[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":62},["ShallowReactive",2],{"glossary-prospecting":3},{"slug":4,"path":5,"title":6,"description":7,"term":8,"wordCount":9,"hasExample":10,"inboundLinks":11,"isPublished":10,"html":12,"data":13,"related":32,"lessons":51},"prospecting","/glossary/prospecting","What Is Prospecting in Sales? Definition and How It Works","Prospecting is finding and reaching out to people or companies that could buy from you but haven't yet — the raw activity that fills the top of the pipeline. It is the core daily work of SDRs and BDRs: research, reach out, qualify, book.","Prospecting",223,true,19,"\u003Cp>Prospecting is the work of finding and reaching out to people who could buy from you but haven't yet. It is research plus outreach: build a list of accounts that fit the \u003Ca href=\"/glossary/icp/\">ICP\u003C/a>, find the named contact who owns the problem, and make first contact with a \u003Ca href=\"/glossary/cold-email/\">cold email\u003C/a> or \u003Ca href=\"/glossary/cold-call/\">cold call\u003C/a>. The \u003Ca href=\"/glossary/bdr/\">BDR\u003C/a> is the role built around prospecting — cold-opening net-new accounts the company has never touched. Prospecting is what fills the top of the \u003Ca href=\"/glossary/pipeline/\">pipeline\u003C/a> when there's no inbound demand to work.\u003C/p>\n\u003Ch2 id=\"in-plain-english\">In plain English\u003C/h2>\n\u003Cp>Prospecting is the difference between waiting for buyers and going to find them. If inbound demand is fish already swimming toward you, prospecting is casting into new water. It is the least glamorous and most important habit in sales, because a rep who only works handed-out \u003Ca href=\"/glossary/lead/\">leads\u003C/a> is a rep whose \u003Ca href=\"/glossary/pipeline/\">pipeline\u003C/a> depends on someone else.\u003C/p>\n\u003Ch2 id=\"why-it-matters-to-you\">Why it matters to you\u003C/h2>\n\u003Cp>As an SDR or BDR, prospecting is your day. It is where you learn research, relevance, and follow-up — the skills that carry you up the ladder. It is also the skill most people never learn on their own, which is why it's the thing interviewers test. Own your prospecting and you own your \u003Ca href=\"/glossary/territory/\">territory\u003C/a>: the reps who always have a full \u003Ca href=\"/glossary/pipeline/\">pipeline\u003C/a> are the ones who prospected before they needed to.\u003C/p>\n",{"title":6,"description":7,"primaryQuery":14,"term":8,"publishedAt":15,"author":16,"reviewedAt":17,"example":18,"relatedTerms":19,"lessons":26},"what is prospecting in sales","2026-09-10","closers","2026-09-24","\"I spend my mornings prospecting — building lists of accounts that fit our ICP and sending them a first cold email.\"",[20,21,22,23,24,25],"lead","icp","cold-call","cold-email","sequence","territory",[27,28,29,30,31],"/academy/sdr/inside-vs-outside-sales","/academy/sdr/sdr-quota","/academy/sdr/what-is-prospecting-in-sales","/academy/sdr/how-to-build-a-prospect-list","/academy/sdr/sales-trigger-events",[33,36,39,42,45,48],{"slug":20,"path":34,"title":35},"/glossary/lead","What Is a Lead in Sales? Definition and Types",{"slug":21,"path":37,"title":38},"/glossary/icp","What Is an ICP (Ideal Customer Profile)? Definition",{"slug":22,"path":40,"title":41},"/glossary/cold-call","What Is a Cold Call? Definition and How It Works",{"slug":23,"path":43,"title":44},"/glossary/cold-email","What Is a Cold Email? Definition and How to Write One",{"slug":24,"path":46,"title":47},"/glossary/sequence","What Is a Sales Sequence? Definition and How It Works",{"slug":25,"path":49,"title":50},"/glossary/territory","What Is a Sales Territory? Definition and Strategy",[52,54,56,58,60],{"path":27,"title":53},"Inside vs Outside Sales: What's the Real Difference",{"path":29,"title":55},"What Is Prospecting in Sales? Definition + the Process",{"path":30,"title":57},"How to Build a Prospect List From Scratch (Template + Columns)",{"path":31,"title":59},"Sales Trigger Events: When to Reach Out (18 Signals)",{"path":28,"title":61},"What Is an SDR Quota? How Sales Development Numbers Work",1792888524331]