How to Do Sales Prospecting (A Simple Weekly System)

How do you do sales prospecting?

You do sales prospecting by deciding exactly who you want to sell to, finding people who match, and starting relevant conversations with them on a steady schedule. Write down your ideal customer, build a short list of real people who fit, and spend a few minutes researching each one. Reach out with a message that shows you understand their situation, follow up a few times if they do not reply, and track every contact so nobody falls through the cracks. Block time for it every week, even when you are busy with current clients.

My strong opinion: most people treat prospecting as something to do when sales are slow. That is exactly backwards. By the time sales are slow, the prospecting you skipped two months ago is what is missing. The best time to prospect is when you feel like you do not need to.

What sales prospecting is (and what it is not)

Prospecting is the first stage of the sales process: finding people who might need what you sell and getting a first real response. It is different from qualifying, which is deciding whether a responsive prospect is actually a good fit, and from selling, which happens once you are in a real conversation about their problem.

If you have not mapped your stages yet, How to create a sales process covers that, and How to qualify sales leads covers the stage right after this one.

Step 1: Define exactly who you are looking for

Prospecting gets easier the more specific you are. "Small businesses" is not a target. "Independent dental practices with two to five dentists that still book appointments by phone" is. A narrow description tells you where to look, what to say, and who to skip.

• Who they are. Industry, size, location, and the role of the person who would buy.
• The problem they have. The specific situation that makes your offer useful to them.
• The trigger. Events that make the problem urgent, such as hiring, opening a new location, or launching a product.
• Who to skip. The kinds of prospects that look right but rarely buy or are a poor fit.

Step 2: Find prospects and build your list

• Your existing network. Past clients, former colleagues, and people you already know are the warmest place to start. How to ask for referrals covers how to ask without making it awkward.
• Professional networks. Search by role, industry, and location, and pay attention to what people post about.
• Industry directories and associations. Many industries publish member lists or directories of businesses.
• Communities and events. Online groups, local business events, and trade shows where your buyers spend time.
• Trigger events. Job postings, new location announcements, and company news often signal a need you can help with.

Keep the list in one place, such as a spreadsheet or a simple CRM, with columns for name, company, role, where you found them, why they fit, and the date of each contact. A short, well-researched list is worth more than a long one you never work through.

Step 3: Research each prospect before you reach out

A few minutes of research per prospect is what turns a cold message into a relevant one. You are looking for one specific reason why this person, at this moment, might care.

1. Read their website and note how they describe what they do, in their own words.
2. Look at their recent posts or company news for anything that signals a change or a priority.
3. Write one sentence on the problem you think they might have and why you think so.
4. Note anything you have in common, such as a shared connection or community, but only use it if it is genuine.

Step 4: Reach out with a specific, relevant message

Whatever the channel, the message has the same job: show you understand their situation, offer something useful, and make the next step easy. Keep it short and about them, not about you.

Most replies come from follow-ups, not first messages, so plan a short sequence before you send the first one. How to write a follow-up email covers what to say each time. Whatever channel you use, follow the email, calling, and privacy rules that apply where you and your prospects are, and always honor a request to stop contacting someone.

Step 5: Build a weekly prospecting routine

Prospecting works when it is a habit, not an event. Put it on your calendar like a client meeting and protect the time.

• Pick fixed blocks. The same time on the same days each week, so it does not depend on motivation.
• Split the work. One block for finding and researching, another for outreach and follow-ups.
• Track a few numbers. Contacts made, replies, and conversations booked. Watch the trend over a few months rather than reacting to one week.
• Review and adjust. Every few weeks, look at which messages, channels, and prospect types get replies, and do more of what works.

Sales prospecting mistakes to avoid

• Prospecting only when sales are slow.
• Targeting everyone instead of a clearly defined group.
• Sending the same generic message to every prospect.
• Pitching your offer in the first message before you show you understand their situation.
• Giving up after one message with no follow-up.
• Not tracking contacts, so you forget who you reached and when.

How to use Claude for sales prospecting

The relationship has to be yours, but the research and drafting behind prospecting is where Claude saves the most time. Use the Claude desktop app and give it real context about your offer and your best clients.

1. Paste in a description of your offer and your three best clients, and ask Claude to write a specific ideal customer profile, including likely trigger events.
2. For each prospect, paste in their website text or a recent post and ask Claude to summarize their business and suggest one likely problem you could help with.
3. Ask it to draft a short first message and two follow-ups for that prospect, using their language and a clear, low-pressure next step.
4. Edit every draft yourself before sending. Cut anything that sounds generic or that you could not say naturally on a call.
5. If you want to go further, How to build a CRM with Claude Code and How to automate lead follow-up cover tracking and follow-up systems.