how to use chatgpt for sales prospecting

Article

Using ChatGPT for Sales Prospecting and List Building

4 June 2025

Becca Eddleman

Sales prospecting is ripe for reinvention, and there’s never been a better time to accelerate and optimize your process. Using ChatGPT for sales prospecting is the new paradigm that you don’t want to miss.

With the old way of doing things, research took too long. Messaging felt impersonal and generic. And the reply rates? Brutal.

These are the problems every sales rep knows all too well. In fact, prospecting – the critical first step in building a pipeline – is often the least efficient part of the job.

Did you know the average cold email response rate hovers around 5.1%? This means over 94% of outbound emails go unanswered.

Welcome to the new world of using generative AI in your sales prospecting. Tools like ChatGPT don’t just automate busywork; they help you research faster, write smarter, and identify the best leads. When used right, AI becomes your unfair advantage.

In this article, you’ll learn how to use ChatGPT for sales prospecting across two tactical areas:

Messaging
- Building multi-step sequences
- Writing messages that get replies
List Building
- Identifying new verticals
- Finding lookalike accounts based on ICP

Plus, you’ll get prompts that have been proven to work, along with practical tips to help you start integrating ChatGPT into your outbound workflow immediately.

Using ChatGPT for Messaging + Prompts to Try

Building Personalized Multi-step Sequences

Writing cold email sequences is where many reps stall; they either overthink the messaging or copy and paste templates that don’t convert. ChatGPT makes it easy and efficient to build sales emails that speak directly to your prospects’ pain points.

Instead of starting from scratch, use structured prompts to generate tailored messaging sequences.

Prompt to Try: Quick 10-Step Email Sequence that Focuses on a Prospect’s Pain Points

Draft a 10-step email sequence that naturally flows from one email to another. The sequence will consist of 7 emails and 3 LinkedIn InMail touchpoints, but not necessarily in that order. The email sequence will focus on 3 main pain points outlined in a recent job posting.

-Each email should be around 100 tokens, be succinct, avoid pleasantries, and focus on providing value to the reader by demonstrating how our services can solve the pain points provided.

-Each email should build upon the previous one or refer to it. And each subsequent email should help remind the reader of the full conversation.

-Each email should also have two subject line options.

The company is: [insert company]

The target audience is: [insert title or persona]

Their assumed pain points are:

Pain Point 1: [insert pain point]

Pain Point 2: [insert pain point]

Pain Point 3: [insert pain point]

Why it works:

- Combines email and LinkedIn touchpoints
- Prioritizes brevity and value
- Creates flow and narrative across the full sequence

You can ask ChatGPT to fine-tune the tone of the email, such as that of a “challenger,” “helpful expert,” or “curious connector.” Or ask it to rephrase for different buyer personas. You can also use it to generate A/B subject line variants and test them across sequences.

Writing Messages That Get Replies

Getting replies isn’t just about clever subject lines or catchy intros. It’s about relevance, showing the prospect you understand their priorities and have something worth their time. ChatGPT can help you write better messages by combining real context with clear value.

Prompt to Try: Researching a Person to Secure a Meeting

I’m going to give you information from a person’s LinkedIn profile and a link to their company website.

The goal is to book a meeting with this person.

To start, please summarize the provided information and suggest the best ways to secure a meeting with this person.

Also, create a sample initial outreach email that is professional but to the point. Avoid any unnecessary jargon.

The person’s name is [insert name]

Their company link is [insert company URL]

Their industry is [insert industry]

Here is the information from their LinkedIn profile

[insert copy/paste of person’s profile page]

What this does:

- Condenses prospect research into a few lines
- Creates a tailored message aligned to the individual’s background and company
- Eliminates the fluff and focuses on the value prop

Pair this with intent signals (content interaction, job change, hiring activity) and you’ll dramatically increase your hit rate.

Prompt to Try: Using Job Listings to Pitch Similar Services

I found this job listing on LinkedIn and want to draft a cold email to the [insert role or title] at the company. The goal is to show how our company can help cover the responsibilities outlined in the job description and reduce revenue loss while the role is unfilled.

I’ll upload a document that provides background on our company, what we offer, and how we typically help teams in this situation.

Here’s the job title and description from the LinkedIn job listing post: [Paste job title and description here]

- Job listings = real-time pain points
- Your message becomes a solution, not a pitch
- ChatGPT can even pull role-specific language to echo in your copy

This is one of the fastest ways to personalize outreach at scale, especially when filtered by function, seniority, or company type.

Prompt to Try: Construct a Targeted Lead Nurturing Strategy

Construct a targeted lead nurturing strategy for prospects in [Insert Industry/Segment] who have interacted with our content [Insert Interaction Type – e.g., Webinar, Download, Inquiry] but have not yet converted, focusing on personalized follow-ups and engagement tactics.

This prompt generates:

- Follow-up messaging
- Suggested cadence and timing
- Specific value adds tied to the original interaction

Use this for webinar attendees, people who downloaded the guide, or anyone who showed intent but hasn’t moved forward.

Tool Recommendation: Help Me Book a Meeting With…

Skaled’s Help Me Book a Meeting With… GPT is designed specifically for writing smart, context-rich outreach. You can:

- Upload a LinkedIn profile and company URL
- Identify pain points
- Generate a high-converting message in one prompt

It’s your shortcut to messaging that actually earns responses.

Using ChatGPT for List Building + Prompts to Try

Prospecting doesn’t work if you’re chasing the wrong accounts. You can also use ChatGPT to identify new verticals, uncover untapped segments, and generate lists of high-fit companies based on who you’ve already closed. It’s market mapping made fast.

Identifying New Verticals

If you’ve had success in one industry, there’s a good chance you can expand into adjacent markets, but which ones?

Rather than guessing, use ChatGPT to analyze what’s worked and extrapolate where those same value props could resonate next.

Prompt to Try: Identifying Potential Verticals for Expansion

Identify potential verticals for expansion by comparing our successful client engagements in [Industry/Vertical].

Provide a summary of success stories, how they might resonate in new verticals [Insert New Verticals], and actionable steps to approach these markets.

How this helps:

- Surfaces new GTM targets based on real wins
- Suggests positioning language for those verticals
- Recommends next steps for testing outreach

Use this to bring marketing and sales into alignment, and reduce time wasted on cold outreach into mismatched segments.

Finding Lookalike Accounts Based on ICP

You already know who your best customers are. The question is how to find more like them. ChatGPT can help generate high-fit, lookalike lead lists based on your existing customer base and ICP.

By systematizing the process of identifying net-new targets, you can save countless hours of manual scraping and guessing.

Prompt to Try: Find Me Lookalike Leads

I want to generate high-fit, lookalike leads for my sales outreach.

Here’s what I need:

Step 1: Analyze this current client: [Insert client website link]. Then identify their industry, size, what they offer, and who they serve.

Step 2: Based on this description of my company, identify the kind of companies that are the best fit for us.

[Insert a few sentences about your company, product, ICP, and key differentiators.]

Step 3: Now give me a list of 10 similar companies that match the profile of our successful client and fit our ICP.

For each one, include: name, website, size, industry, and a short sentence on why it’s a good fit.

What you’ll get:

- 10 tailored, high-fit companies
- A quick rationale for each one
- A lead list you can start working today

This is especially useful for SDRs building territory plans or AEs doing strategic account expansion.

Tool Recommendation: Help Me Find Lookalike Leads

For a faster version of this, use Skaled’s Help Me Find Lookalike Leads GPT. It automates the full process:

- Ingests client and ICP data
- Returns a curated list with insights
- Cuts research time dramatically

The Real ROI of ChatGPT in Sales Prospecting

Prospecting is still one of the biggest time sucks in sales, but it doesn’t have to be that way.

With ChatGPT, you can compress research time, generate relevant messaging, and build better lists, all in a fraction of the time it used to take. That means more time spent in actual conversations and less stuck in prep mode.

Here’s what the ROI looks like:

- Faster research → Instant summaries of leads and companies
- Smarter messaging → Higher reply rates with less rewriting
- Better targeting → Higher-quality accounts added to your pipeline

In an era where speed and relevance win deals, generative AI isn’t just helpful, it’s your competitive edge.

Power Up Your Prospecting with Skaled’s AI Assistants (GPTs)

If you’re ready to streamline your prospecting process, Skaled’s AI Assistants for Sales were built exactly for this.

👉 Use Help Me Book a Meeting With… to research leads and generate meeting-ready outreach.

👉 Try Help Me Find Lookalike Leads to discover new high-fit accounts based on your best customers.

👉 Practice with Cold Call Role-Playing to prep for real objections and improve your delivery.

These tools are designed to save you time, sharpen your strategy, and help you close more, without burning out your team.