Cold calling involves reaching out to someone who might not currently be interested in your programs or services. This kind of outreach usually is not enjoyable for anyone involved. Most sales professionals would much rather contact qualified leads—those people who have indicated a previous interest and could very well become buyers.

In the spectrum of sales, there’s a middle ground between the two, says Jay Fuchs, a writer for HubSpot. This middle ground is a warm prospect. A warm prospect is someone who is not necessarily a cold prospect but may not be fully qualified yet. And according to Fuchs, warm prospects are worth pursuing.

We discuss Fuchs’ thoughts on warm prospects and how to approach them in this issue of Promotional Consultant Today.

A Closer Look At Different Types Of Prospects
So, how exactly do you determine a warm prospect? Fuchs gives an example of three prospects: Timmy, Tommy and Tina. Let’s say you are a sales rep for Inbound Dog Chow, a dog food wholesaler that supplies shelters, pet stores and kennels.

In Fuchs’ example, Timmy is a cold prospect because he has never heard of Inbound Dog Chow. Tommy is a qualified lead because he has visited the company’s pricing page multiple times over the past few weeks. He’s the owner of an independent pet store, reads the company blog and has demonstrated he has the budget to make a purchase.

Tina is somewhere in between the two—she is a warm prospect. She runs a mid-size kennel and is aware of Inbound Dog Chow and started following the company Twitter account. She knows about your company, but you’re not sure if she’s the one in charge of making purchasing decisions.

Why It Pays To Pursue Warm Prospects
According to Fuchs, you should always contact warm prospects because they have an interest and awareness of your services. Warm prospects may even have provided their contact information, whether they gave their email address in exchange for a downloadable e-book or they offered their phone number for a printable checklist. Fuchs says you should capitalize on this—even if it’s only passing along an email with a helpful tip. This can be just the thing that helps guide warm prospects through your sales funnel.

To see more success in sales, it helps to know the kind of prospects you are contacting. Not everyone is aware of you or your business, while others might be qualified leads. The warm prospects—those who have already been receptive to your marketing—require a different approach. Remember that they are more likely to convert than a cold prospect, making them well worth the pursuit.

Compiled by Audrey Sellers

Source: Jay Fuchs is a junior staff writer for the HubSpot blog.