Boost your sales with the right management of your business opportunities

To be successful, a company needs to be in the right place at the right time. It needs to capture consumer needs as they emerge, and respond accordingly... if possible, before its competitors do!

This ability to seize a business opportunity is a key factor in the success of organizations, especially sales departments. It's the starting point of a whole process which, in the end, ideally culminates in a transaction.

But what exactly does this notion refer to? How do you identify a business opportunity and turn it into a sale? And what software can help you in this process?

Answers in this article.

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What is a business opportunity?

The business opportunity is an integral part of your sales process. It reflects behavior on the part of a prospect indicating a clear or potential interest in your offer.

👉 An example of a business opportunity: at a trade show, you talk to someone who agrees to leave their contact details so that you can get back in touch with them and find out more about your products or services. This curiosity expresses a business opportunity.

As such, it becomes part of your sales cycle. In other words, you need to take it through the various stages to closing. That's why this notion goes hand in hand with that of CRM and its sales pipeline.

💡To be clear: a business opportunity can also be understood in a broader sense, i.e. as the creation of new business, the seizure of new market shares, the opening up of international markets, etc. Here, it all starts with an idea (the launch of an innovative product, for example)... as long as it's value-creating and likely to have a real impact on a given segment of the population.

In all cases, a qualified business opportunity emerges from consumers/customers. In a way, it's the response you provide to your prospects' requests at a given moment.

What's the difference between a business opportunity and a lead?

Lead and business opportunity are two key concepts in the sales cycle. They are both part of a logic of progression, but do not designate the same level of maturity in the prospect-company relationship.

The lead corresponds to an identified contact, often via a form, a download or a newsletter subscription. They show an initial interest, sometimes still vague. This weak signal may be the result of a one-off marketing action, without any concrete commitment on the part of the prospect.

A business opportunity, on the other hand, reflects a real or emerging need. The prospect has expressed a more obvious interest in your solution, is looking to solve a specific problem, and your offer falls within their field of thought. At this stage, we speak of a qualified lead, integrated into the sales pipeline.

The transition from lead to opportunity is not automatic. It requires qualification work (calls, exchanges, scoring, etc.) to detect the right moment to activate the sales approach.

👉 To put it simply:

• a lead is like an attention signal;

• the opportunity defines a plausible purchase intention.

What does a business opportunity contain?

To ensure optimal follow-up over time, the business opportunity managed on CRM software integrates various pieces of information.

Here are the main ones:

• The contact and all associated information, such as contact details, event history, interactions with your company, etc.
  
  
• The owner, i.e. the salesperson in charge of managing this opportunity right through to closing the sale. In some complex cases, several players may be involved.
  
  
• The source, or the channel through which the opportunity is generated: contact form, trade event, SEA campaign, etc. In any case, this information is always good to know to determine your best acquisition levers.
  
  
• Probability of success and sales potential. With this data, you can understand the stakes involved and allocate your efforts accordingly.
  
  
• The pipeline, i.e. the different phases of your sales tunnel (making contact, appointments, etc.). As you can see, the aim is to move your sales opportunity from one stage to the next.

Of course, the business opportunity is bound to "end". So it's a good idea to determine what corresponds, in your process, to its completion: the sending of the quotation? the invoice?

Similarly, ask yourself when you consider this opportunity to be lost. For example, after three unanswered follow-up calls, it's best to let it go.

How to find business opportunities in 3 steps?

Step 1: Understand your market and target group

Identifying business opportunities involves understanding :

• your market and your environment, so that you can perceive both current and emerging issues. Remember, it's all about being more reactive than your competitors. For example, why not position yourself on Google Ads keywords related to a new trend?
  
  
• of your target audience, by precisely identifying your personas. Who are they? And above all, what are their deepest needs?

In this respect, the explosion of the Internet has greatly simplified things. All you need to do is be where your potential customers are, and listen to what they have to say in exchanges on social networks, forums and so on.

There are also software programs that can carry out this monitoring work for you, spotting trends, but also the actions of your competitors.

💡 Special mention for PESTEL analysis, based on the exploration of micro-environmental factors (political, economic, socio-cultural, etc.) surrounding you. Useful for detecting risks... but also opportunities!

Step 2: Responding concretely to a need

Once you know what the market opportunities are, ask yourself how your offer responds to them.

This involves perfectly mapping out your value proposition, i.e. the assets you have at your disposal to address your target's needs and build your sales pitch.

Of course, you'll need to find that extra something that sets you apart from your competitors. Don't forget that you're not alone in your market, and that your prospects regularly deal with other salespeople!

Step 3: Capturing leads

Now it's time to make yourself known to your potential customers, so as to bring leads into your sales pipeline.

Here, you have several strings to your bow.

The first is inbound marketing, which exploits the digital ecosystem to find business opportunities online. It's based on the distribution of quality content, tailored to the needs of your target audience. The objective? Obtain your prospects' contact details, using a contact form for example. The advantage of this method lies in the generation of qualified leads.

At the same time, there's always the good old-fashioned technique of commercial prospecting: events, teleprospecting, field prospecting and so on. But here too, practices are modernizing, as witness the boom in social selling.

Examples of business opportunities

Business opportunities take many forms, depending on the sector, the context and the maturity of the prospect.

Here are a few concrete examples, taken from common B2B situations:

• An incoming call from a decision-maker wanting to know more about a specific solution. He has a budget, a defined need, and is looking for a responsive service provider.
  
  

• A former customer contacting you again after several months of inactivity for a new project. In this case, you know they're already familiar with your offerings and have confidence in you.
  
  

• A dormant prospect suddenly interacting with high value-added content (webinar, case study, simulator, etc.), showing renewed interest.
  
  

• A request for a demonstration via your website. The consumer wants to try out your solution for themselves, and thus enters a phase of active evaluation.
  
  

• A referral from a partner or satisfied customer. Here, the recommendation acts as a gas pedal, and you leave with a favorable initial impression.
  
  

• A call for tenders to which your company is invited to respond. Even if the competition remains, the opportunity is real.
  
  

• Entering a new market following a competitive or sector watch. An under-exploited geographical area, an under-addressed customer segment... these are all levers for creating value.

A business opportunity can be the result of a direct signal or a proactive strategy. The important thing is to know how to quickly qualify its potential!

💡Note: the more active your market watch, the greater your chances of detecting opportunities before your competitors do.

What tools can you use to manage your business opportunities?

There's no doubt about it, the best tool for handling your business opportunities is still your CRM.

Customer Relationship Management software will support you in the meticulous monitoring of your operations and interactions with your customers.

More specifically, a good commercial CRM should include the following functionalities:

• management and centralization of contacts and all customer information ;
• management of sales actions and the sales pipeline;
• reporting and monitoring of sales performance;
• automation of recurring, time-consuming tasks.

Sellsy Prospection & Vente, for small and medium-sized businesses, is just one example. 100% French, Sellsy supports your sales process from start to finish. It features a highly intuitive pipeline view. This means you can handle your business opportunities efficiently, right through to sending the quote and settling the invoice (electronic signature, online payment, etc.). And thanks to activity reports, you can monitor your sales force's performance with a view to improving it.

See all software Customer relationship management

What is a business opportunity?

A business opportunity is not always easy to seize: its value depends largely on its qualification.

Once captured, it's in your interest to treat it with intelligence, scrupulously respecting the stages of the sales pipeline: at the end of the tunnel, the prospect of a successful transaction and its positive impact on the company's sales.

Today, however, it's out of the question to do things by hand. A successful sales team is one that knows how to use the right software- the famous CRM.

These tools intelligently guide you through your processes and automate numerous tasks. The result is more time to focus on what matters most: understanding your customers and helping them to realize their projects.