Definition:
A prospect is a person or organisation that fits a company’s customer profile and has a reasonable possibility of purchasing.
The category is assigned using qualification criteria related to fit, need, capacity and purchasing timing. These criteria depend on each organisation’s commercial process and need to be based on relevant, lawfully obtained and processed information.
Table of contents
Differences between a prospect and a lead
A lead is generally a contact about whom some information is available or who has shown some form of interest, but whose suitability and possibility of purchasing have not yet been confirmed. A prospect has undergone an additional assessment indicating sufficient commercial fit for the relationship to continue.
The sequence is not universal. In some processes, a lead becomes a prospect after qualification. In others, a company may identify a prospect directly through prospecting, a referral or business information before any previous interaction has taken place.
Each organisation therefore needs to document what lead and prospect mean within its process. Replying to an email or taking part in a conversation does not by itself turn a contact into a prospect.
How a prospect is identified and qualified
Qualification is used to determine whether continuing a commercial process and allocating resources is appropriate. Possible criteria include:
- Fit: Correspondence between the person or organisation and the customer profile addressed by the offering.
- Need: The existence of a problem, objective or requirement that the product or service could address.
- Role in the decision: The contact’s ability to decide, influence or facilitate the purchasing process.
- Resources: The financial, technical or organisational capacity to acquire and implement the solution.
- Interest and timing: Signals of intent and the approximate period in which a decision may be made.
These criteria do not predict a sale with certainty. They should not rely on irrelevant data, information obtained without a valid basis or factors capable of producing unjustified discrimination.
Customer relationship management systems, such as a CRM, can record interactions, criteria and status changes. The tool organises the information, but the category depends on the rules and checks defined by the organisation.
Prospect acquisition and relationship management
Contacts may originate from search, referrals, events, content, advertising, commercial prospecting or landing pages. These channels may generate leads or identify potential prospects, but classification requires a subsequent assessment.
Once qualified, follow-up may include specific information, demonstrations, meetings or answers to questions. Communication needs to reflect the identified need, the stage of the process and the contact’s preferences, without assuming that greater frequency guarantees a purchase.
The outcome may be progression towards a sales opportunity, postponement of the relationship or disqualification when the prospect no longer meets the established criteria.