Opportunity Management Overview
What are Opportunities?
Opportunities represent potential sales in your pipeline. They help you track and manage potential deals from initial contact through to closed-won or closed-lost status. Each opportunity is associated with a specific client and has attributes like value, probability of closing, and expected close date.
Tip: Regularly update opportunity stages and probabilities to maintain accurate sales forecasting.
Opportunity Stages
Opportunities progress through several stages in your sales pipeline:
Prospect
Initial contact with a potential client. No formal proposal has been made yet.
Qualified
The prospect has been qualified and shows genuine interest in your services.
Proposal Sent
A formal proposal has been sent to the client for their consideration.
Negotiation
The client is negotiating terms, pricing, or other aspects of the deal.
Won
The deal has been successfully closed and the client has agreed to proceed.
Lost
The client decided not to proceed with the opportunity.
Key Attributes
Each opportunity has several important attributes that help you track and manage it effectively:
| Attribute | Description | Importance |
|---|---|---|
| Title | Brief description of the opportunity | High |
| Value | Estimated deal value in selected currency | High |
| Probability | Percentage chance of closing the deal (0-100%) | High |
| Stage | Current position in the sales pipeline | High |
| Close Date | Expected date when the deal will close | Medium |
| Source | How the opportunity was generated (referral, website, etc.) | Medium |
| Priority | Level of importance (low, medium, high, critical) | Medium |
Best Practices
- Update opportunity stages regularly to reflect actual progress
- Adjust probability percentages based on new information and client feedback
- Add relevant tags to categorize opportunities by industry, size, or other criteria
- Set realistic close dates and update them as needed
- Track next actions and follow up consistently
- Record important notes and conversations with the client