To be successful, a business must be in the right place at the right time. It must capture the needs of consumers when they emerge and provide an appropriate response… if possible, before its competitors! Therefore, mainly from this ability to seize a business opportunity, organizations, especially commercial services, derive their success.
It constitutes the starting point of a whole process which, in the long term, ideally ends with a transaction. But what exactly does this notion refer to? How to identify a business opportunity and turn it into a sale? What software can support you in this process?
What Is A Business Opportunity?
The business opportunity is an integral part of your business process. It reflects a behavior on the part of a prospect indicating an apparent or potential interest in your offer. Example of a business opportunity: during a trade show, you exchange with an interlocutor who agrees to leave their contact details to be contacted and to obtain more information on your products or services. This curiosity does indeed express a business opportunity.
From then on, it becomes part of your sales cycle. In other words, you must evolve it through different stages until closing. This is also why this concept goes hand in hand with CRM and its sales pipeline. Namely: the business opportunity can also be understood in a broader sense, that is, business creation, entering new market shares, international opening, etc. Here, everything starts with an idea (launch of an innovative product, for Example)… provided that it is a vector of value and likely to affect a given population segment.
What Does The Business Opportunity Contain?
To ensure optimal follow-up over time, the business opportunity managed on CRM software integrates various information. Here are the main ones:
- The contact and all associated information, such as event history, interactions with your business, etc.
- The owner is the sales representative in charge of managing this opportunity until the conclusion of the sale. In certain complex cases, several actors are called upon to intervene.
- The source or the channel through which the opportunity is generated: contact form, professional event, SEA campaign, etc. Anyway, this information is always good to know to determine which are your best acquisition levers.
- The probability of success and the potential turnover to be expected. Thanks to this data, you understand the associated issues and distribute your efforts accordingly.
- The pipeline is the different phases of your sales funnel (contact, appointment, etc.). As you will have understood, the objective is to move your business opportunity from one stage to another.
Of course, the business opportunity is bound to “end”. It is then necessary to determine what corresponds, in your process, to its completion: the sending of the estimate. The invoices? Ditto, ask yourself when to consider this opportunity lost. For Example, it is better to give up after three reminders for a handshake left unanswered.
How To Find Business Opportunities In 3 Steps?
Step 1: Understand Your Market And Your Target
Detecting business opportunities requires understanding the following: Of your market and your environment to perceive current and emerging issues. Remember, it’s about being more responsive than your competitors. For Example, why not position yourself on Google Ads keywords related to a new trend? Of your target by the precise identification of your personas. Who are they? And above all, what are their deep needs? In this sense, the explosion of the internet has greatly simplified things.
You need to be where your potential customers are to listen to what they say during exchanges on social networks, forums, etc. There is also software capable of carrying out this monitoring work for you, of spotting trends, but also the actions of your competitors. Special mention for the PESTEL analysis, based on exploring the micro-environmental factors (political, economic, socio-cultural, etc.) that surround you. Helpful in detecting risks… but also opportunities!
Step 2: Respond Concretely To A Need
Once you know the market opportunities, ask how your offer responds. This work involves drawing up the outlines of your value proposition and the assets you have to address the needs of your target and build your sales pitch. Of course, you need to find the extra thing that sets you apart from your competitors. Remember that you are not alone in your market and that your prospects regularly deal with other salespeople!
Step 3: Capture Leads
Now is the time to make yourself known to your potential customers so that leads can enter your sales pipeline. Here you have several strings to your bow. One thinks first of all of the inbound marketing, which exploits the digital ecosystem to find online business opportunities. It is based on the distribution of quality content under the needs of your target.
The goal? Obtain the contact details of your prospects using a contact form, for Example. The advantage of this method lies in the generation of qualified leads. At the same time, the good old technique of commercial prospecting remains events, teleprospecting, field prospecting, etc. But here, too, practices are modernizing, as evidenced by the boom in social selling.
How To Turn Your Business Opportunities Into Sales?
To conclude a sale, it is necessary to bring a personalized solution to your lead at the right time, that is to say, adapted to his degree of maturity as regards his decision to buy. This work results in moving your business opportunity through the sales pipeline. Here is an example of the different steps that can make up the latter: Make an appointment once the contact details of the prospect have been obtained. This is sometimes the first contact with a company member if it has gone through a form, for Example.
- The meeting itself, during which you present your best sales pitch.
- Other appointments. This evaluation and negotiation phase differ significantly from one company to another. In some organizations, sales cycles are longer and more complex and require the intervention of several actors, etc. This is particularly the case when large sums are at stake.
- The commercial proposal, or the estimate, formalizes the solution provided to the customer and the prices, payment terms and other contractual elements to know. This step may still be subject to negotiation by both parties.
- The closing, or the long-awaited moment of the conclusion of your sale .
At each stage, collect as much information as possible about your lead, and carefully take notes during your exchanges. We can never remind you enough, but the more you provide a personalized response, the more your chances of success increase.
What Tools To Manage Your Business Opportunities?
As you will have understood, the best tool for dealing with your business opportunities is undoubtedly the CRM. Customer Relationship Management software will support you in carefully monitoring your operations and customer interactions. Specifically, a good business CRM should include the following features :
- the management and centralization of contacts and all customer information,
- the control of commercial actions and the sales pipeline,
- reporting and monitoring of retail performance,
- automation of recurring and time-consuming tasks.
Let us cite as an example the Sellsy Prospecting & Sales software, intended for VSEs and SMEs. 100% French, Sellsy supports your sales process from start to finish. In particular, it includes a very intuitive pipeline view. Thus, you process your business opportunities efficiently, right up to sending the quote and paying the invoice (electronic signature, online payment, etc.). And thanks to the activity reports, you follow the performance of your sales representatives to improve them.
Business Opportunity: What To Remember?
A business opportunity is only sometimes easy to seize: its value primarily depends on its qualification. Once captured, it is in your best interest to treat it intelligently to respect the stages of the commercial pipeline scrupulously: at the end of the tunnel, the prospect of a successful transaction and its positive impact on the company’s turnover.
Only today, it is out of the question to operate artisanally. A sales team that performs is a team that knows how to rely on the right software, the famous CRMs. These tools intelligently guide you through your processes and automate many tasks. The key is more time to focus on what matters most: understanding your client and supporting them as best they can in bringing their projects to fruition.
