Sales Prospecting: Where to Find Customers and How to Qualify Them

The most common cause of low sales isn't weak closing. It's too few opportunities. If you only talk to three potential customers a month, even a brilliant closer will sell little. Prospecting is the work of finding and qualifying people or companies who could buy from you. It's the stage most salespeople avoid, and the one that makes the biggest difference.

1. Where to look
2. Qualify with BANT
3. Do the funnel math
4. Design the cadence
5. Organize and prioritize

Leads, prospects and opportunities

Where to find customers

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A script for asking for referrals without awkwardness

Referrals are the best source, but almost nobody asks well. "Do you know anyone who needs what I sell?" forces people to think about everyone they know, and it usually ends with "Nobody comes to mind." Narrow the question:

"I'm glad closing the month takes you one day now.
 Quick question: what other hardware store or distributor owner
 you know is still fighting with spreadsheets at month-end?
 If you give me their name, I'll reach out and mention you,
 or if you prefer, you can introduce us by email."

Ask right after the customer acknowledges a result, be specific about the profile and offer two ways to make the introduction. Then always tell them how it went: it's the best way to get the next referral.

Qualify: not every prospect is worth the same

A classic qualification framework is BANT:

A prospect doesn't have to check every box at first (sometimes you help build the budget or reach the decision-maker), but if there's no real need, don't push: spend your time elsewhere.

How to ask BANT questions without interrogating

BANT is a checklist for you, not a questionnaire to read aloud. Weave the questions into a natural conversation. For example, on a 10-minute call:

NEED:      "Walk me through how you handle invoicing and month-end today.
            Which part takes your team the most time?"
TIMING:    "Is anything putting a deadline on this? A new location,
            an audit, a change of bookkeeper?"
AUTHORITY: "If you decided to switch systems, how do decisions like
            that usually get made? Who else would weigh in?"
BUDGET:    "Solutions like this run from about $400 to $1,200 a month
            depending on size. Is that range reasonable for you?"

Start with need (it's what the customer wants to talk about) and leave budget for last, offering a range instead of asking "What's your budget?" A range guides without pressure and quickly tells you whether you're talking to a real prospect.

Your funnel math

Work backward from your goal. Here's a LedgerPoint account executive who wants 8 new customers a month:

800 attempts a month over 20 working days is 40 a day. Too many? You have three levers: improve conversion (better lists, better messages, better discovery), raise the deal size (sell more per customer) or get better-qualified contacts (referrals and inbound leads convert far better than cold outreach). For example, if 40% of referred prospects accept a meeting instead of 20%, you need half as many conversations.

The cadence: outreach across channels

People rarely respond to the first attempt. A cadence (or sequence) is a planned series of touches across channels over a few weeks. A B2B example:

1. Day 1 · LinkedInEngage and connectView their profile, comment on a post, send a connection request with a short note.
2. Day 2 · EmailPersonalized emailOne idea relevant to their company (lesson 4).
3. Day 4 · PhoneFirst callIf they don't pick up, leave a short voicemail.
4. Day 7 · EmailA similar customer's storyFollow up with a story and a concrete result.
5. Day 10 · Phone + LinkedInCall and a short messageTwo channels on the same day raise the odds of a reply.
6. Day 14 · LinkedInA useful resourceA guide, a data point or an article that helps them.
7. Day 21 · EmailBreakup email"Should I close the loop on this for now?"

Every touch should add something (an idea, a data point, a story), not just "Did you see my email?" And follow the rules: cold emails must comply with the CAN-SPAM Act (accurate sender, honest subject line, a postal address and a working opt-out), calls to consumers must respect the National Do Not Call Registry, and marketing texts need prior consent. You'll see the details in lesson 4. Notice that this cadence uses no texting: save texts for people who gave you their number or asked you to text.

Organize your list

Keep your prospects in a CRM (lesson 11) or, at first, in a spreadsheet with: company, contact, title, phone, email, source, ICP fit (high, medium, low), stage, last touch, next step and date. The most important column is next step with a date: a prospect without a next step is a forgotten prospect.

Score your prospects to know who to call first

As your list grows, you need a way to prioritize. A simple 0-to-10 score in one spreadsheet column works well:

Rule of thumb: A prospects (7 to 10 points) get the full cadence this week; B (4 to 6) go into a slower cadence; C (0 to 3) get useful content now and then, no calls. Update the score when something changes: if North Coast announces it's moving its renewal up, it becomes an A.

Common prospecting mistakes

Prospecting time blocks

Reserve a fixed block every day (for example, 9:00 to 10:30 a.m.) only for prospecting, with no email or distractions. Prospecting competes with everything urgent, and if you don't protect it on your calendar, it disappears.

Goal: 2 home sales a month.
Rates: 1 in 6 showings leads to a purchase; 1 in 3 qualified leads
books a showing; 1 in 4 inquiries is qualified.
Showings needed: 2 × 6 = 12
Qualified leads: 12 × 3 = 36
Total inquiries: 36 × 4 = 144 a month (≈ 7 per working day)

Sources: listing portals (inbound), referrals from past buyers,
partnerships with mortgage lenders.
Cadence for portal inquiries (they asked to be contacted): call within
1 hour; text with photos and a video tour the same day (only if they
gave their number and agreed to texts); call on day 2 to book a showing;
email similar listings on day 5; call on day 10.

Summary

• Without enough opportunities there are no sales: prospecting is a daily activity.
• Referrals, your existing base, inbound leads, LinkedIn, directories, events and partners are the main sources.
• Qualify with BANT (budget, authority, need, timing) and prioritize real need.
• Work backward to the activity you need, and improve conversion so you need less of it.
• Use multichannel cadences that add value, follow U.S. outreach rules and always record the next step with a date.
• Score prospects (A, B, C) to spend more time on those who can buy soon.

Next lesson: First Contact: Cold Calls, Cold Emails and Messages That Book Meetings. You'll get a cold call script, learn to write cold emails that get replies, use LinkedIn and follow the U.S. rules for calls and email.