Cleverly is one of the most searched B2B lead generation agencies in the space. 1,120+ Trustpilot reviews. 1,000 active clients. Named logos like Google, Twilio, New York Life, Kustomer, and Aramark on their homepage. LinkedIn plans starting at $397/month, which is the cheapest done-for-you entry point in the market.
But here's what I noticed when I started digging. The Trustpilot rating is 4.5 stars. The G2 rating drops to 3.8. And the G2 reviews flag something specific worth pausing on: reviewers explicitly say Cleverly stores LinkedIn login credentials in open text.
For a service that runs outbound from your LinkedIn account, that's not a small footnote.
So this review is my honest read. I have not been a Cleverly client, so everything below comes from their site, 1,225 combined third-party reviews, and every independent analysis I could verify.
Let's get into it.
Here's the fast version if you want to skip the deep dive.
Hire Cleverly if you're a broad-market B2B SaaS or professional services company that wants the cheapest done-for-you LinkedIn outreach in the market, you accept the trade-offs on security and messaging quality, and you have deal values high enough to make 1-3 meetings per month worth the 500-1,000 monthly retainer.
Two things back this verdict. First, published pricing is genuinely rare in the agency space and deserves credit. When Belkins, Callbox, and ColdIQ all require sales calls to quote, Cleverly puts everything on the pricing page. Second, the 1,120+ Trustpilot review footprint is real and hard to fake at that volume.
But here's the catch. Four things need honest attention before you sign.
So treat this as a conditional yes with a specific fit. Book the call, ask directly about credential storage practices, get the total monthly cost including Sales Navigator in writing, and confirm the contract terms before signing.
And if the security concern rules them out, or you sell into a technical niche where template-driven messaging falls flat, take a look at certified Forge Experts instead. Different fit for a different buyer.
I have not been a Cleverly client, so this review is research-based. I evaluated them the same way I'd shortlist any agency for my own pipeline.
I read every page on cleverly.co including the pricing pages, all 100+ case studies, the about page (which listed every team member by name), and the FAQ. I pulled the full review footprint across Trustpilot (1,120+ reviews at 4.5 stars), G2 (22 reviews at 3.8 stars), and Clutch (83 reviews at 4.3 stars).
For third-party verification, I cross-referenced six independent analyses. LeadHaste, 100Signals, Autoposting, SalesRobot, ConnectSafely, and Uptown Creation. Every claim below has a source behind it.
Everything I mark as "reports" or "says" comes from Cleverly's own material. Everything else is third-party verified.
Cleverly sells done-for-you outbound lead generation across three main channels plus supporting services. The work splits across five core service areas.
Here's how their offer compares against certified agencies in the Forge Expert Network. If you want a broader view of what the US lead generation agency market looks like right now, my breakdown of the best lead generation agencies in the USA is a good starting point.
Every Forge Expert is vetted through Salesforge's cold email training program, and you can contact each one directly from its profile.
Every Cleverly cell in that table comes from their public material or a verified third-party review. Confirm the specifics on your discovery call, especially the security question.
Cleverly publishes a four-step process on their site. But when I mapped it against actual client feedback on Trustpilot, G2, and Clutch, the real client journey runs across six stages. If you're comparing this against a more traditional appointment-setting model, my Belkins review covers what a full US-focused retainer agency looks like. Here's what to expect at each Cleverly stage, plus the questions I'd raise.
Every engagement starts with a questionnaire and strategy call. Cleverly's team looks at your offer, industry, target audience, sales process, budget, and goals, then suggests an outreach strategy.
Ask how customized the strategy actually is. Multiple third-party reviews flag that Cleverly's messaging can feel template-driven with minor variations per client.
Cleverly builds the technology stack for deliverability. For LinkedIn plans, this means connecting your Sales Navigator account, configuring their dashboard, and setting up messaging sequences.
Ask specifically how they handle your LinkedIn credentials. G2 reviewers have documented open-text storage as a concern. If security matters to your industry, get this in writing before granting access.
Cleverly builds prospect lists using LinkedIn Sales Navigator filters, boolean search combinations, and their AI-driven targeting approach. The 600-prospect monthly cap applies to Silver, Gold, and Platinum plans.
Ask for a sample list before campaigns launch. 50 records will tell you more than any sales pitch about the data quality.
In-house copywriters draft the sequences. Cleverly's approach is A/B tested templates informed by data across thousands of campaigns.
Ask if you can approve the copy before it sends. You should sign off on at least the first campaign. If you want to run this same channel mix with your own team instead of outsourcing it, my roundup of the best multichannel outreach tools covers the software side of the same problem.
Cleverly sends messages on your behalf from your LinkedIn account, tracks responses, and notifies you when leads reply. Their site claims 20-50 new conversations per every 500 prospects engaged.
Ask what percentage of those conversations become qualified meetings. The 8-15% reply rate benchmark from third parties suggests the number is smaller than the sales pitch implies.
Every client gets a US-based dedicated account manager. Weekly reporting and monthly strategy calls are standard.
Ask who your account manager will be and what their track record looks like in your industry. Multiple third-party reviews flag that account manager quality varies significantly across the 10-49 person team.
Cleverly is one of the few agencies in this space that publishes pricing. That's a genuine advantage worth acknowledging before I get into the concerns.
Notice the 600-prospect cap applies to all three tiers. You pay more for services on those prospects, not more volume.
Here's the math nobody publishes on the pricing page.
Ask about these before signing:
Based on their published work and 1,225 combined third-party reviews, Cleverly fits you well if:
Skip them, or at least compare harder, if:
And here's a caveat worth mentioning. If your monthly outbound volume is under a few hundred connection requests, you may not need an agency at all. Running Salesforge yourself with unlimited mailboxes covers that volume with warmup included.
Cleverly publishes over 100 case studies on their site. Here are five with all figures as reported by Cleverly.
Plus a few more from their library:
Two things stand out. The specificity is real. Named clients, exact durations, and countable results beat vague pipeline claims. And the range across industries (SaaS, insurance, financial services, coaching, marketing) suggests the model works when the fit is right.
But here's the caveat worth flagging. These are the top-end results from Cleverly's case study library. Third-party analyses (Autoposting, 100Signals) note that these represent the top 20% of client outcomes, not the average. The bottom 20-30% of Cleverly users report little to no qualified leads after full 3-month contracts, per aggregated Trustpilot, G2, and Clutch feedback.
All figures are self-reported. No independent audit exists.
Every agency has trade-offs, and it's better to know them before you sign a 3-month contract. Here are the ones I found from public information and 1,225 combined third-party reviews.
None of these should rule Cleverly out on their own. But if two or more matter to you, compare agencies that answer these questions on their public profiles.
If the fit isn't right, don't just Google "lead generation agency" and pick the first result. Compare a few agencies with verified practices. My deep dive on SalesHive covers a US-based SDR-heavy alternative with month-to-month terms, which is a very different model from Cleverly's 3-month commitment.
The Forge Expert Network is a directory of agencies certified on the Forge ecosystem. Certification requires completing Salesforge's cold email training and meeting program eligibility requirements, so every listed agency has a disclosed, modern outbound stack.
Here are three certified agencies matched to different Cleverly gaps.
Best for: Companies that want data-driven personalization instead of Cleverly's A/B tested template approach.
Forge rating: 5/5
SalesAR helps SaaS and tech companies build predictable pipelines through data-driven lead generation and multichannel outreach. Their approach covers ICP definition, prospect research, messaging, and booking qualified sales meetings under one team.
This is the direct answer to Cleverly's template-driven weakness. If you've seen third-party reviews flagging Cleverly's generic messaging and you want real per-client customization, SalesAR positions specifically against that gap. Same done-for-you convenience, deeper personalization.
Best for: Buyers uncomfortable with Cleverly's security posture and lock-in who want to own the outbound system.
Forge rating: 5/5
B2B Boosted's entire positioning is built around solving the ownership problem. Their pitch is helping companies build scalable outbound systems with Clay so you own the process and have a path to independence. That means no credential storage concerns, no lock-in, and no ongoing agency dependency.
This is the direct answer if the G2-documented Cleverly security concern (open-text credential storage) is a dealbreaker for your industry. Same tech-forward outbound expertise, but the engagement transfers knowledge and infrastructure to your team rather than keeping it inside an agency dashboard.
Best for: Teams that want outbound plus sales coaching bundled, not just execution.
Forge rating: 5/5
Chrysales is the all-in-one growth partner for scaling businesses. Led by Sabir Naghiyev, TEDx speaker and sales expert who's closed over €10M, Chrysales has scaled 1,000+ companies and trained 500+ sales teams to hit 6-7 figure revenues.
This is worth a look if Cleverly's issue for you is that you're getting leads but not converting them well. Chrysales bundles outbound execution with sales enablement and training, which addresses the "we got meetings but nothing closed" pattern that shows up in Cleverly's negative reviews. Broader scope, more coaching depth.
There are two more routes worth knowing about.
You can run outbound yourself with Salesforge. It starts at $48 per month with unlimited mailboxes and free warmup included.
Or you can hire Agent Frank, Salesforge's autonomous AI SDR, from $499 per month billed quarterly. He handles prospecting, sequencing, replies, and meeting booking on his own.
Both are worth considering if Cleverly's price point ($397+/month plus Sales Navigator) doesn't feel like meaningful savings versus running the tools yourself, or if you want to keep credential control internal.
Take these into your discovery call. Their answers will tell you more than any review, including this one.
Cleverly is worth considering for broad-market B2B SaaS or professional services companies that want the cheapest done-for-you LinkedIn outreach in the market, accept the security and contract trade-offs, and have deal values high enough to make 1-3 meetings per month worth the 500-1,000 monthly commitment.
Published pricing is a genuine strength. 1,120+ Trustpilot reviews at 4.5 stars is a real footprint. And case studies show specific, countable results for named clients across multiple industries.
But the G2-documented credential storage concern, the 3-month no-refund contract, the below-industry-average reply rates, and the account manager quality variance are all real. Companies that need security, custom messaging, or a refund guarantee should compare certified alternatives before signing.
If you're unsure about Cleverly, start with the Forge Expert Network and match by industry, market, and channel.
Yes. Cleverly is registered as Lead Generation, Inc., based in Los Angeles, California. Founded around 2016 by Bruce Merrill (Founder) with Nick Verity as CEO. The team is 10-49 employees serving 1,000 active clients per their homepage. Named clients include Google, New York Life, Twilio, Bambee, Kustomer, and Aramark.
Cleverly's LinkedIn plans are $397/month (Silver), $697/month (Gold), and 997/month(Platinum),allcappedat600prospects.LinkedInSalesNavigator(99+/month) is required but not included, so the true Silver plan cost is $497/month minimum. Cold email starts at $1,995/month, cold calling at $3,995/month. 3-month minimum contract standard.
G2 reviewers have explicitly documented that Cleverly stores LinkedIn login credentials in open text. This is a real concern that violates basic security practices. Ask directly about credential handling and encryption during your discovery call before granting LinkedIn access.
No. Cleverly maintains a strict no-refund policy regardless of campaign results. If you pay for 3 months and get zero leads, there's no recourse. This is not disclosed prominently on their site.
Third-party benchmarks put Cleverly's typical reply rates at 8-15%, below the 15-25% industry standard for personalized outreach. Cleverly's own site claims 20-50 new conversations per every 500 prospects engaged, but that's conversations, not qualified meetings.
Cleverly is the budget entry-tier (397+/month,LinkedIn-first)withpublishedpricing.BelkinsisalargerUS-focusedretaineragency(5K+/month) with stronger third-party validation. Callbox has 22 years of history and genuine APAC/LATAM/EMEA coverage. My Belkins review and Launch Leads review cover two different alternative models worth comparing.
Certified alternatives in the Forge Expert Network include SalesAR (data-driven personalization vs template-driven), B2B Boosted (Clay-heavy alternative with ownership transfer and no credential storage risk), and Chrysales (outbound plus sales coaching for teams that need conversion help too). Running Salesforge in-house or hiring Agent Frank as an AI SDR are two more options for smaller volumes.
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