Sales prospecting was born with the sales profession. Only before the internet, it was much more difficult. In short, it's the process of identifying the right people to target and sell your company's product or service to.

Before the advent of the internet, sales reps had to work a lot harder just to find new prospects and personalize their outreach efforts. Gathering information about potential buyers was an arduous process that required the many failed cold calls and yellow pages (for those of you who know what that is).

Lead generation and the sales cycle completely transformed in recent years. Fortunately for sales professionals, companies have evolved their sales prospecting processes and technology to boost efficiency, reduce speed, close more deals, and retain customers long-term.