kalkoWhat is sales prospecting?
Sales prospecting is the work of finding potential customers and starting sales conversations with them. It comes before the deal: prospecting fills the pipeline, and closing turns it into revenue.
Key takeaways
- HubSpot defines prospecting as developing new business by searching for potential customers (HubSpot).
- Salesforce names cold calling, social selling, networking, referrals and marketing as the most common methods (Salesforce).
- Salesloft separates lead generation, which builds interest at scale, from prospecting, which turns specific targets into conversations (Salesloft).
What are the main prospecting methods?
- Cold calling: calling prospects who have not contacted you (Salesforce).
- Cold email and LinkedIn messages, the other outbound channels (Salesforce).
- Social selling: reaching prospects on social networks (Salesforce).
- Networking at events and conferences (Salesforce).
- Referrals from existing customers (Salesforce).
How do you prospect step by step?
- Write down your ideal customer profile.
- List the companies that fit it, and the people who own the problem you solve.
- Find a public reason to reach out now, such as a job post or a filing.
- Reach out with that reason, by email, phone or LinkedIn.
- Qualify the reply, then book a meeting or hand the lead to an account executive.
How is prospecting different from closing?
- Prospecting finds and qualifies the buyer. It is not where deals close (HubSpot).
- Closing starts once the buyer is in a sales process, and ends with a signed deal.
- Many teams split the two: SDRs prospect, and account executives close.
Sales prospecting vs lead generation: what is the difference?
| Dimension | Sales prospecting | Lead generation |
|---|---|---|
| Goal | Start conversations with specific, named targets | Build interest at scale (Salesloft) |
| Who usually does it | Sales: SDRs, BDRs and account executives | Marketing |
| Channels | Calls, email and LinkedIn messages | Content, ads and events (Salesloft) |
| Output | Meetings and qualified opportunities | Leads that show interest over time (Leadfeeder) |
Where Kalko fits
Kalko does the research half of prospecting. It finds accounts with a public reason to buy now, from job posts and filings, and puts a source and a date on every claim.
Questions people ask
What does sales prospecting mean?
Finding potential customers and starting a sales conversation with them, before any deal exists.
What is the difference between prospecting and lead generation?
Lead generation builds interest at scale through content, ads and events. Prospecting turns specific targets into sales conversations (Salesloft).
How do you find new prospects?
Start from your ideal customer profile and list the companies that fit. Then look for a recent public signal that gives you a reason to reach out.
Sources
- HubSpot Blog: sales prospecting, checked October 28, 2026
- Salesforce: sales prospecting, checked October 28, 2026
- Salesloft Blog: what is sales prospecting?, checked October 28, 2026
- Leadfeeder Blog: lead generation vs. sales prospecting, checked October 28, 2026
SDR (sales development representative)
SDR stands for sales development representative: the rep who qualifies leads and books meetings for account executives. See what SDRs do and SDR vs BDR.
→Outbound sales
Outbound sales is when the seller starts the conversation, by cold call, email or LinkedIn. See how it differs from inbound sales on cost, speed and win rates.
→Fewer accounts. Better won.
Bring your ICP. We will return a sourced market brief your team can inspect, approve, and act on.