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prospect

PROSS-pekt /ˈprɒspɛkt/

nounverbB2GREGMATSAT

BusinessSales

A person or company regarded as a potential customer or client.

A 'prospect' is more qualified than a 'lead'; they have been vetted and are likely to have a genuine need for the product.

The story behind the word. From 'pro-' (forward) and 'specere' (to look). It originally referred to a wide view of a landscape. In business, it means looking forward to see who might become a future customer.

Word relationships

potential: Potential is an adjective describing possibility; prospect is a noun for the person themselves.
candidate: Candidate is more common in hiring or elections; prospect is specific to sales.

customer: A customer has already bought; a prospect is still in the consideration phase.

Commonly confused with

lead: A lead is just a contact; a prospect is a lead that has been qualified as a good fit.

Word family

prospective (adjective): Likely to happen or be in the future.
prospecting (noun/verb): The act of searching for potential customers.

Collocations

qualified prospect
potential prospect
prospecting for leads
hot prospect

Example sentences

"The marketing team generates leads, but it's the sales team's job to turn them into a qualified prospect." Distinguishing between different types of potential buyers.
"We spent the entire morning prospecting for new clients in the healthcare sector." Using the verb form in a professional context.

Memory hook

Think of a gold prospector looking for gold in a river. You are looking for 'gold' in the form of a new customer. Looking forward to a sale.

When not to use

Do not use 'prospect' for someone who has already purchased; they are then a 'customer' or 'client'.

Fun facts

In the 1849 Gold Rush, 'prospectors' were people who searched for gold deposits, which is why we use the term for searching for customers today.