7 Best B2B Prospecting Methods for 2025

If your b2b prospecting method isn’t solid, you run the chance of risk. 

What kind of risk?

The risk of losing money

The risk of reaching out to the wrong kinds of people

The risk of wasting time…….

And ultimately, the risk of lead generation failure, which means less ROI for your business.

So if you’re looking for b2b prospecting strategies that work, then keep reading.

This article will share some new methods, as well as older strategies, to try out this year.

(But if you need more high-quality sales leads for your business, as in yesterday, reach out to the founder of SalesBread, Jack Reamer, for a free 15-minute strategy session. We bring our clients 1 lead per day with our ultra-personalized LinkedIn outreach strategy.)

Start with an ultra-refined b2b prospect list

If your prospect list isn’t refined, you run the risk of reaching out to a whole bunch of prospects who either don’t need what you’re selling or don’t have the buying power or the budget.

This is why we OBSESS about list building at SalesBread.

If your prospect list is refined, you’re going to hit the nail on the head and end up with qualified leads.

Here’s how we do it.

Look at the current buyer data

First off, look at WHO has purchased your product or services from you within the last 6 months.

What did all your buyers have in common? If you can find patterns between your buyers, you will be able to build “look a like” lists of prospects.

For example:

Let’s say you are looking for leads in the healthcare space because you’re selling healthcare equipment.

Ask yourself the following questions to get a clear view of whom to target:

• Which kind of healthcare company has purchased from you? (Hospitals? Clinics? Psychologists? Vets? Health insurance? Non-profit?)

• What’s the company size? (400+ more hospital beds? 3000 employees? Revenue of over $30 billion a year? Or is it only small clinics buying?)

• What services do these companies offer? (Day clinics? Psychiatric? Emergency?)

• Where are these companies located? (USA? Europe? Africa? 50 miles from New York?)

• Which departments are on their payroll? (Marketing? HR? CNO?)

• Which job title is buying from you?

This is time-consuming, and it takes us a week to build a list that’s 90% accurate. We actually analyze data by using 34 different types of filters.

Some of these filters include:

• People (company size, department size, job title.)

• Money (Revenue, funding)

• Time (When was the company founded? Are companies start-ups?)

• Intent data (Which companies are looking to buy your product/service?)

• Hiring (Are they busy hiring new job titles?)

• Social media signals (How many followers do they have on Facebook etc?)

Use these tools to help build your list

Don’t just rely on LinkedIn Sales Navigator to build prospecting lists. It’s actually quite helpful to go off LinkedIn and use third-party data providers to help you build an accurate list.

For example, make use of some of the following lead generation tools:

Crunchbase

Crunchbase is an incredible database that allows you to use various advanced filters to find target accounts. You can find details such as contact information, like employee phone numbers or email addresses.

Crunchbase also allows you to filter by industry, technology, investors, funding, events, and even monthly website visitors.

Apollo.io

Apollo is one of the best sales tools for finding the freshest lead data.

If you need to find 1000 new leads or 100,000 verified emails and phone numbers, Apollo’s database has 275M+ contacts.

It also has a Chrome extension, which allows for easy integrations with other tools that you might use.

Yelp

You can even use Yelp to help you build lists. For example, you might want to build a list of hairdressers who have bad reviews.

Perhaps your company sells PR services and would like to target hair salons. You could use filters in Yelp to find salons that have bad ratings in specific areas and go from there.

Use LinkedIn outreach

Once your list is 90% accurate, you can then plug it into LinkedIn Sales Navigator and refine it even further.

Filter your list by your second degree network and by recently posted.

Why?

LinkedIn Outreach Stats have shown that prospects are more likely to connect with you if they are in your second degree network, and if you reach out to prospects who have been active on LinkedIn in the last 30 days, it tells you that they actually use the platform.

If you notice that someone isn’t active on LinkedIn, rather reach out to them via cold email or a cold call.

Why we love LinkedIn outreach as a prospecting method

LinkedIn is the perfect social media platform for generating high-quality b2b leads.

Not only can you use tools like LinkedIn Sales Navigator to narrow down your list, but you also have a huge pool of people to reach out to directly at your fingertips. 

Here are some of our recent LinkedIn stats to show you that this platform is really great for your b2b sales prosepcting process.

Since 2019, SalesBread clients have averaged a 19.98% Reply Rate with our ultra-personalized LinkedIn Lead Generation Services.

And… 48.14% of those replies were either meeting requests or qualified sales inquiries on their product or service.

So if you haven’t tried LinkedIn prospecting yet, it’s time to give it a try.

Another reason why we love LinkedIn outreach is –

Results come in almost immediately.

95% of our clients receive their first lead within 48 hours after launching the campaign. 

So if you need immediate qualified leads, then you have to give this prospecting process a try.

Using LinkedIn to find new business is simple. 

It just takes tons of research and killer copywriting. Honestly, if you can nail down this process, guaranteed high-quality leads will end up in your sales pipeline daily.

Here’s our LinkedIn strategy for qualified prospects after we have built our list

Write personalized LinkedIn prospecting messages

Don’t write generic salesy messages. These kinds of messages hardly ever get a response, unless it’s something the prospect really needs.

See what this LinkedIn user had to say:

Leads are tired of hearing the same pitch day in and day out from hundreds of sales reps. 

The reason why our messages work is that they aren’t salesy. 

Instead, we just try to get conversations started. 

And the only way this can be done is by researching each prospect on your list and finding something very specific about them to mention in your messaging. 

Because of this approach, here are some replies that we have received recently:

So here’s our process for copywriting:

Research each prospect in your list. Google them, check out their LinkedIn profile, watch podcasts, or find interesting articles that they have written. 

Then think: CCQ

Write a specific Compliment, Commonality, or Question in a custom intro sentence.

This gets the conversation started. 

Here are some examples:

“Jane, your webinar on the effects of screen time on children’s mental health really resonated with me. 

As a mom of 2 and an advocate of natural medicine, I would love to connect with you and pick your brain on XYZ?”

Or

“Hey David, got a sales question for you…

Personally, do you believe we should always add personalization in our cold emails? Or is it overrated?

Thanks

Jack

Or

“Hey, Benji. 

I met {{common connection/ referral }}at a content marketing conference, and he said that you’re the guy to talk to about {{pain point}}. Would love to hear your approach to XYZ.”

Copywriting tips

• Leave the sales pitch for an actual call

• Use the 90/10 rule. Speak about the prospect 90% of the time and only 10% about yourself, just for context.

• Be transparent, you should mention in a follow-up why you’re reaching out, or what your company does. 

• Offer the prospect something in return – For example, you could offer to introduce them to someone of value in your network, or a guest post on your blog.

• Keep your messages short and to the point. Don’t write anything longer than a sentence or 2.

• Ensure that your LinkedIn profile looks professional and enticing. When you use your profile as a sales page for yourself or your business, you’re going to end up with a ton of potential customers reaching out to you because you look like a leader in your industry. 

• Don’t use automation for every single message. Sure, at SalesBread, we use sales prospecting tools like Expandi to automate follow-up messages, BUT once a prospect replies, we reply in real-time with a human. 

• Don’t use AI to write your messages

Follow up consistently

Effective prospecting needs a follow-up process.

Some salespeople follow up too often, and then some never follow up. When using LinkedIn, it’s pretty easy to follow up.

Unlike cold calling, where a prospect can ignore your call, with LinkedIn, you can be sure that your message gets sent and seen. 

At SalesBread, we have found that the best way to follow up is by using the Fibonacci sequence.

If we don’t, we will then take the prospect off our list, or add them to a cold email or SMS campaign.

When we follow up, we will add more personalization and mention something of value to the prospect. 

For example, we might drop in 1 positive thing about our product/service that could make their life easier, or name-drop a big client. 

We will then make it as easy as possible for the prospect to reply by saying they can simply reply with a one-word answer, like:

“Just reply yes if this is something on your radar, or if you would like more info.”

Simple… Just remember to always make it about the prospect. Think about how you would feel if you were in their shoes. 

What can you say to make your proposition as valuable as possible for them? If you can nail that, then you’re winning at outbound. 

Ask for a booked phone call /meeting

Lastly, don’t be scared to ask for a booked sales call. 

The clearer your CTA is, the better. 

This lets your prospects know exactly what you want from them. 

So, whether you would like a booked sales call or would like to direct the potential client to your website, say it in your message. 

It could be as simple as saying:

• “Let’s hop on a quick 10-minute phone call next week?”

• “Forgot to share the link to my podcast, here it is….”

• “Here’s my calendar link. Feel free to book a time that works for you.”

• “Would you like me to liaise with your PA and book a quick call?”

• “You could always send me your calendar link, and I can book a quick call next week.”

• “How does a 5-minute call sound?”

This prospecting method works every single time.

7000 qualified leads and hundreds of happy clients show us that this sales process is an asset to any b2b company that needs more leads. 

Check out some of our case studies below.

Some case studies to read over…

• Is Lead Generation Worth It? Case Study – 67 Qualified Leads in 8 Weeks

• B2B SaaS Growth Strategy – How We Generated 183 Sales Leads in 130 Business Days

• LocalEyes Case Study – 78 Qualified Leads in 60 Days.

• Fintech Lead Generation Case Study – How we generated 118 leads in 8 weeks

• IT Lead Generation Case Study – 293 Leads Generated, 41% Average Reply Rate

As you can see, this b2b prospecting technique works in many different industries. We have helped clients find leads in the fintech space, video production, marketing SaaS, HR, law, education, and even health and wellness. 

(Book a free 15-minute strategy session here.)

Cold Email Outreach: A Top B2B Tactic That Still Works

Cold email outreach is still one of the top B2B tactics for initiating outreach and getting in front of potential prospects. When done right, it’s a great prospecting strategy that helps sales teams connect with potential business customers in a scalable way.

The key is personalization and building ultra refined lists. Start with research on prospects so your message actually resonates with their needs, goals, and industry pain points.

Modern sales development representatives are stepping up their prospecting efforts with smart tools and thoughtful sales cadences.

Use marketing automation tools to stay efficient, but always ensure your emails feel human, not robotic.

If you want better results, align your outreach with your ideal customer profile and buyer personas—this ensures your message lands with the right b2b buyers and boosts pipeline growth.

Referral Programs

Your satisfied customers can be your best prospecting game strategy.

Referral programs work wonders by leveraging social proof, trust, and networks to generate warm leads. It’s essentially inbound prospecting at its finest.

By creating structured incentives for referrals, sales professionals can tap into networks already familiar with your brand. This doesn’t just improve sales opportunities, it often results in faster sales cycles and higher conversion rates.

Content Marketing and SEO

If you’re not leveraging content marketing, you’re missing out on an effective sales prospecting method that builds long-term trust.

This B2B prospecting guide wouldn’t be complete without talking about content that attracts prospective customers passively, but positively.

From blog posts and case studies to videos and webinars, valuable content helps establish your team as thought leaders.

Plus, when optimized for SEO and distributed via social channels, it boosts inbound prospecting and builds brand awareness.

Content plays a huge role in modern social selling, helping you build relationships before making a pitch.

Cold Calling: Is Still Alive, Still Kicking

Cold calling may feel old-school, but it still plays a role in a complete b2b sales prospecting process.

Especially for outbound prospecting, it allows sales development representatives to directly engage with potential buyers and find sales opportunities.

It’s all about timing, tone, and targeting.

Align your calls with your ideal customer profile, and always come armed with insights from your research on prospects.

While it’s not for everyone, when done strategically, cold calling can help turn prospects into customers and shorten the b2b sales cycle.

Use Short Loom Videos: Stand Out in the Inbox

We love using Loom videos to reach out to interested prospects in our email list.

Text emails are fine, but if you want to level up your outbound sales, try sending a quick personalized Loom video.

It adds a human touch and helps you stand out in crowded inboxes—a true game-changer in the future of prospecting.

These videos let sales professionals showcase their personality while addressing the specific needs of potential business customers.

You could even just ask if there’s anything that you could help them with, or share how you helped a company similar to theirs find leads.

It’s like a mini demo tailored to your buyer personas.

Pair your Loom with strong copy and smart sales cadences, and you’ll increase reply rates.

FAQ’s

What are the best B2B prospecting methods for 2025?

In 2025, the best B2B prospecting methods include:

• Using data analytics to build targeted outreach lists

• Making use of social media platforms, such as LinkedIn, Instagram, and TikTok, for networking, engagement, and building authority.

• Attending industry events and conferences for networking opportunities

• Creating personalized email campaigns, LinkedIn outreach campaigns and and making use of AI-powered tools for building lists, lead scoring, and qualification.

How important is data analytics in B2B prospecting?

Data analytics is a total no brainer for B2B prospecting. Why? It allows businesses to segment and target potential leads more effectively.

By analyzing data, companies can identify trends, optimize their prospecting strategies, and personalize their outreach efforts for better results.

Can social media be used for B2B prospecting?

Yes, social media platforms such as LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram should be used for B2B prospecting if you want to stay ahead of the competition.

Businesses can use these platforms to connect with potential leads, share valuable content, and engage in conversations to build relationships and eventually convert leads into customers.

What role do AI-powered tools play in B2B prospecting?

AI-powered tools are becoming more popular for B2B prospecting. The reason?

These tools can automate processes, analyze data more efficiently, and provide valuable insights for lead scoring and qualification.

Just be cautious when using AI for personalization and copywriting. We have personally found that this isn’t where AI shines. Humans still do a better job at writing.

Need help with your b2B sales prospecting process?

Hop on a free 15-minute strategy session with the founder of SalesBread, Jack Reamer. We would love to help you crush your quota.