Closing is infinitely harder if the person you’re selling to doesn’t want your product or doesn’t have the means to buy. Many sales reps face this issue, and it starts with lead generation.
You're not just looking for leads—you’re looking for the ones that matter. Sales qualified leads (SQLs) are those prospects who aren’t just curious; they’re serious.
They have the interest, budget, and decision-making power to move forward. We’re here to show you the best places to find these high-value leads.
Where Can You Find Sales Qualified Leads?
SQLs come from a variety of places. You just need to know where to look. Here are some of the best channels to look into:
Cold Email Outreach
Cold email outreach is about finding opportunities, not making a hard sell. SDRs start by refining their ideal customer profile (ICP) to focus on leads most likely to buy.
Tools like Instantly B2B Lead Finder can help automate the process by filtering leads based on criteria like revenue or company size.
Once you’ve built a lead list, your cold email campaign aims to gauge interest and identify buying intent through email copy that resonates with their needs and pain points.
If a lead shows interest and has the means to buy, they’re now sales-qualified and ready to be passed on to account executives (AEs) to nurture and close.
LinkedIn Prospecting
LinkedIn is one of the best places to prospect for sales qualified leads. Tools like Sales Navigator help SDRs filter prospects by job title, industry, or location to build targeted lead lists.
The only issue is that you must first request a connection to leads. You can use InMail to send messages without a connection if you have Sales Nav. However, requests are limited.
Website Visitor Identification Tools
Most visitors leave your website without engaging with landing pages, chatbots, or forms. But that doesn’t mean they’re uninterested in your product.
Website visitor identification uncovers who’s browsing, their company, and the pages that caught their attention. You can use this information to personalize warm outreach.
Instantly Website Visitor Identification can filter visitors who match your ICP. That means you get sales-qualified leads from the jump. Since they’re warm leads, they’re more likely to convert.
Inbound Marketing Strategies
Inbound marketing attracts leads by offering valuable content that addresses their needs. Blogs, videos, and eBooks focused on solving common pain points can draw in the right audience.
Use lead magnets, such as free guides or templates, to capture leads in exchange for contact information. Pair this with SEO to ensure your content ranks high in search results.
Once leads engage, nurture them with email campaigns or retargeting ads that address their interests. This approach turns visitors into warm, sales-qualified leads.
Referrals and Word of Mouth
Referral leads are typically close to being sales-qualified. They come pre-nurtured, thanks to the trust built by the person who referred them.
To generate more referral leads, offer incentives or rewards for customers who recommend you. Ask satisfied clients for introductions to peers or colleagues who might benefit from your product.
Referrals often lead to warm conversations, making them one of the most effective ways to fill your pipeline with high-quality, sales-ready prospects.
Quick Checklist for Identifying Sales Qualified Leads
Regardless of where you’re finding sales-qualified leads, this quick checklist can help you solidify your process:
- Define Your ICP: Identify the industries, company sizes, revenue, and roles that align with your target audience.
- Assess Interest Levels: Look for signals like repeated website visits, engagement with your emails, or downloading key resources.
- Verify Budget: Confirm that the lead has the financial means to afford your product or service.
- Check Authority: Ensure you’re speaking with someone who has the power to make or influence purchasing decisions.
- Evaluate Urgency: Determine if the lead is ready to buy now or in the near future. Leads with an immediate need are a higher priority.
- Leverage Data and Tools: Use tools like website visitor identification, LinkedIn Sales Navigator, or lead finders to qualify leads faster and more accurately.
Best Tools for Identifying Sales Qualified Leads
A big part of finding SQLs is using the right tools. Remember, there are different lead qualification strategies, each requiring specific tools. Here’s what you should consider:
Customer Relationship Management Tools
CRMs let you find sales qualified leads by giving insight into data like engagement history, behavioral insights, and lead scores. Before investing in a CRM, ensure that it can:
- Automate sales lead qualification
- Integrate with outreach tools
- Give actionable insights on lead data
- Seamlessly assign leads to sales reps
- Create customizable sales pipelines and lead statuses
With Instantly CRM, you can use Salesflow to automate sales lead qualification and outreach. It lets you combine conditions to filter SQLs like lead status, email clicks, and replies.
Outreach Tools
Outreach tools help identify SQLs by tracking engagement with email campaigns. Look for tools that provide data on email opens, link clicks, and replies so you can gauge interest and intent.
Go for outreach tools that match your prospecting strategy. Here are some tools to consider:
- Instantly.ai: Best for cold email marketing, lead generation, and lead management
- HubSpot: Best for nurturing subscribers and integrations with sales software
- Pipedrive: Best for sales pipeline management and revenue forecasting
Enrichment Tools
Enrichment tools fill in the gaps in your lead data. With enriched data, you can better understand prospects and tailor your approach to their specific needs.
Clearbit is a top-tier enrichment tool that offers detailed lead insights. However, its steep pricing has led many businesses to explore more cost-effective alternatives.
Key Takeaways
Identifying a sales qualified lead helps reps focus their efforts on prospects most likely to convert. As a quick refresher, here are some key points you might’ve missed:
- Leverage the Right Channels: To uncover SQLs, use cold email, LinkedIn prospecting, website visitor identification, and referrals.
- Utilize Tools Strategically: CRMs, outreach platforms, and enrichment tools streamline lead qualification and ensure you’re focusing on high-value opportunities.
- Define and Follow a Process: Identify your ICP, assess interest and urgency, and verify budget and authority to qualify leads effectively.
- Automate and Optimize: Integrate tools like Instantly.ai to automate outreach, scoring, and follow-ups for efficient lead management.
- Nurture Warm Leads: Whether through inbound marketing or referrals, warm leads often convert faster and with less effort.
If you want to find sales qualified leads through cold email marketing, there’s no better tool than Instantly.ai. Try it out for free today!
