Prospects — the potential customers you want to sell to — are the fuel for the sales pipeline. Every prospect represents a possible deal. Growing your base of sales prospects and working to nurture them will grow your revenue.

Even though sales prospecting is important, it may sometimes feel like you’re just wishing and hoping the right people will show up. Let’s see how to make prospecting a science instead — less like drilling for oil and more like filling up on gas.

What you’ll learn:

• What is sales prospecting?
• Why is sales prospecting important?
• How does sales prospecting work?
• The stages of the sales prospecting process
• How to find sales prospects
• Inbound vs. outbound prospecting
• How to move sales prospects to the next stage in the sales cycle
• How to qualify a sales prospect
• Sales prospecting questions to ask
• Prospecting email examples
• How to use sales prospecting tools

What is sales prospecting?

Prospects are potential customers, and prospecting is the process of finding them. Sales reps use sales prospecting to expand the size of their potential customer base. They’ll reach out to leads (potential sales contacts) and nurture them into opportunities (leads who have been warmed up over time). There are various sales prospecting techniques, from making calls to sending direct mail, attending networking events, and connecting on social media platforms such as LinkedIn.

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Why is sales prospecting important?

Sales prospecting is fundamental to what we do because it sets the stage for everything that follows in our sales funnel. It’s about focusing on and engaging those most likely to benefit from our products or services.

From my experience as an account director, effective prospecting directs our resources toward the most promising opportunities and gives us a steady stream of leads for conversion. By focusing on the right leads, we enhance our chances of conversion and align our sales strategies with the expectations and needs of our prospects. That drives our business forward.

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How does sales prospecting work?

Reps need to understand that the lead coming to a website has likely already done a lot of legwork. Eighty-one percent of prospects conduct research before inquiring about your product or service, according to the latest State of Sales report. They’ve formed opinions about your offerings before they’ve even engaged with any of your content, such as articles, white papers, or webinars.

The challenge? Capture the attention of these well-informed prospects and convert their interest into engagement. Reps may face a prospect with preconceptions and opinions based on generic messaging received from others. So the rep’s outreach has to be personalized. It has to resonate. A rep must do their own legwork to understand the prospect’s needs, the technologies they’re using, and how they make buying decisions. That helps move them through the sales funnel, from interest to an actual sale.

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The stages of the sales prospecting process

The sales process goes from cold leads to warm opportunities to red-hot deals. Prospecting is what happens in between:

From leads …

Sales and marketing source leads.
Leads are unqualified prospects. Leads can come from marketing (think a webinar that requires a form fill) or sales (think cold outreach).

… to opportunities …

Sales qualifies leads into prospects.
Sales gets to know leads and decides whether they’re a good fit for the product. If they are, the lead is “qualified” to become a prospect.

Sales nurtures prospects into opportunities.
As sales works to make prospects more and more interested in the sale, these prospects become “opportunities” who are more and more likely to buy.

… to customers

Sales closes opportunities into deals.
In the end, after many conversations, there will be two kinds of opportunities: “closed-lost” (boo) or “closed-won” (yay!).

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How to find sales prospects

We could talk about all the other platforms out there. However, we’ll let Stephanie Svanfeldt, Salesforce Strategic Sales Vice President, Auto Vertical, say it for us: “When it comes to sourcing prospects online, LinkedIn is the biggest game in town.”

Indeed. So, here are some tips to get into that game:

Identify top target accounts:

When choosing prospects, start with a strategic approach and focus your list. If you’re assigned 100 accounts, concentrate on the top 10. Plan meticulously to ensure every engagement is targeted and relevant.

Tap into the power of social selling:

Social selling and sales management tools can help reps better understand the organizational dynamics of target companies. For example, reps can map out the decision-makers within a company and learn about their roles and influence. That helps tailor messages to the person who can make or steer purchasing decisions.

Use your CRM to speed up research on your prospect:

Let your customer relationship management (CRM) system do the heavy lifting by automating prospect and account research. This saves you time and gives you instant access to the insights you need to connect with your prospects more effectively.

Personalize your outreach:

Reach out with custom messages that demonstrate a clear understanding of each prospect’s business needs and challenges. For example, you could send a video message to a potential lead to introduce yourself and briefly cover how your solution could address a specific challenge they mentioned in a recent LinkedIn article or post. The goal is to make every communication feel customized and relevant, showing you’ve done your homework.

Continue to deliver value:

Keep the conversation going by offering value in every interaction. This could be by sharing industry insights and relevant articles or inviting your prospect to events that align with their interests. It’s about continuously reinforcing their positive opinion of you and subtly positioning yourself as a go-to resource in their professional network.

Evaluate and refine:

Monitor and analyze the effectiveness of your outreach strategies. Adjust your approach based on what’s working and what isn’t. Pay attention to the technologies your prospects use and look for integration points that can streamline their processes or enhance their existing systems. This iterative adjustment ensures your tactics remain fresh and effective.

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Inbound vs. outbound prospecting

Inbound and outbound prospecting are key tactics in a sales strategy. Though they serve different purposes, each presents unique advantages. Inbound prospecting attracts prospects through content, SEO, online chats, and social media interactions. The main advantage is that it draws in higher-quality leads who initiate contact on their own terms, making it less intrusive. However, this strategy requires a significant investment in time and resources to develop effective content and optimize digital channels that attract these leads.

On the other hand, outbound prospecting involves actively reaching out to potential customers via email, phone calls, and direct messaging on platforms such as LinkedIn. It allows for quicker lead generation because you’re directly initiating conversations with potential buyers. However, it can be seen as more of an intrusion, and the quality of leads might vary if they haven’t shown previous interest in your offerings.

Combining the two strategies covers more ground — capturing those looking for solutions and those who may not yet be aware of how a product or solution can help them.

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How to move sales prospects to the next stage in the sales cycle

Research is important, but you’ll need more than that to take the conversation to the next level. After all, it’s just as easy for prospects to research you as it is for you to research them. You won’t get anywhere with them by repeating the same general information from your company’s website.

How can you go deep and deliver an insight no one else has? You’ll need to learn their accent — not just their language — and become knowledgeable about their lives at work. That means learning about specific trends in their industries, their companies, and even their lives.

Keep the conversation moving.

Don’t just think about closing the deal. Think about closing every step of the deal. It can be easy to get carried away in your excitement to move the conversation along. But don’t forget to cover all your bases:

Obsess over the next step: Don’t forget to end every conversation with a question. “Can we connect for five minutes after you’ve taken a look?” “Is there someone on your team I could work with on that?” “If you’re not the right person to ask, can you tell me who is?”

Advance but qualify: Prospecting is all about marching onward. But don’t over-focus on a deal that won’t be worth the effort. As you move the conversation forward, you need to keep qualifying at the same time. At every stage, ask whether the prospect is still a fit. Qualification also means making sure that they’re ready to move on to the next step.

You won’t have all the answers, but someone else will: Selling is a team sport. You need to lean on everyone you can to get the information you need. Ask subject matter experts at your company to teach you about a new domain. Reach out to technical and digital advisors to help you map out a solution. Ask marketing for help with a new pitch. You don’t have to do this alone.

Qualifying a prospect is an important piece of the puzzle, but don’t mistake “qualifying” for “deciding whether someone is important.” Everyone you talk to is important — because if they’re not the right person to talk to, then they can point you to the person who is.

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How to qualify a sales prospect

Qualifying a prospect is an essential part of the sales process, and a highly qualified prospect will check most of these boxes to move to the next stage of the sales cycle. Remember, though: “Qualifying” doesn’t mean “deciding whether someone is important.” Everyone you engage with is significant. If they’re not the right contact, they could lead you to someone who is.

To qualify whether a prospect is a good fit, consider these questions:

Is this the right person?

• Does the prospect fit your ideal customer profile?
• Are they already interested in your product?
• Do they have the influence to push the deal forward, or the authority to make buying decisions?

Is this the right company?

• Is the company within your designated territory?
• Is the industry compatible with your business model?
• What is the organization’s size? Think beyond the number of employees. For instance, if you’re selling a subscription or usage-based service, consider the potential volume of its usage.

Is this the right project?

• Is the department funded to pay your price?
• Will the project be a priority for the company this year?
• Will the team be using the product for the right use case — in a way that will create an impact?

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Sales prospecting questions to ask

Good sales prospecting questions start a dialogue that qualifies the prospect and builds a relationship by showing genuine interest in their needs and challenges. Here are a few to start with:

1. What challenges are you currently facing with [insert relevant topic or service]? This question helps identify their pain points, allowing you to build your discussion around how your product addresses these issues.
2. What has been your experience with similar products or solutions? This tells you what has (or hasn’t) already worked for them, helping you position your solution better.
3. Can you tell me about your decision-making process? Who else should I invite to the next call? Knowing that is crucial for understanding how decisions are made and ensuring all decision-makers are engaged early on.
4. What is your timeline for implementing a solution? This helps determine their urgency and expectations, which can guide your engagement strategy.
5. Do you have the budget allocated for this project? Directly addressing the budget helps you qualify the prospect in terms of financial capacity. It also guides the conversation toward realistic solutions within their price range.

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Prospecting email examples

From my perspective, standout emails and smart LinkedIn engagement strategies can make all the difference. Here are some tried-and-true examples from my own experience:

Email outreach:

When it comes to sales prospecting, it’s all about making that connection count. Here’s an email I sent during the holidays. It wasn’t just a pitch; it started with a genuine “thank you” for the recipient’s military service, which creates a moment of personal recognition and gratitude. It’s about finding common ground. Here’s an example that worked well:

[Name],

We connected briefly on LinkedIn before the holidays. I wanted to thank you for your service. My brother-in-law, a lieutenant colonel, has served in Iraq and Afghanistan, and I’ve seen the challenges firsthand.

I noticed your work in driving transformation and improving processes at major financial institutions, which is crucial for staying competitive. Digital acceleration makes understanding customer journeys and reducing friction challenging. Leaders like you have shared that personalization and efficiency are key struggles.

Glassbox is designed to address this, providing session replay and analytics for improved customer experience visibility, helping banks optimize journeys, enhance quality, and cut costs. If you’d like to connect to discuss this further, let me know. Regardless, thank you for your service.

Best,

Lindsey

Video outreach:

One of my reps used this video strategy, sending a personalized video right after connecting with a prospect on LinkedIn. That’s going the extra mile. It shows you’re about more than just words; you’re making real connections. The response? An immediate engaged reply that opened the doors to further conversation.

Hi [Name],

Great to connect! I see you’re working with [tool] for digital experience analytics. I’d love to show you how [company] can add even more value. Let’s chat soon if you’re up for it!

LinkedIn outreach:

And let’s not forget the power of a LinkedIn notification. Tagging a prospect in a post tailored to their interests gets their attention. It’s like giving them a virtual tap on the shoulder and saying, “Hey — thought you might find this interesting.” This works because it directly engages them with content relevant to their interests, making your approach feel personal and showing that you understand their professional needs.

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How to use sales prospecting tools

CRM systems don’t just keep track of data; they turn it into a tool of its own. These systems keep a history of prospect interactions within reach, so every touchpoint is relevant and personalized. However, in my experience, the key is not just to rely on sales tools, but to use them to enhance the human elements of sales.

• Identify your ideal customer profile (ICP): Get a clear picture of who your ideal customer is. What are their pain points? What solutions are they seeking? Understanding your target audience is the first step in effective prospecting.
• Build a list of contacts: Cast a wide net. Scour various channels — from LinkedIn to industry forums — to identify potential leads that match your criteria. It’s all about finding those needles in the haystack.
• Create an omnichannel approach: To connect with prospects effectively, you’ve got to be everywhere they are. Don’t limit yourself to one channel of communication. Connect with prospects in their preferred space, whether it be email, social media, in person, or a phone call.
• Use the right tools at the right time: Don’t just use sales prospecting tools for the sake of it. Be strategic. Tools such as Sales Engagement or LinkedIn Sales Navigator are for understanding the landscape: who the decision-makers are and what messages will resonate with them. It’s about crafting persona-based messaging that hits the mark.
• Build real connections: Think beyond just generating leads, and use soft skills as a prospecting tool. Whether sending an email acknowledging professional milestones or sharing tailored content, a rep who leans into active listening and empathy skills can help prospects feel valued — and more than just a potential sales target.

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Fuel your sales prospecting engine

Sales prospecting isn’t just about wishing and hoping for the right opportunities — it’s about making it a science. By using a combination of inbound and outbound strategies, personalized engagement, and effective sales tools, sellers can rev up sales prospecting and turn more potential leads into closed deals.