The Sales Oscars For Chrome Extensions

Killer plugins to turn Chrome into your very own Swiss Army knife.

leo decaprio dancing with oscars statues

This isn’t your first list of Chrome extensions, is it?

There are so many. Lists and extensions. 🙄

Back in the days of Internet Explorer, your browser was your productivity’s worst enemy. Today, Google Chrome is — potentially your Robin.

(You’re Batman 🦇)

Potentially. Because how many times have you found yourself ploughing hours through the Chrome web store looking for the very best extensions?

And how many of the extensions that made your list are you still using today? How long did you stick with them? My money is on one week. Tops.

There’s too much trash out there.

Going from IE to Chrome, the problem has shifted from getting sh*t done to understanding which tools get the most sh*t done.

How do you know which extensions do really step up your sales game? Figuring it out is equally time — and energy draining.

A Chrome browser packed with only extensions you intensively use everyday is stuff of a Promised Land you may never reach.

And yet I’ve been pursuing it for years. The Chrome Web Store is one of my most visited websites (I may have to rethink my life). I’m talking obsessed here — always chasing a machine-like calibration for efficiency.

It’s a wild-goose chase really. I’ll probably never get there.

But what I can do is share my personal hit list of extensions that fix real problems and/or bring real added value. The question will not be if they suck or not, it will be if you have these problems or are in need of the added value or not.

Thousands of new extensions are uploaded to the Chrome web store every day. Meaning this list cannot be perfect. That’s okay. What I’m hoping though is that this list can spark a conversation.

👉 What extensions are you using to turn Google Chrome into the perfect bandwagon for the great show that is your startup or business? Feel free to let us know in the comments 💬.

And the Oscars go to…🏆


#1. AeroLeads’ Email And Phone Number Finder

Imagine your best friend was a wizard.

Imagine they could conjure up business emails, direct phone numbers, company phone numbers, company addresses and lots of other data straight from LinkedIn, Crunchbase, AngelList, GitHub, Google, whatever you want.

Wouldn’t that be amazing?  Wouldn’t you want to have them around all the time?

(Okay, maybe not. Who knows what other scary powers they might have! 😱)

While there’s no such thing as ACTUAL wizards (sorry, Hagrid), I’ve got the next best thing!

You can add AeroLeads‘ Email And Phone Number Finder to Chrome and push all kinds of data to all kinds of services: Zapier, Mailchimp, your favorite CRM, …

Chasing down leads becomes a stroll in the park. It’s like magic. 🧙‍♂️


#2. SimilarWeb

SimilarWeb is from the same nest as Datanyze.

It shows you insights on:

  • website engagement
  • site ranking
  • traffic sources (social, referrals)
  • related apps
  • ad networks
  • geographical spread
  • similar websites

SimilarWeb on WaitButWhy — my favourite blog 😎

I like to think of SimilarWeb as a hidden gem.

Most people have Amazon Alexa’s Extension installed to check up on traffic and ranking of a website. While probably a little more accurate, it doesn’t provide as much insights as SimilarWeb.

You can get SimilarWeb’s extension for free.


#3. Dux-Soup

Also within the realm of lead generation tools, Dux-Soup is a teeny robot you can let loose on pages with LinkedIn profiles.

You use it to automate lead generation from LinkedIn. Set search filters to target a certain persona and tell the Dux to go and visit all of the search results.

🦆🦆🦆

Not only will these people see your face popping up in their feed, you’ll also have their names, industries, roles, company domains and more. Precious data you can extract as a .CSV — for later use 😏.

As of recently, Dux-Soup can also help you to find email addresses paired to LinkedIn profiles. It’ll ask you up front if you want it to. Found email addresses are traded in for points. You can buy points or acquire them by trading in email addresses of your own.

While the standard version of Dux-Soup is free, you’ll need to go Pro to use Dux-Soup with LinkedIn Sales Navigator.

You’ll also get a bunch of cool automation features such as limiting Daily Visits and adjusting Visiting Speed.

Dux-Soup’s Pro-version will set you back $15 a month.


#4. Crystal

At Salesflare we’re firm believers of automating the sales process in a way that allows people to be more human where it really matters: building meaningful relationships.

We live in times where you can email thousands of people in your sleep. The problem is that your recipients also know that. Just putting someone’s first name and their company won’t cut it anymore. People see your ‘personalised’ email from a mile away. In these times of automation, real personalisation is your superpower to making real connections.

Crystal will analyse your prospects’ personalities according to the DISC behaviour framework and tell you how they like to communicate.

Now you know how to talk to me 😉

What kind of sorcery is this? 🤔

Crystal scrapes a number of online sources in order to gather personality insights on prospect.

Scary much? Just a little bit.

This thing isn’t going to know you inside-out. But it does do a pretty good job at guessing how people like to be approached. Whether you should start your email with just their names instead of using a more formal salutation for example. I have to say my own profile was remarkably accurate.

What you’re seeing in the screenshot is just the free version. Which doesn’t go much further than basic indications and a quick tip on how to communicate. Crystal’s paid versions come with stuff like more elaborate personality assessments and email coaching.


#5. Push by Zapier

If you love Zapier, raise your hands! 🙌

This would have full rooms go nuts as if they were at a Beyoncé — concert.

excited clapping

Yes, Zapier is that cool.

Zapier allows us to integrate Salesflare with over 700 apps for you. We also use it ourselves on a daily basis, intensively.

It allows you to build well-oiled machines with apps acting autonomously, all just running in the background. Workflow automation done right 👌.

But sometimes you just want things to happen at your own command.

Zapier’s Push Extension for Chrome lets you trigger custom Zaps straight from your browser, minimising the break in your workflow.

Suddenly struck by a brilliant idea while in the middle of a task? Push it to Trello. Gathering resources for your next blog post? Push it a Google Sheet. Need to add a meeting to your calendar? Push it to Google Calendar.

👉 No need whatsoever to open up new tabs and fuck up your flow.

As the guys at Zapier also happen to be kings of content, I now happily refer you to their own personal guide for their Push extension.

Check Zapier.com for free and premium plans. The extension is free.


#6. Buffer

I sometimes find myself yearning for the days when I only had Facebook.

Life was simple 😌.

Nowadays you have to juggle Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest and who knows whatever other weird platforms you’re on.

You have to be everywhere all the time. As an individual and as a business.

This is the pain Joel Gascoigne set out to solve when founding Buffer. Limiting the drain of time and energy that comes with online social presence.

Buffer’s extension let’s you share content to your social pages in a jiffy.

Clicking the extension will trigger a pre-made post with the article, title and image for you to customise as you wish. All you have to do is post.

Buffer’s basic version is free, its paid packages reasonably priced.

Buffer’s Chrome Extension is free.


#7. Taco

I’ve always been terrible with to-do lists 😒.

Good intentions, sure. Keeping it up for a day of three-four, sure. But one way or another every attempt always ends with a list of unfinished tasks and a head full of clutter.

I never made it more than a week.

The main problem is that tasks these days seem to come from everywhere. There’s so many apps and different things you need to do. It’s impossible to gather everything in one place.

There’s project stuff from Trello, reminders from Slack, issues from Github, customer tickets from Zendesk and of course, the follow-ups Salesflare tells you to do. Plus all the personal shit from Wunderlist (RIP ⚰️).

🌮🌮🌮

It’s come to the point where you spend more time keeping everything together than actually completing tasks.

Taco figured this out. Its app allows you to integrate tasks from all the sources I just ranted about — plus a lot more — in one smart overview.

In a Chrome Tab, to be more specific.

A taco full of tasks 🌮.

Probably not your favourite one, but you deserve a big fat one once you complete all the tasks 😋.


#8. Grammarly

As a pure-bred grammarnazi, I cringe at bad grammar.

As a pure-bred grammarnazi, I also run Grammarly in my browser to make sure nobody can catch me making grammar mistakes.

The blow to my reputation would be irreparable 😰.

Inspired by the best tattoo of all time, shown off in the movie We’re The Millers

Grammarly corrects your mistakes as you write on the web, from Facebook to Twitter and your emails.

Please don’t be one of those ‘I never make mistakes’ — people.

We all make mistakes, especially when we’re busy.

Paying attention to grammar shouldn’t be your top priority, so have something like Grammarly take care of it.

You don’t want to get caught by the Grammar Police, do you? 🚓

A basic Grammarly subscription is free.


#9. Effin Amazing UTM Builder

Putting UTM tags on your links is key to see what works and what doesn’t in your marketing strategy.

I mean, don’t bother checking Google Analytics if you’re not using UTMs.

I used to get pretty annoyed having to open a new tab for Google’s UTM generator, paste in the link, fill out the parameters and then copy — paste the new link. Every time again.

I figure analytics and digital marketing agency Effin Amazing had the same frustration. Their Chrome Extension allows you to instantly make a UTM — link out of the page you’re at.

Pretty epic case of engineering as marketing, I must say 👌.

You can even make Bit.ly’s while you’re at it.

The UTM builder’s basic version is free.

If you want all of your links saved into a Google Sheet (which I think is an epic feature) you’ll have to go Pro.


#10. Nimbus Screenshot

As you can see from this post, I’m quite a big fan of screenshots.

There’s something powerful to showing people exactly what your screen looks like when describing a tool or process to them. New technologies allow us go even further and allow us to edit, instantly share, or take scrolling screenshots on Mac or other devices.

Believe it or not, I used to make annotated screenshots with arrows, boxes and all that stuff in Photoshop. Talk about overkill 🙄.

With Nimbus Screenshot you can quickly capture whatever is in front of you and instantly make sense of it for your audience with a series of simple annotation tools.

This takes 2 minutes in Nimbus — it would have taken me an hour in Photoshop

You can capture entire tabs, select portions, put delays and record video. Whatever happens on your screen.

Once you’re done, you can save the image to your Google Drive, send it to Slack, send it to your Nimbus account, or just download it.

I think printing is also an option, but I like trees so I don’t print.

The Nimbus Screenshot Chrome extension is free.


#11. Salesflare

Yes sir, Salesflare has a Chrome extension! (You didn’t know? 😔)

Not just a watered-down version, the full-fledged version of our smart CRM. Living and breathing inside of your Gmail inbox.

Sitting there in a sidebar, it shows you all the relevant info on people you’re in contact with (similar to other extensions like FullContact’s and Rapportive) and allows you to create accounts and opportunities straight from Gmail. No need to open up a new tab.

You can check up on your pipeline, keep track of insights, blink at your automated to-do list (so you don’t miss follow-ups, eh) and scroll through contacts and accounts.

I think you get it by now: the plugin does about everything the app does.

☝️ We actually have quite some customers saying they barely leave their Gmail to use Salesflare.

The plugin also tracks emails and link clicks so you know when recipients open your message (and how many times) and click through.

We also just revamped the plugin. It’s now more powerful and user-friendly than ever 💪. Your Gmail will love it.

Our Chrome extension comes with a Salesflare subscription. Click here to grab your free 14-day trial.


#12. CloudHQ Sync

Ah, the Cloud. No more USBs. No more external drives. No more backups.

The Cloud is complicated though.

Evernote, Box, OneNote, Basecamp, Dropbox, Gmail, OneDrive, SharePoint. You’re probably using something that’s not on this list. That’s the point.

If you’re one of those types that has their files scattered all over the virtual place (guilty as charged) — CloudHQ Sync maybe just the thing for you.

Taken from CloudHQ.net

Finally everything in one place. One Cloud To Rule Them All.

CloudHQ Sync is free.


#13. FigureItOut (FIO)

Being able to work globally with people from all over the world is simply amazing. But it also comes with challenges.

There’s language, but most people speak English. If you think about it, time zones are a bigger issue. Whether you’re posting on social media, writing emails, giving customer support or setting up meetings — at all times you have to think about the time zone your prospect is in.

We’re from Antwerp baby 🖖

The FIO extension lets you add up to 10 time zones in a new Chrome Tab.

You’ll know in a heartbeat what time it is anywhere in the world. My favourite feature is that FIO also shows different national holidays. No more emails lost in celebrations and aftermaths of celebrations.

It’s also looks quite stunning, doesn’t it.


#14. Mixmax

My absolute favourite Chrome extension. (After Salesflare 😎)

Mixmax is totally bonkers 😵.

If email was a sport, using Mixmax would equal doping yourself. Illegal.

It puts your Gmail on rocket fuel 🚀.

With Mixmax your Gmail can:

  • track opens, click and downloads (like Salesflare)
  • easy and instantly schedule meetings with prospects
  • embed polls and surveys in the email
  • write faster with powerful templates
  • schedule emails
  • personalise bulk emails with a shitload of variables
  • snooze emails, set reminders

Mixmax Superpowers

What’s more: Mixmax sends emails directly from your Gmail, unlike MailChimp and alternatives.

This makes it perfect for cold emailing. This will prevent your email from ending up in the Promotions tab of your lead’s Gmail account. Perfect for cold emailing.

There’s a huge amount of variables you can use to personalise mass emails. If you have enough data on your leads, you can send hundreds of highly personalised emails while watching Netflix.

Mixmax starts at $9 a month.


#15. LastPass

I have a few email addresses. I have some social media accounts. I have a domain or two. Quite a few personal accounts. Work accounts here and there. Multiple family accounts. Even my dog has an account to let me know when he’s hungry.

That’s a lot of passwords laying around.

I always hated learning stuff by heart at school.

I didn’t start loving it at work.

I could use the same password everywhere. But not only do a lot of apps not let you (‘you need to add at least one number to your password’), it would also create a huge security risk.

LastPass allows you to have everything safely stored and easily accessible at all times so you don’t have to waste time anymore getting headaches trying to remember that one password.

I don’t even have to make up passwords anymore, LastPass can do that for me. And auto-fill them as soon as I need ‘m.

You can start with LastPass for free. Premium starts at $1 a month and they also have business packages.


#16. Lumio

I love quotes. Inspiring one-liners of text. Simple but powerful.

I carry a notebook with me wherever I go, to write down stuff worth remembering and re-reading.

Whenever I’m working on a piece of content, I first read. A lot. And the same thing happens: I get inspired by the work of others.

From ‘The Silver Bullet To Startup Marketing

Lumio is Chrome’s replacement for my notebook.

It allows me to select pieces of text, images and videos to then save and organise them as cards.

This is gold for whatever type of research you’d have to do.

You can use it for content marketing, build up case-studies, make overviews of third-party reviews or collect other relevant information to send to prospects. Or to just keep up with inspiring stuff you find around the internet.

Lumio is free.


#17. Momentum

Gazing at a gazillion Chrome tabs can be exhausting.

It drains your inspiration and creativity. It tires you. It drives you crazy.

Momentum can give you a moment for yourself amidst a busy work day. To get your thoughts straight again, and re-focus.

Did I? Did I rock it? 😏

It’s basically an empty Chrome tab with just the time and the weather. And a beautiful picture.

You can set your daily focus and add to-dos.

Doesn’t have to be more than that.


#18. OneTab

Talking a gazillion Chrome tabs draining you.

Why exactly do we have so many tabs open all the time?

For me it’s because I need to keep them open. They’re either sources I’m using to create something or there’s some kind of process going on there.

I’m also too lazy to close them if I don’t need them anymore. That would break my flow. And the flow, my friend, is sacred.

It’s a mess, always.

And that’s a problem. Because amidst all the mess, I’d end up closing stuff I still needed. It’s inefficient, unsustainable and stupid.

In comes OneTab. As sent by God himself.

OneTab closes your tabs. But — don’t panic — it saves all the URLs within a single tab, with the option to restore them all individually or all at once.

You can even export that list and share with friends or co-workers.

I used to go to bed with a fu*kton of open tabs. Now I store them in OneTab.

Do you realise how many work memory you’re saving working with 5 tabs open instead of 55? Your browser experience will become a bliss 😊.


#19. GIPHY

If you’ve been reading this blog, you know I’m quite the fan of animated GIFs.

Don’t underestimate the time that goes into finding funny, relevant GIFs in GIPHY’s database. It’s hard work, yo.

may the 4th be with youHappy Star Wars Day!

With GIPHY’s Chrome Extension I can just search GIPHY straight from the tab I’m writing. I used to search them in a separate tab, download them and re-upload them in the post. I know: stupid right?

Why do I add it here? Because it’s fun. And because I want more GIFs on the internet. My way of supporting a good cause 😘.


#20. Datanyze Insider

Go full Sherlock on your prospect’s websites with Datanyze’s Chrome Extension 🕵️.

This thing will tell you the exact software stack a company is using, from just its website.

With one click I can see that our unicorn customer Udacity has its email running on Gmail, uses Hotjar, CrazyEgg and Google Analytics insights on its website visitors and relies on LiveChat for instant customer support.

You can use Datanyze’s Insider extension for free. A full subscription is a little more pricey, but also a lot more powerful.


#21. Reply: Free Email Search and Outreach

Raise your hand if you’ve ever used LinkedIn to look up your prospects’ information. 🙋‍♀️

And who hasn’t? If you’re working in sales or marketing it is pretty much inevitable.

This extension makes finding prospect emails on LinkedIn a breeze 💨. It keeps your pipeline full allowing you to hand-pick the contacts one by one or source emails in bulk directly from LinkedIn Sales Navigator. 

Reply Chrome Extension for sales

And the best part is that you get an unlimited number of email searches for free – no extra costs or limitations.

Gilles DC