The B2B prospecting guide for 2025

Prospecting methods are evolving rapidly. What worked just 2-3 years ago no longer does today. In a few years, we've shifted from a mass approach aimed at reaching as many people as possible to a hyper-personalized, much more targeted strategy.

Email or LinkedIn prospecting perfectly illustrates this evolution. Previously focused on quickly securing a demo (often with the first email), the goal is now to provide value, spark the prospect’s interest, and engage in a dialogue. In 2025, it’s no longer enough to sell a product or service in the first interaction; it's about building a connection by offering solutions, advice, or useful content.

One of today’s leading strategies is the "give-first" approach: providing value right from the first contact helps build a trusting relationship and positions you as a potential partner rather than just a salesperson.

Successful B2B prospecting hinges on a key principle: reaching the right person, at the right time, with the right approach. It’s this combination that transforms a mere contact into a genuine business opportunity.

In this article, we present our method for effective prospecting in 2025.

What is B2B prospecting?

Before we dive in, let's define what we mean by B2B prospecting. It encompasses all actions aimed at directly contacting potential clients in a B2B (business-to-business) context.

This primarily includes outbound marketing strategies, which involve proactively reaching out to prospects. The main channels used are emails, phone calls, SMS, and LinkedIn messages.

Targeting: The key to successful B2B prospecting

Effective B2B prospecting starts with precise targeting. Before even contacting a prospect, it's essential to know who you're targeting and how you'll approach them.

Define your ICP

Your ICP (Ideal Customer Profile) is the perfect description of your target customer. In B2B, this often includes a combination of criteria such as:

• Industry sector
• Company size
• Revenue
• Tools and software they use

It's crucial to be as precise as possible in your targeting, while also knowing that you may have multiple ICPs based on your company's specific needs. By segmenting your ICPs and creating groups based on precise criteria, you can deliver messages perfectly tailored to each segment. As the saying goes, “if you try to reach everyone, you end up reaching no one,” so make sure to clearly identify your different ICPs—you won’t regret it.

Example of segmentation on Sales Navigator

Define your personas

Now that you've identified the companies to target, it's essential to specify the roles and profiles of the individuals you want to reach out to. For each segment, you should be able to identify both the potential users of your product and the key decision-makers (buyer personas). The more precise your targeting, the more relevant and tailored your approach will be.

Identify the right timing

In 2025, it's not enough to simply know your target; you also need to know when to contact them. Ideally, you should be able to identify signals that indicate it's the right time to approach a prospect. Commonly used signals include:

• A job change (e.g., a prospect joins a company that fits your ICP, or a former client moves to another company also within your ICP)
• A company raising funds
• Recent adoption of a new tool or software

These signals vary depending on the context and your company's needs.

Once these indicators are identified, the next crucial step is to obtain them. Intent detection tools can help spot common signals, such as job changes or funding rounds. However, for signals more specific to your business, it can be more complex. Be creative: websites often contain valuable information, and a little ingenuity can make a real difference. It's worth it!

Build a prospecting database with quality data

It would be a shame to invest so much effort in identifying your ICPs, personas, and intent signals, only to build a prospecting database with poor-quality data. Without the right emails, phone numbers, and LinkedIn profiles, your efforts could go to waste.

Therefore, it's essential to ensure you're working with high-quality data. There are numerous data providers, each with their strengths: some are better at finding email addresses, while others offer more reliable phone numbers. Ideally, choose tools that offer cascading enrichment, meaning they automatically fill in missing information from multiple sources, ensuring you have the most reliable data on the market.

Remember, the quality of the data you use directly impacts the effectiveness of your prospecting. It's better to invest in quality information than to waste time following up with inactive or poorly qualified contacts.

Sequences: Add value to better engage your prospects

We often hear about multichannel prospecting, and it’s true that reaching a prospect through different channels is essential. However, it's often forgotten that the most important element remains the message you send them. Thanks to the targeting work mentioned earlier, we're now able to deliver the right messages to the right people. And we're not going to skimp on that.

Set clear goals

Before launching a prospecting sequence, it's essential to set clear goals: number of leads to contact, expected response rate, number of conversions, number of appointments. These goals will allow you to measure the effectiveness of your actions and adjust your strategy in real-time. And remember, your main objective is to initiate a conversation, not to force an immediate appointment on your prospect's calendar.

Capture your prospects’ interest with tailored content

Your prospects receive dozens of solicitations each week. Therefore, it's crucial to stand out. Thanks to your targeting work, you already know you're contacting the right person at the right time. All that's left is to deliver the right message. If you're reaching out to this prospect, it's because the product you offer meets a real need.

You should highlight this problem from the start by immediately providing value, whether it's in the form of a whitepaper, a blog post, a webinar replay, a simulator, or an invitation to an event. Ensure that this content is directly related to your prospect's specific problem to capture their interest.

One of the advantages of sharing content is that it allows you to identify weak signals (like clicks on your links) that indicate potential interest. Take the time to think of 2 or 3 relevant pieces of content to share with your prospect. If you haven't created any yet, go ahead and create some—it will always be useful.

An email sequence should contain at least 3 messages. You can either focus on the same problem in each email (if it's particularly important) or use these emails to address different aspects or issues related to your prospect's needs.

Optimize your prospecting with a multichannel approach

Emails are great, but your prospects might miss them or not pay attention. To maximize your chances of reaching your prospects, it's important to diversify your communication channels. We recommend accompanying your email sequences with LinkedIn invitations and messages, using the same language elements in a more concise and direct manner. Additionally, targeted call sessions are highly recommended, as they often significantly increase the overall effectiveness of your campaigns.

However, be careful not to overdo it. If your prospect doesn't respond to your emails, LinkedIn messages, or calls, it's probably not the right time. In this case, it's best to reach out again at a more opportune moment.

Example of a multichannel sequence on Lemlist

BONUS: Posting on LinkedIn

Do you find it easier to read emails from people you know rather than from strangers? We do too! It's always easier to engage with someone you know (even from afar). That's why we recommend that sales teams responsible for prospecting build an audience, often via LinkedIn. By adding the profiles you’re prospecting on LinkedIn, you develop a network within your sector. So why not post at least once a month to provide value to your audience and demonstrate your expertise? This strengthens the credibility of your efforts and fosters engagement.

Follow-up: The decisive step

Rigorous follow-up is essential to maximize your chances of conversion. Many opportunities are lost simply because follow-ups aren't done at the right time or in the right manner.

Track clicks and engagement

With tracking tools, you can easily see if a prospect has clicked on a link in your email or visited your website. This information is valuable for assessing the level of your prospect’s engagement with your content. Based on these interactions, adjust your follow-up to offer more value or answer a specific question.

Call your hottest leads

Finally, don't hesitate to call your hottest leads—that is, those who show significant interest (multiple clicks, downloads, interactions on your site). These leads are often close to making a decision, and a phone call can make all the difference.

Conclusion

B2B prospecting in 2025 requires a strategy that is both strategic and human. By combining precise targeting, well-structured prospecting sequences, and rigorous follow-up, you'll increase your chances of success. We wish you excellent prospecting, and we'll share one last secret with you: prospecting with a smile is always more effective... and it's great for your health!