small businesses and solo entrepreneurs that need an all-in-one system to manage contacts, automate marketing, and handle basic sales and administrative tasks.
Key use cases:
- Lead capture and nurturing: Collect leads from forms or landing pages, then automatically send follow-up emails and texts.
- Appointment scheduling and reminders: Allow clients to book meetings online, with automated confirmations and reminders to reduce no-shows.
- Invoicing and payment collection: Create and send invoices, accept online payments, and set up recurring billing — all tracked within the same system.
Unique differentiators:
- Visual automation builder: Lets users design email automations featurint follow-up sequences and workflows without coding.
- Ease of use for non-technical users: Designed specifically for small business owners, with straightforward setup, templates, and minimal technical complexity.
Sales engagement platforms
Sales engagement platforms (SEPs) help sales teams plan, execute, and track interactions with prospects and customers across multiple communication channels, such as email, phone, social media, and SMS.
Outreach is a sales execution and engagement platform designed to help revenue teams streamline prospecting, manage deals, coach reps, and forecast more predictably in a unified system.
Best for:
Outreach is best for mid-sized to large enterprise teams that need to manage high volumes of outreach while maintaining consistent, multi-channel engagement strategies.
Key use cases:
- Automated prospecting sequences: Create multi-step, multi-channel outreach campaigns (email, phone calls, LinkedIn) to engage prospects consistently and at scale.
- Rep coaching & conversation analysis: Record and analyze sales calls to give managers insights into messaging effectiveness, talk ratios, and objection handling.
- Pipeline forecasting: Generate more accurate revenue forecasts by combining activity data, deal progression, and engagement signals.
Unique differentiators:
- Advanced sequence and workflow controls: Offers granular rules for multi-channel outreach, such as auto-pausing for out-of-office replies or dynamically adjusting touchpoints based on prospect behavior.
- Deep CRM and ecosystem integrations: Maintains robust, bi-directional sync with CRMs like Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics while also integrating with LinkedIn Sales Navigator, Slack, Zoom, and other productivity tools to streamline workflows.
Salesloft
Salesloft is a sales engagement platform that helps teams plan, execute, and track multi-channel outreach while personalizing communication at scale. It combines automated cadences, conversation intelligence, and deal tracking with CRM integration to improve pipeline management and sales performance.
Best for:
Salesloft is best for mid-sized to large organizations with dedicated sales development reps, BDRs, and account executives that need to manage high-volume, multi-channel outreach while maintaining personalization.
Key use cases:
- Multi-channel sales cadences: Build and automate outreach sequences across email, phone, LinkedIn, and video to engage prospects consistently.
- Call recording and analysis: Capture sales calls, analyze conversations, and surface insights for rep coaching and improved messaging.
Performance analytics: Sales leaders can monitor activity metrics, cadence effectiveness, and conversion rates to optimize team performance.
Unique differentiators:
- Strong video and personalization features: Supports integrated video messaging and dynamic personalization to make outreach more engaging and relevant.
- Focus on the entire sales cycle: Extends beyond prospecting to include deal management, pipeline insights, and post-sale engagement in one platform.
Groove by Clari
Groove is a sales engagement platform designed primarily for organizations using Salesforce, with a focus on improving productivity for customer-facing teams. Groove offers tools like email and call tracking, calendar integration, automated workflows, and analytics to help teams maintain consistent engagement with prospects and customers.
Best for:
Groove is best for mid-sized to large Salesforce-based sales organizations that want a sales engagement platform built to work entirely within their existing CRM. It’s especially well-suited for account-based sales teams and enterprise sellers.
Key use cases:
- Account-based selling: Coordinate outreach and engagement strategies across multiple stakeholders within target accounts.
- Calendar scheduling and meeting automation: Integrate calendars, send scheduling links, and automate meeting follow-ups to reduce manual coordination.
- Activity tracking and reporting: Automatically log all sales activities in Salesforce to maintain accurate records and enable performance analysis.
Unique differentiators:
- Highly customizable for Salesforce workflows: Adapts to each organization’s unique Salesforce setup, custom fields, and objects without heavy configuration.
- Low administrative overhead: Minimal technical setup and maintenance due to its native Salesforce architecture, reducing complexity compared to non-native platforms.
Vidyard
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Vidyard is an AI-powered video selling platform that enables teams to create or generate personalized video messages with built-in editing, hosting, and analytics. Our Al Avatars and Video Agents help teams scale personalization, perform like top performers, personalize outreach, speed up response times, and drive measurable impact across the customer funnel.
Best for:
Vidyard is best for revenue-generating teams aiming to increase engagement and personalize outreach at scale. Vidyard has over 100,000 customers of all shapes and sizes from family-run businesses to global enterprises in every industry from construction to niche software companies.
Key use cases:
- Scalable Personalized Outreach via AI Avatars: Create hyper-realistic AI Avatar videos quickly without needing to film or edit videos.
- Trigger-Based Outreach with Video Agents: Automatically generate and deliver personalized video messages when buyers take specific actions (like downloading content or scheduling demos), using an AI avatar to scale one-to-one engagement.
Unique differentiators:
- Deep analytics and viewer tracking: Provides detailed insights at the individual viewer level, including watch time, drop-off points, and engagement triggers, enabling precise follow-up.
- Strong sales and marketing integrations: Purpose-built for revenue teams with specialized focus on empowering teams across the entire buying journey including easily connecting with CRMs, marketing automation tools, and sales engagement platforms, embedding video directly into existing workflows.
Synthesia
Synthesia is an AI video generation platform with a variety of use cases including internal training videos, advertising videos, and explainer videos. Synthesia was not originally designed for sales and marketing teams but has since added features for video outreach efforts.
Best for:
Synthesia works best for enterprises that prioritize fast, scalable video communications for global teams in various languages.
Key use cases:
- Employee training and onboarding: Create standardized training modules and onboarding videos with AI avatars, easily updated and translated for global teams.
- Product demos and explainer videos: Showcase features or processes without filming, using scripted AI presenters for consistency and quick turnaround.
Unique differentiators:
Large library of stock avatars: They offer a large library of pre-designed, high-quality stock avatars representing a wide range of ages, ethnicities, and professional styles, allowing users to choose a presenter that aligns with their brand image and target audience.
Colossyan
Colossyan is an AI video creation platform that turns text, documents, or scripts into professional videos using realistic avatars and voiceovers in over 70 languages. It’s widely used for training, onboarding, and corporate communications, offering features like customizable avatars, translation, and interactive learning elements.
Best for:
Colossyan focuses on serving enterprise and mid-sized teams seeking fast, cost-effective, and interactive video production across training, communications, marketing, and sales.
Key use cases:
- Product explainers and demos: Produce multilingual video walkthroughs of product features, updates, or use cases for use in campaigns, landing pages, and sales decks.
- Event and campaign promotions: Generate branded video announcements for webinars, conferences, or special offers with messaging for different regions and languages.
- Customer onboarding and adoption: Create engaging tutorials to help new customers get started.
Unique differentiators:
- Document-to-video conversion: Transforms scripts, PDFs, or PowerPoint files directly into videos, streamlining content repurposing.
- Interactive learning features: Supports quizzes, branching scenarios, and SCORM exports for e-learning.
How to use video to transform & automate sales outreach
As of 2023, over 60% of account executives used video messages in their sales process.
Now, in 2025, the numbers continue to grow and the data behind the power of video is even more evident with nearly half of all sales pros reporting that video increases close rates.
If you haven’t started using personalized video in your outreach efforts, or you’ve dipped your toe in but haven’t fully committed, we’re here to help. With the power of AI Video Agents and AI Avatars, creating and scaling sales video content is easier than ever.
But if you aren’t convinced yet, here’s real-world examples of how video has helped our customers.
Building trust through personalization
We’ve all received a cold email that was clearly sent to hundreds of other prospects: a boring subject line, nothing relevant to our specific problems, and a request for 15 minutes of your valuable time.
If instead you received an email that featured a personalized subject line, a video message mentioning a recent company announcement, and that same request for 15 minutes — which one are you more likely to respond to?
Effort matters and prospects want to feel valued. Personalized video messages create a sense of authenticity from the first email to closing the deal and making an introduction to the onboarding team.
Some ways to use personalized video in the outreach process to build trust include:
- Cold email outreach
- Following up after leaving a cold call voicemail
- Recapping an initial meeting
- Asking to be introduced to decision makers
- When someone fills out a demo request
Standing out in crowded inboxes
Superside achieved 4x response rates and 50% more new opportunities when they switched from text-based emails to video prospecting. ReviewTrackers booked 2x more meetings and a 92% increase in reply rates and 22% increase in open rates when they made the switch to video messaging.
Need more incentive to give video a try? Read more case studies here.
A few innovative ways to use video outreach to stand out in the inbox:
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- Mention video in the subject line: To get them to open your email, mention that a personalized video will be inside such as “Quick video for [First Name] about [Pain Point]”
- Use their logo in the video thumbnail: This makes the prospect realize the video really is personal to them before ever clicking play
- Mention what’s in the video: In the body of your email, provide a quick, catchy description of the video to get them to watch the full clip.
While video on its own can definitely help you stand out, being creative, focusing on how the prospect communicates, and creating FOMO are all ways to take video outreach to the next level.
Accelerating the sales cycle
Video has a way of simplifying complex ideas that text-based emails never can. Video messages enable sellers to answer questions by showing, not telling. Whether you show how a prospect could use your platform or are answering a super in-depth technical question, a short video sharing your screen can eliminate length back and forths.
Teams can use video to close deals faster by:
- Get to the first meeting in less time: By sending personalized videos in your outbound outreach campaigns, you’re more likely to get the prospect on the phone faster.
- Sending meeting recap videos: If a decision-maker couldn’t attend a call at the last minute, a meeting recap video can ensure they still have the info they need.
- Addressing objections and questions: By showing how your solution works rather than trying to write out a long-winded answer to an objection, you can immediately alleviate any fears your prospect might have.
Supercharging Outreach with Vidyard
As you look to modernize your outreach tech stack, think about the opportunities that video can unlock. Over 100,000 teams use Vidyard to help them stand out in busy inboxes, accelerate sales cycles, and reduce churn through personalized video messages.
With our AI Avatars, teams no longer have to manually record videos — our platform can craft a script and let their digital avatar do the talking. To take it up another notch, our Video Agents now enable teams to automatically create and send video messages after prospects take certain actions like requesting a demo.
Imagine a world where every prospect gets a personalized response no matter what.
This can be your team’s reality with Vidyard — take our tech for a test drive or schedule some time to connect with our team to learn more.
Frequently asked questions about outreach software
While we gave a broad overview of building a modern outreach stack, we also acknowledge the complexity of doing so, especially with the rapid evolution of tools and technologies.
Even tenured sales and marketing professionals are full of nuanced questions in this new world that we’ve found ourselves in, especially as AI, video, and multi-channel engagement reshape the landscape.
Below we hope to address some FAQs, including common concerns, strategic considerations, and more advanced conundrums to help you make confident, informed decisions.
What’s the difference between video outreach tools and traditional email outreach platforms, and do I need both?
Video outreach tools and traditional email outreach platforms serve different purposes but work best together. Email outreach is designed for scale—sending high volumes of emails automating follow-ups, and managing deliverability. It’s a critical backbone for outreach, but inboxes are crowded, and even the strongest plain text copy often gets ignored.
Video outreach, on the other hand, adds that extra human element buyers are looking for today. A short, personalized video cuts through the noise, builds trust, and drives higher engagement and response rates.
While you don’t need both, teams who use personalized video messages report that it has shortened their sales cycle, and nearly half report that it has increased close rates.
