How to Find Prospects For Sales [7 Steps + Top Tools]

Prospecting is the first and most crucial part of the sales process.

Having qualified leads in your pipeline makes all the difference when it comes to successful conversions.

Yet, this task can be quite a challenge.

To help you out, we’ll show you seven steps to find prospects for sales.

Let’s get started. 👇

1. Use a prospecting tool
2. Be active on social media
3. Reach out through email
4. Ask for referrals
5. Expand your networks
6. Show your expertize with content marketing
7. Be the guide

7 steps to find prospects for sales

1. Use a prospecting tool 

In this fast-paced world of sales, time is money. You don’t want to be wasting valuable hours on manually finding contact information.

That’s where a prospecting tool like Kaspr comes to the rescue.

Kaspr works by revealing phone numbers, email addresses and company info while you prospect on LinkedIn. All you need is Kaspr’s Chrome Extension, and you’re ready to get accurate contact data in one click.

The phone numbers and email addresses provided by Kaspr are GDPR and CCPA-aligned.

SDRs can get their prospect’s contact data profile-by-profile or in bulk from events, groups, posts and lists on LinkedIn.

What’s more, if you’ve created lists on LinkedIn Sales Navigator or have found profiles through the people search function, Kaspr will provide you with their enriched contact information, too.

Once you have the data you need, you can start exploring the various data enrichment features within the Kaspr dashboard.

Here in the web app, you can create automated workflows, LinkedIn outreach sequences, organize your leads and send data straight to your CRM or other apps.

Kaspr makes it simple to keep your leads organized with: 

• Lists.
• Notes. 
• Tasks.
• Tags.

Sales reps can get started with the freemium version of Kaspr, with no credit card required to sign up.

You’ll receive each  month:

• 5 phone credits.
• 5 direct email credits.
• 10 export credits.

💡 Plus, there’s unlimited B2B emails when you invite three colleagues to join Kaspr. Sign up here

2. Be active on social media

Social media plays a large role in finding and connecting with prospects these days. Ever go a day without looking for prospects on LinkedIn? Or scrolling the feeds on LinkedIn, Instagram and TikTok?

We thought not. 😉

To use social channels for prospecting well, the first step is understanding where your potential leads are most active. 

Each social platform has its own unique user base, with different industries and demographics gravitating towards them. 

For B2B prospects, LinkedIn is often the go-to platform. Most people in corporate jobs are on LinkedIn. SDRs use it for prospecting by building lists from people searches and saving them if they have access to Sales Navigator. LinkedIn is a great tool for networking and reaching out to prospects as well as finding them.

Adding tools like Kaspr will make your life as a sales rep even easier by enabling you to have immediate access to phone numbers for cold calling or email addresses for outreach.

If you find a prospect that’s pretty active on LinkedIn, it probably makes sense to make that one of your communication channels. ✅

Whichever social media channel you engage your prospects on, remember you’re not just there to sell your products or services.

Good outreach focuses on providing value and building relationships. 

To be successful, SDRs need to go beyond just using LinkedIn as a prospecting tool.

Here are some ideas about what else you need to do:

• Share informative content.
• Participate in relevant discussions.
• Offer solutions to common industry problems. 

This approach will help reps build trust and credibility. Remember to be consistent. Regularly post and interact with your network to stay on your prospects’ radar. 

By demonstrating your expertize and reliability, you increase the likelihood of being top-of-mind when a prospect needs your product or services.

3. Reach out through email

To be successful in email outreach, it’s crucial to follow best practices and use the right tools. 

👉 Did you know: Kaspr’s integration with Gmail means you can send emails straight from the web app.

To make your email prospecting efforts effective, consider the following tips from Morgan J Ingram, Creative Advisor at Cognism and 4x top LinkedIn sales voice. 

Morgan’s trained top sales teams at Zoom, Snowflake and Salesforce around prospecting best practices, so we can’t think of anyone better for these email tips. 👇

Improve your email subject lines

If your subject line isn’t engaging, your prospect is unlikely to read beyond it. A good example of a subject line that piques interest is: greater than less sign, your company name (e.g. Morgan <> Kaspr). 

Morgan says that this works because it leads to an internal email that they would respond to, and they see the greater than less sign as a connector.

Pay attention to your preview text

When prospects open emails on their cell phone, they usually see just a few words first, so make sure the preview text grabs their attention. 

Mention something interesting like:

• “Noticed this on your website.”
• “Saw your recent LinkedIn post.”“Liked your recent announcement.”

Reverse-engineer your value propositions

Understand the challenges your potential clients are facing and how you can help them. Instead of talking about your product’s features, focus on how you can provide value to them and what they will gain from replying.

Write effective CTAs (Call-to-actions)

Keep your next steps easy. Instead of asking for “30 minutes of their time”, ask if they’re open to learning more. People get defensive when you ask for their time. And so instead asking for interest creates less friction and will help increase the chance of “yes” being the response.

Use a thoughtful approach to follow-up emails

Each email in a sequence serves a specific purpose. Avoid sending spammy messages right after the first one. Instead, ask for feedback, which tends to result in higher response rates.

💡Check out prospecting on demand to watch more videos around writing cold emails, cold calling and more

4. Ask for referrals

Referrals come with a high level of trust and credibility. 

When someone refers you to a potential lead, you’ve got a foot in the door before even reaching out. 

Here are some strategies and tips for requesting referrals from your existing network:

• Build strong relationships. Before asking for referrals, make sure you have built solid relationships with your existing connections. They should know your expertize and trust in your abilities.
• Make it easy. When requesting a referral, provide clear instructions on what you’re looking for and who is your ideal customer profile (ICP). This makes it easier for your contacts to identify suitable leads.
• Offer value in return. Sometimes, providing something in return for a referral can be a great incentive. It might be a service, a discount, or a mutually beneficial partnership.
• Timing matters. Pick the right time to ask for a referral. It’s often best to ask after a successful implementation project is complete. Don’t ask if they’ve just decided to churn…

Actively seeking referrals means you can tap into your existing network to discover valuable prospects. When this way of finding prospects is executed correctly, it can give you a pipeline of quality and dependable leads.

5. Expand your network

Expanding your network is a fundamental part of finding prospects. 

Think about it. The larger and more diverse your network is, the greater your chances are of coming across potential leads to fill your sales pipeline with. 

Networking can be done online and offline.

Online networking:

• Join LinkedIn groups. Engage in relevant LinkedIn Groups to connect with like-minded professionals in your industry.
• Attend virtual events. There are so many events, conferences, and webinars held virtually now. Attend these to meet and connect with new contacts.
• Engage on social media. Actively engage with your connections and followers on social media platforms. Comment on their posts, share valuable content, and initiate conversations.

Offline networking:

• Attend industry events. When in-person events are an option, don’t think twice about attending. Look for local trade shows, conferences, or networking events related to your industry.
• Volunteer or join clubs. Explore local or industry-specific associations and become a member. These groups offer regular meetups and networking opportunities.
  
  

Remember that networking isn’t about how many LinkedIn connections you’ve got; it’s about building genuine relationships. 

6. Show your expertize with content marketing

Content marketing is a lead generation technique. By creating relevant content that can engage your target audience, you will set yourself apart from the rest and be seen as a trusted source. 

Here are some tips for writing content as an SDR:

• Show value. Create content that addresses the pain points and questions of your target audience. 
• Be consistent. Regularly publishing content keeps you on your audience’s radar. Develop a content calendar to ensure a steady flow of valuable content.
• Try out different platforms. Share your content on various platforms. You could try sending a newsletter, posting content on LinkedIn and, if you’re good on camera, YouTube!The broader your reach, the more prospects you can attract.
• Engage with your audience. Respond to comments, questions, and feedback. If you encourage discussions, you’ll build a community.

7. Be the guide

Prospects don’t rely solely on sales reps for information anymore.

They have access to an abundance resources like websites with free demos, review sites, social media, and recommendations from peers on LinkedIn.

So, sales reps need to step up and be a guide.

This means you’re not just trying to sell a product or service. 🙅

Instead, you’re there to provide value-based assistance and useful advice. 

Want to know our top five tips?

1. Understand the prospect’s needs. Take the time to really understand what your prospects need by asking the right questions.
2. Share knowledge. Be the go-to source for relevant insights and knowledge that can help prospects make informed decisions.
3. Solve problems. Offer solutions tailored to their specific issues. Make your product or service work for them.
4. Build trust. Be honest and reliable. Keep your promises to build trust.
5. No pressure. Don’t push prospects into quick decisions. Let them move at their own pace.

By being a guide, you’ll put prospects in the pipeline who are genuinely interested in what you’re selling. 

It’s a win-win for both sides.

Top prospecting tools 

Finding prospects for sales can’t get any easier than using the right prospecting tool. 

Here are our top picks. 👇

1. Kaspr

⭐ 4.4/5  on G2

Kaspr is an all-in-one prospecting platform that gives you instant access to phone numbers and email addresses for your prospects.

The Chrome Extension works over LinkedIn, Sales Navigator and Recruiter Lite.

With the sales automation features, you can enrich data straight from the widget or set up a workflow once you’ve saved your leads to the dashboard.

Top features:

• LinkedIn Chrome Extension.
• 500M+ email addresses and phone numbers available. 
• Updated in real-time.
• Data enrichment.
• Lead management (tagging, notes, etc.).
• Sales automation for outreach.
• Unlimited B2B email addresses on paid and free plans.
• Integrations to sync data to your other systems.
• GDPR and CCPA aligned.

Price: Free, start using Kaspr today.

Recent review:

“Kaspr.io provides a valuable tool for businesses by offering enriched data on professionals, particularly their contact information. This facilitates lead generation and outreach efforts, making it easier for sales and marketing teams to connect with potential clients.” - G2 user

2. Cognism

⭐ 4.6/5 on G2

Cognism is a sales intelligence platform with a global company and contact database.

It provides revenue teams with GDPR-compliant cell phone numbers and B2B email addresses of the prospects they want to do business with.

Their Chrome Extension works on LinkedIn and Sales Navigator, corporate websites, as well as Outreach and Salesforce.

Top features:

• Diamond Data® (manually verified phone numbers) will connect you with 87% of your list.
• Intent data, firmographics, technographics, and sales triggers.
• Global do-not-call lists.
• Seamless integrations with many sales apps.
• Fully GDPR and CCPA compliant.
• EMEA, NAM, and APAC coverage.

Price: Customized packages based on your needs, available on request.

👉 How is Cognism different to Kaspr?

3. LinkedIn Sales Navigator

⭐ 4.3./5 on G2

LinkedIn Sales Navigator helps your sales team find B2B prospects based on filters such as job title, company size, industry, location and more. 

It also provides real-time updates and notifications about your leads, enabling you to engage with them at the right time.

Top features:

• Advanced search filters.
• Lead recommendations.
• CRM integration.
• Real-time sales updates.
• List building capabilities.

Price: You can sign up for a one-month free trial or request a demo on both their core and advanced tiers.  

FAQ 

Let’s answer some questions you might have about sales prospects. 👇

What is a sales prospect?

In B2B sales prospects are potential buyers who are likely to be interested in your products or services. 

These are individuals or businesses that have shown some level of interest or need for what you offer. A sales prospect may not have made a purchase yet, but they represent a valuable opportunity for your business to turn them into paying customers.

Where do salespeople find prospects?

Finding the right prospects is essential, SDRs can discover potential leads through these channels:

• Social media. Platforms like LinkedIn are a goldmine for prospecting. Especially when having a tool like Kaspr that can get prospect contact data for you in a single click! 
• Referrals. Happy customers often become your best advocates, referring others who could benefit from your products or services. Salespeople can tap into their existing customer base to uncover new prospects.
• Cold outreach. This includes both cold emails and cold calls. It involves reaching out to individuals or businesses without any prior contact, which may seem daunting at first. The key is to lead with value. The more value you provide in your initial outreach, the higher the likelihood of getting a positive response.

• Inbound marketing. Creating compelling content and optimizing your online presence can attract prospects to your business. This can be achieved through methods like content marketing, search engine optimization (SEO), and pay-per-click advertising.

Why are sales prospects important?

Sales prospects fill your pipeline with new business.

Here’s why they are essential:

• Revenue generation. Prospects are potential customers, and converting them into paying customers is the primary goal of business. More prospects mean more opportunities to generate revenue.
• Business growth. Expanding a customer base is crucial for business growth. Prospects represent growth potential, and as they convert into customers, the business can expand its reach and impact.
• Cost-efficiency. Targeting prospects who have shown interest in the product or service is more cost-effective than targeting a broad audience. It reduces marketing spend and increases the chances of a sale.
• Market insights. Interacting with prospects allows businesses to gather valuable insights about their target audience. This information helps in tailoring products, services, and marketing strategies to better meet customer needs.

Try Kaspr for free

Still wondering how to find prospects for sales? Look no further than Kaspr!

Sign up today for free. Join the 50K+ Kaspr users: 

✅ No credit card is required to sign up.
✅ GDPR and CCPA aligned.
✅ Unlimited B2B email credits.
✅ 500M+ Phone numbers and email addresses.
✅ 200M+ Business profiles.
✅ All-in-one prospecting tool.
✅ Fully self-service.
✅ Customizable plans.