Searching for the ultimate guide to lead gen? You’ve come to the right place. When I first discovered Closely, I was struggling to find a scalable way to automate my LinkedIn outreach and boost my lead generation efforts without losing personalization. In this comprehensive guide, I’ll walk you through how Closely transforms your lead gen strategy, step by step.

What is Closely?

Closely is a LinkedIn automation tool designed to supercharge your lead gen efforts by creating custom outreach sequences with multiple actions and conditions. Whether you’re a solo founder or leading a growing sales team, Closely helps you expand your LinkedIn presence, capture high-quality prospects, and close deals faster—efficiently and at scale.

Closely Overview

I’ve been tracking Closely since its launch. Founded by seasoned SaaS entrepreneurs, the platform’s mission is clear: empower sales and marketing leaders with the most intuitive LinkedIn outbound solution on the market. Over the past few years, Closely has grown from a niche startup to a go-to outbound platform used by agencies and in-house teams alike. Milestones include surpassing 10,000 monthly active users, integrating with top CRMs, and earning recognition for its user-friendly interface and GDPR compliance.

Closely’s journey reflects its commitment to innovation and customer-centric development. Regular feature updates and active community feedback ensure the tool evolves in line with real-world lead gen needs—making it a reliable choice whether you’re testing LinkedIn automation or rolling out large-scale campaigns.

Pros and Cons for lead gen

Pros:

Advanced sequencing: Multi-step actions and conditional logic give you the flexibility to craft hyper-personalized outreach paths that adapt based on prospect responses.

Seamless CRM sync: Automatic lead capture and bidirectional updates keep your pipeline clean and up to date without manual exports.

Detailed analytics: Superior metrics dashboard pinpoints which messages, steps, and segments drive the most engagement so you can optimize continuously.

Flexible lead management: Filter leads from previous campaigns to avoid overlap, reassign prospects, and maintain a clear prospect list.

Team management: Granular access controls let you set roles, permissions, and privacy levels for different team members.

White-label and agency mode: Customize the platform with your branding and manage multiple client campaigns in one place.

Cons:

Some users report a learning curve when building complex multi-variant campaigns, but this is often mitigated by Closely’s tutorials and onboarding support.

Advanced email deliverability settings can sometimes require additional configuration to meet strict ESP requirements.

Features for lead gen

Closely offers a robust suite of features designed specifically for LinkedIn-based lead gen. Below are the key capabilities that have made an impact on my own campaigns:

Custom Sequences with Conditions

Create outreach flows that adapt to prospect behavior. Add steps, pauses, and conditional branches:

• Invitation message
• Follow-up notes
• Connection reminders
• Dynamic calls-to-action based on replies

Audience Selection & Filtering

Target your ideal prospects by applying advanced LinkedIn filters, past campaign lead history, and CRM segmentation. Avoid retargeting by excluding previous contacts.

CRM & Tool Integrations

Maintain a unified sales stack with out-of-the-box connectors for:

• HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive
• Calendly, Zoom, Google Calendar
• Inboxes and monitoring tools

Superior Metrics Dashboard

Track every touchpoint and performance metric in one place:

• Open and reply rates
• Connection acceptance rates
• Revenue attribution per sequence

GDPR Compliance

Operate confidently in European markets: Closely adheres to GDPR requirements, handling personal data with industry-leading security measures.

Closely Pricing for lead gen

Closely offers transparent monthly plans tailored to different team sizes and usage levels:

Starter

Price: $49/mo. Ideal for individual users dipping their toes into automation. Includes one LinkedIn account, unlimited emails, whitelabel, and a free trial to get started.

Growth (Most Popular)

Price: $127/mo. Perfect for small teams focusing on aggressive lead gen. Includes 3 LinkedIn accounts, 3,000 credits per month (750 emails, 150 calls, 1,500 AI personalizations), unlimited email accounts, and whitelabel features.

Essential

Price: $205/mo. Designed for mid-sized teams. Five LinkedIn accounts, 5,000 credits (1,250 emails, 250 calls, 2,500 AI personalizations), plus all Growth plan features.

Custom

Price: $350+/mo. Fully adjustable for larger teams or agencies needing up to 10 accounts and custom credit balances. Includes premium support and bespoke onboarding.

Closely Is Best For lead gen

Whether you’re a solopreneur or managing a global sales force, Closely adapts to your unique lead gen requirements:

Agencies

Run multiple client campaigns under one white-labeled dashboard. Generate branded reports to build trust and showcase ROI.

In-House Sales Teams

Automate outreach at scale without losing personalization. Use dynamic tags and AI personalization to maintain a human touch.

Recruiters

Source candidates via LinkedIn with automated follow-ups and response tracking, ensuring no promising profile slips through the cracks.

Startups & Entrepreneurs

Quickly test different messaging angles, segments, and sequences with minimal setup time.

Benefits of Using Closely for lead gen

When you integrate Closely into your workflow, expect to see:

• Higher connection rates: Automated yet personalized invites stand out in busy inboxes.
• Improved response rates: AI-driven personalization ensures messages resonate.
• Time savings: Automate repetitive tasks and focus on high-value conversations.
• Data-driven optimization: Refine your campaigns with real-time insights and A/B test results.
• Scalability: Effortlessly ramp up outreach as your team grows.
• Compliance peace of mind: GDPR adherence reduces legal risk in international markets.

Midway through your campaign, don’t forget to revisit your sequences and leverage the integrated analytics. You can also adjust your audience filters or personalize messages even further by incorporating custom tokens and dynamic variables provided by Closely. This iterative approach ensures you’re always maximizing your lead gen ROI. Ready to elevate your outreach? Explore Closely’s full feature set and integrations to see how it fits into your tech stack.

Customer Support

Closely prides itself on responsive customer support. You’ll find a dedicated onboarding specialist guiding you through initial setup, ensuring campaign creation is seamless. The support team is available via live chat and email, typically responding within a few hours during business days.

Ongoing assistance includes detailed help articles, video tutorials, and regular webinars. Their community forum is an excellent resource for real-world tips and best practices shared by other Closely users.

External Reviews and Ratings

Most users praise Closely for its intuitive interface and powerful automation capabilities. On G2, it holds a 4.7-star rating, with reviewers noting significant uplifts in connection and reply rates. Common highlights include the seamless LinkedIn-to-CRM sync and the customizable multi-step sequences.

Some critiques mention the initial learning curve around advanced conditional logic. However, the Closely team continually addresses feedback by improving UX and adding context-sensitive tips within the app to flatten the learning curve.

Educational Resources and Community for lead gen

Closely offers an array of resources to help you master LinkedIn outreach:

• Official blog posts on advanced lead gen strategies
• Video tutorials and step-by-step setup guides
• Live webinars hosted by LinkedIn and sales automation experts
• Active user community forum for peer support and shared sequences
• Dedicated Slack channel for beta feature previews and direct feedback

Conclusion

In today’s competitive landscape, mastering LinkedIn automation is crucial for scalable lead gen. Closely brings together powerful sequence building, robust integrations, and data-driven insights in one cohesive platform. By automating repetitive outreach tasks while preserving a personalized touch, you can focus on nurturing genuine relationships and closing deals.

If you’re ready to see how Closely can transform your lead generation workflow, Get Started with Closely Today and experience the difference firsthand. Get Started with Closely Today.