Definition

Prospect is a potential customer who has been identified as having a need or interest in your product or service and meets basic qualification criteria but has not yet entered the formal sales process.

What is a Prospect?

The concept of prospects has existed since the earliest days of formalized selling, though the specific definition has evolved over time. Traditionally, anyone expressing interest in a product might be considered a prospect, but modern sales methodologies have developed more precise definitions to distinguish prospects from general leads or contacts.

In today's data-rich sales environment, prospecting has become increasingly sophisticated. Sales intelligence platforms like Saber enable organizations to identify high-potential prospects based on intent signals, firmographic data, and behavioral patterns before any direct interaction occurs. This proactive approach to prospect identification has significantly improved targeting efficiency and initial conversation relevance.

How Prospecting Works

Prospecting is the systematic process of identifying and qualifying potential customers who match your ideal customer profile and show indicators of potential interest or need.

• Identification Methods: Prospects are identified through various channels including inbound marketing, networking, referrals, social selling, cold outreach, and data mining from various sources.

• Initial Qualification: Basic qualification typically evaluates whether the prospect matches target firmographic criteria (industry, company size, location) and has a potential need your product can address.

• Prospect Research: Once identified, prospects are researched to understand their business challenges, organizational structure, and potential buying authority to inform personalized outreach strategies.

• Prioritization: Prospects are often scored or ranked based on their perceived value and likelihood of conversion to focus selling efforts on the highest-potential opportunities.

Example of a Prospect

A sales development representative at a marketing automation company identifies a potential prospect after noticing that the VP of Marketing at a mid-sized retail chain viewed their pricing page twice in the past week and downloaded a whitepaper on email automation. The SDR verifies that the company fits their ideal customer profile (retail industry, $50M-$200M revenue, 100+ employees) and uses LinkedIn to confirm the VP has decision-making authority for marketing technology. After researching recent company news, the SDR discovers the retailer is launching an e-commerce expansion, suggesting a timely need for improved customer communication tools. Based on this qualification, the representative adds the contact to their prospect list and prepares a personalized outreach plan highlighting how their solution supports omnichannel retail marketing strategies.

Why Prospects Matter in B2B Sales

Prospects represent the foundation of the sales pipeline and the future revenue potential of any business. Effective prospect identification and qualification is critical because it determines the quality and efficiency of the entire sales process that follows. For B2B organizations with complex sales cycles, focusing on well-qualified prospects dramatically improves conversion rates, shortens sales cycles, and reduces cost of acquisition. Additionally, understanding the distinction between general leads and qualified prospects allows for more precise sales forecasting and resource allocation. Sales teams that excel at identifying high-quality prospects consistently outperform those that pursue volume without strategic qualification, making prospecting skill a key differentiator in competitive markets.