What Is a Sales Opportunity: Leads vs Sales Opportunities

“To succeed, jump as quickly at opportunities as you do at conclusions.” — Benjamin Franklin

Of course, before you put your gym shoes on, you need to step back and look at your sales process. Does your sales team know what distinguishes sales opportunities from leads? Are they prioritizing their time and channeling their efforts where they get the most returns?

It is important to define what a sales opportunity is. As basic as this sounds, your definition becomes the qualifiers that move people from lead to opportunity.

It gives your sales reps guidelines to follow so they can manage their leads consistently with the rest of the team. And, in turn, you get forecasting accuracy and a true picture of where people and accounts are in your sales pipeline.

Leads vs. Sales Opportunities

Simply put, sales opportunities are people or accounts that have been qualified. You’ve called these contacts and talked about their needs.

You’ve assessed their fit.

They’re in your pipeline and are in touch with you. You feel good about the possibility of closing the deal.

Contrast this with leads. A lead is just a contact that you have few information about. It could be a marketing-generated lead, which is inbound and top-of-the-funnel. The contact might have downloaded content or filled out a form. Or, it could be a sales-generated lead, gathered through efforts of your outbound sales team or SDRs.

Communication lies in between. You need to talk to your leads, and gather enough information to help you qualify them. Do they share the top characteristics typical of your sales opportunities? Can you justify devoting more of your time and effort to nurturing these leads?

Top Characteristics of Sales Opportunities

“Find your trigger. Find the qualities that make a lead more likely to convert, and focus on those leads.” – Brian Kardon, CMO at Lattice Engines, a B2B cloud applications company.

In time, you will notice similar characteristics that are shared by leads who convert to sales opportunities. Take note of the top three: need, interest and fit. These characteristics help you come up with an accurate profile of your ideal customer. You can then focus your efforts on nurturing leads that more or less fit into this mold.

• Need: This pertains to the common pain points shared by your ideal customers. Your qualified sales opportunities experience a similar problem. The primary motivation to buy is to fix this problem and lessen the pain. Your sales rep’s job is to help identify the pain and frame your product as the best-fit salve.
• Interest: Having a need for your product – or a pain point that has to be resolved – is just the start. Need does not always translate to interest. For instance, a start-up might need a CRM software. But, if they’re set on using MS Excel for their client management needs, a CRM system is going to be difficult to sell.
• Fit: Here, you need to consider your product and how it fits into your lead’s current business and its capacity. Because, as much as you are able to lessen pain points, a SMB is not a good fit if your product is enterprise-scale. A business with a few hundred bucks to spare will not be able to buy your million dollar solution.

How to Manage Your Sales Opportunities

“It’s not about having the right opportunities. It’s about handling the opportunities right.” – Mark Hunter, author, speaker and lead expert at The Sales Hunter

In a lot of ways, the line between closed deals and lost sales depends on how you manage sales opportunities. Here are some things to consider:

1. Accurately qualify your leads: There may be cases wherein you promote your leads to sales opportunities prematurely. It could be that the lead needs further nurturing, and is not yet sales-ready. When you inaccurately qualify your leads, you end up devoting your efforts on opportunities that take longer to close.

2. Know your buyer: It takes trust and rapport when you want to develop business relationships from your sales opportunities. To get to this point, you need to know your prospective buyer like the back of your hand. So, do the groundwork and understand your prospect’s business, their buying processes, needs/ motivations and the decision-making team, among other aspects.

3. Know your prospect’s obstacles to buying: There are always perceived risks when buying a product or solution. Understand what might keep a prospect from making a purchase and address these issues.

4. Track the deal’s progress: Once a lead becomes an opportunity, it becomes more important to track deal milestones, instead of monitoring activity levels. A prospect’s time on your website, their downloads and all that are still good indicators of interest. However, you need to focus more on where they are in the decision-making process and their requirements to move this process along.

5. Don’t be afraid to disqualify: Not all sales opportunities move to the next stage. Some of them become lost opportunities due to something that you discover as you engage with them. When this happens, don’t be afraid to disqualify. This is ultimately better than devoting your time to opportunities you can’t close.

Increasing Online Sales through Social Media

In the digital age, social media is a pivotal arena for sales opportunities. Nearly every retail business is active on multiple social platforms, leveraging their vast audience base for sales growth. But it’s not just about presence; it’s about strategy.

• Engaging Content: The key is to create content that resonates with your target audience. Understand their interests and preferences to tailor your messages. It’s about striking a balance between promotional material and value-added content.
• Platform-Specific Strategies: Each social media platform has its unique environment and audience. For instance, LinkedIn is ideal for B2B sales, while Instagram might be more suitable for visually appealing consumer products.
• Interactive Campaigns: Use polls, live sessions, and Q&A features to engage your audience. This interaction not only builds relationships but also provides valuable insights into customer preferences.
• Leveraging Influencers: Collaborating with influencers can amplify your reach. Choose influencers who align with your brand values and have an engaged audience.

By tactically harnessing the power of social media, businesses can significantly boost online sales, reaching a broader and more engaged audience than ever before.

Becoming a Thought Leader

Thought leadership is a game-changer. Thought leaders are seen as trusted experts in their field, influencing opinions and leading conversations.

Their insights and knowledge can shape industry trends and buyer decisions.

• Sharing Expertise: Regularly publish articles, blog posts, and whitepapers that showcase your expertise. Focus on providing solutions to common problems in your industry.
• Speaking Engagements: Participate in webinars, podcasts, and industry conferences. These platforms offer a chance to share your insights with a broader audience.
• Social Media Presence: Leverage social media to share your content and engage in industry-related discussions. LinkedIn, in particular, is a powerful tool for professional networking and thought leadership.
• Collaborations: Collaborate with other industry experts. This not only broadens your reach but also adds credibility to your brand.

Becoming a thought leader is about consistently providing value and staying ahead of industry trends. It positions you and your business as the go-to source for insights and solutions, enhancing your sales opportunities.

Prioritizing Inbound Sales Calls as Hot Leads

Inbound sales calls are golden opportunities.

These are potential customers who have already shown interest in your product or service. Prioritizing these leads is crucial for effective sales conversion.

• Quick Response: Time is of the essence. Respond to inbound queries promptly to show potential customers that you value their interest and time.
• Personalized Approach: Customize your responses based on the customer’s inquiry. This shows that you are attentive to their specific needs and are prepared to offer a tailored solution.
• Effective Tracking: Use CRM tools to track and manage inbound leads. This helps in organizing follow-ups and ensures that no lead is missed.
• Training and Scripts: Equip your sales team with effective scripts and training for handling inbound calls. They should be able to answer questions confidently and guide the conversation towards a sale.

Treating inbound sales calls as priorities not only improves the chances of conversion but also enhances customer experience and satisfaction.

Effectively Researching and Qualifying Prospects

Effective prospect research and qualification are the bedrock of successful sales. This process not only saves time but also ensures that sales efforts are focused on the most promising leads.

• In-depth Research: Begin with a comprehensive understanding of the prospect’s business, industry, and specific challenges. Utilize social media, company websites, and professional networks for insights.
• Qualification Criteria: Develop a clear set of criteria for qualifying prospects. This should include factors like budget, authority, need, and timeline (BANT).
• Engagement Tracking: Monitor prospect engagement through CRM tools. Pay attention to how they interact with your emails, website, and social media.
• Open Dialogue: Initiate conversations with potential prospects to gauge their interest and needs. Ask open-ended questions to understand their pain points and readiness to buy.

By meticulously researching and qualifying prospects, sales teams can focus their energies more effectively, increasing the likelihood of successful conversions.

Implementing a Free Trial

Offering free trials is a potent strategy to enhance sales opportunities. It allows prospects to experience the product firsthand, building trust and confidence in the purchase.

• Clear Value Proposition: Ensure that the free trial showcases the core benefits and features of your product. It should clearly demonstrate how it solves the customer’s problem.
• Ease of Access: Make the trial easy to start without cumbersome processes. The simpler it is to begin, the more likely prospects will engage.
• Support and Guidance: Provide excellent support during the trial period. This could include guided tutorials, FAQs, and responsive customer service.
• Feedback Mechanism: Implement a system to collect feedback from trial users. This information is invaluable for improving the product and tailoring your sales pitch.

Free trials can significantly influence purchasing decisions by reducing the perceived risk and allowing prospects to validate the product’s value themselves.

Sales Opportunity Stages

Understanding the stages of a sales opportunity is crucial for effective management and conversion. These stages outline the journey from lead generation to deal closure.

1. Lead Generation: Identifying potential customers who might be interested in your products or services.
2. Qualification: Assessing whether these leads have the potential to become customers based on predefined criteria.
3. Contact: Initiating communication with qualified leads to understand their needs and establish a connection.
4. Relationship Building: Developing trust and rapport with potential customers, often through consistent and valuable communication.
5. Meeting/Demo/Sales Call: Presenting your product or service to the customer, addressing their needs and concerns.
6. Deal Closing: Finalizing the sale with negotiations and agreement on terms.

Each stage requires specific strategies and actions. A well-defined understanding of these stages helps sales teams effectively guide prospects through the sales funnel towards a successful closure.

Conclusion

Mastering sales opportunities involves a multifaceted approach.

From leveraging social media and establishing thought leadership to prioritizing inbound calls and offering free trials, each strategy plays a vital role in converting prospects into customers.

Effectively researching and qualifying prospects ensures that sales efforts are concentrated on viable leads, while understanding the various stages of a sales opportunity enables better management and conversion rates.

Implementing these practices will lead to more effective sales processes, ultimately driving growth and success in any sales-driven organization.