How to Identify Sales Opportunities

September 4, 2015

One of the most important things about sales opportunities is being able to identify them in all situations.

As many sales teams know, just because someone is interested in the product or service you are offering them, doesn’t necessarily mean that they are ready to commit to the purchase. However, being able to find an opportunity in their hesitation is what helps you close more deals and grows a pipeline of new business.

1. Buyer Personas

The first step to being able to spot an opportunity is establishing an ideal profile for your potential customer. Finding the right person, and personality, that aligns with your company’s mission and values gives you the best opportunity to think like your customers, which as a result, helps you better understand their pain points and how to solve them.

To establish your ideal audience and buyer persona figure out who you are targeting, specifically their role, responsibilities, etc. Next, establish their pain points, figure out what solutions they need; and finally, figure out what they specifically look for in a partnership or vendor relationship and prove that you have those qualities.

2. Integrate Marketing

Another way to recognize a business opportunity is to work that marketing magic into your sales calls. That’s right; prep your sales reps with all sorts of fun marketing facts that they can use to sway prospects. In addition to supplying your sales rep with marketing information, give them some marketing collateral to offer up. Get them hooked on your product by offering something like a complimentary eBook that only current customers have received, or set them up with a free trial. These are ways to give the extra push to purchase.

Whether it’s online or offline, make sure you are taking advantage of your marketing opportunities everywhere. You should already be attending conferences, trade shows, workshops, and networking events as a professional looking for new business, but the best way to take advantage of attending these events is to establish which ones your target audience attends most often.

Unfortunately, most prospects you meet, at any event you attend, won’t be ready to commit to purchasing at that moment. But, taking their email address and passing along interesting articles and content is a sure way to keep you at the forefront of their mind when they are deciding who to do business with.

3. Referrals

What better way to get new sales opportunities than to take advantage of the ones you already have. If you have dedicated customers, ask them to refer your company to others that they think would benefit from it. A referral from a friend is crucial because it allows someone to hear about the product through someone they trust, which increases their chances of purchasing. This also keeps consistent with the ideal customer persona your business looks for.

Identifying a sales opportunity is crucial in any business, but much of the opportunity comes from your approach. Click here to learn more about how Winmo enables your proactive prospecting strategy.

 

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