What are the best ways to prospect and qualify leads?

Key Takeaways:

• Use multi-channel outreach and remain persistent; it often takes 5+ touches to get a response.
• Ask insightful, open-ended questions to build rapport and uncover genuine needs.
• Apply frameworks like BANT to quickly qualify good-fit prospects.
• Share educational, relevant resources at each stage to build trust.
• Always confirm interest and alignment before progression—clarity now saves time later.

As prospects become busier, savvier, and harder to reach than ever, selling is getting more difficult. A single cold email or scripted call just doesn’t work anymore. Modern buyers expect a thoughtful, multi-touch approach — one that feels less like a pitch and more like a conversation tailored to their world. That means showing up where they are, asking the right questions, and proving your value at every step.

Tried-and-true best practices can help sales teams break down barriers and create meaningful connections. Below, you can find five of the most effective ways to prospect and qualify leads in a way that builds trust, uncovers real needs, and moves opportunities forward — with real tips and advice from fellow professionals.

• Deep-dive resource: Prospecting in Sales: Definition, Strategies & Tips for Sales Reps

Use multiple channels

One of the best ways to prospect leads is to use multiple channels to reach out to your target market. Opportunities to reach qualified buyers and decision-makers can include:

• Email
• Phone
• Social media
• Referrals
• Events
• Webinars
• Content marketing

One survey from ValueSelling Associates found that more than half (54%) of initial meetings required more than five touch points before a rep got the desired response. Another 10% reported it taking 10 or more touches.

The key is to tailor your message to each channel and to each prospect, based on their needs, interests, and pain points. You also want to follow up with your prospects regularly and consistently, until you get a response or a rejection.

Actionable takeaway: Map your outreach. Use a calendar or CRM reminders to ensure each touchpoint is consistent, relevant, and not overly frequent. Aim for a mix of channels to increase response rates.

Ask open-ended questions

Asking open-ended questions is another great way to prospect and qualify leads. These types of questions require more explanation and insight than a simple yes or no answer. For instance, you could ask what the main issues are that they are currently facing, how they are solving them, what the consequences of not solving them are, and what the benefits are of addressing them.

Additionally, you can ask about their short-term and long-term objectives and how they measure success in their role. By posing these open-ended questions, you can build rapport, trust, and value with your prospects while also gaining information to customize your solution to their individual needs.

Quick tip: Try beginning questions with “How,” “What,” or “Can you describe…” to encourage conversation and discovery.

Use the BANT framework

The BANT framework — which stands for Budget, Authority, Need, and Timeline — can also be useful for prospecting and qualifying leads. This framework helps you assess whether your prospects have the resources, decision-making power, problem, and urgency to buy from you.

To use the BANT framework, try asking questions such as what their budget is for the project or solution, who the key decision-makers and influencers are in the process, what the main problem or opportunity is they are trying to solve or seize, and when they need to implement the solution or achieve the outcome. Through this framework, you can prioritize your prospects based on their qualification level and identify any gaps or objections that must be addressed or overcome.

Read more on the blog: Looking to Qualify Your Next Buyer? It’s all About the BANT

Provide value and education

Providing value and education to prospects throughout the sales cycle builds trust while also helping qualify your opportunities. Share content, insights, case studies, testimonials, demos, and samples that demonstrate how your solution can help them achieve their desired results. The materials they are drawn to will help you understand how your solutions can help them specifically.

Position yourself as an expert, a trusted advisor, and a partner — not a pushy salesperson — by saying things like: "I thought you might find this article/blog post/ebook/webinar interesting and useful," or "here is a case study of how we helped a similar customer solve a similar problem that you are facing."

Offer demos of your solution or samples they can try for free. By providing value and education, you can nurture prospects, build credibility, and move them closer to a buying decision.

Actionable takeaway: Schedule regular follow-ups not just to “check in,” but to share something actionable (industry trends, a relevant article, or a new blog post) that keeps you front of mind and adds meaningful value.

Confirm interest and commitment

Be sure to verify momentum and alignment from your prospects before moving to the next stage of the sales process. You can achieve this by asking for feedback, opinions, preferences, and agreements from your prospects, and by summarizing and clarifying the key points and action steps that have been discussed.

Additionally, you can use trial closes to test the readiness and willingness of your prospects to buy from you, such as inquiring about their feelings on what has been discussed thus far, the next steps they would like to take, how the solution fits with their budget, authority, need, and timeline, as well as their likelihood to buy from you on a scale of 1-10. By confirming interest and commitment in this way, you can gauge the temperature of your prospects, address any concerns or objections they may have, and move them to the closing stage of the sales process.

Ready to put this prospecting guidance to good use? Explore the benefits of Sales Navigator and learn how the right tools can supercharge your approach.