Sales opportunities are what sales people live for. The thrill of identifying a lead and then pushing them through each stage until they sign on the dotted line is worth all the late nights, weekends, and stressful moments that come with it. 

No one likes to lose a deal; in this article we take a look at five key steps to help you turn lost sales into open sales opportunities.

We start sales opportunities at the research stage, when leads are just starting to show interest.

The first step is qualifying sales opportunities. At this point your lead may be ready for a demo or free trial of your product but they haven’t taken the next steps yet which make them sales qualified. 

Sales Qualified Leads (SQL) are sales opportunities that have completed the research stage and qualify for sales further down your sales funnel.

The next step is strategizing sales opportunities; we explain each one in detail. In this article, you will come to understand the characteristics of sales opportunities & the steps to follow on how to identify leads that are ready to close. 

No one likes to lose a deal. In this article, we take a look at five key steps to help you turn lost sales into open sales opportunities.

We continue sales opportunities through the execution stage; there are two parts: pre-call & call. A sales opportunity becomes sales closed when it is won or lost and will not enter your sales funnel again.

The opportunity review is a formal meeting with sales management to discuss closed deals and future sales opportunities, this helps you determine what types of leads are interested in your product for the next time around. 

In this article, we take a look at five key steps to help you turn lost sales into open sales opportunities.

We take a look at sales opportunities that can become sales closed. In this article you will come to understand the characteristics of sales opportunities & the steps to follow on how to identify leads that are ready to close. 

No one likes loss but in this article we take a look at five key steps to help you turn lost sales into open sales opportunities.

So, let’s take a look at five key steps to turn lost sales into open sales opportunities.

1. Analyze your sales process.

B2B sales is all about the numbers.

That's why it's important to take a step back and assess your "lost deal" stats.

Saving accurate records of all your sales opportunities is crucial to executing outstanding analysis. If a potential sale falls through, you'll have all of the relevant information at your fingertips if the transaction was documented.

All of the information you need to analyse your activities may be quickly obtained if you track your sales process and record notes at each stage in your CRM system.

2. Focus on “winning” sales opportunities.

Do you ever stay awake at night wondering what sales opportunities slipped through your fingers? 

This is a common lament in sales, but it's important to take time every morning to plan the day ahead. You should focus on winning sales opportunities that are still in play and turn them into closed deals.

Your efforts would be better spent if they were focussed on sales opportunities that are still within the sales funnel.

You may be able to recover a sales opportunity from certain types of lost sales if you focus your efforts and attention on winning sales opportunities rather than considering what could have been done differently in the past.

The next step is strategizing sales opportunities; we explain each one in detail.

3. Understand why deals are lost.

It's important to understand why deals are lost.

Sales managers should ask salespeople what they've learned from closed sales that didn't go their way; paying attention to the roadblocks and frustrations of sales reps will lead you closer to understanding where your business needs improvement. 

Before asking "what went wrong?", consider how much insight could be gained from salespeople telling you what went right with sales opportunities that were turned into sales closed.

When sales reps share their own personal experience and knowledge, managers can learn a lot more about the sales process than by simply asking "why did we lose?" 

If your team is willing to provide feedback on lost deals, consider them as valuable resources for future business success.

The next step is strategizing sales opportunities; we explain each one in detail. This article takes a look at five key steps to help you turn lost sales into open sales opportunities.

4. Keep the conversation going.

If you've lost a contract, it's possible that your customer wasn't ready to buy at the time.

As a result, it's critical to keep "on top of mind."

When they're ready to buy, you'll be the first company that comes to mind.

To engage with your customers and give relevant content when they need it, implement a social selling approach. When you're trying to close that sales opportunity in the future, this can make all the difference.

This is referred to as lead nurturing, and it has a beneficial impact on sales, such as:

Nurtured leads generate 20% more sales opportunities on average than non-nurtured leads, and Nurtured leads make 47% more purchases than non-nurtured leads.

You may also use email marketing to communicate with prospects about new material, events, and seminars, as well as other industry news.

5. Re-establish contact with lost prospects

Last but not least, don't give up.

It's always worth reaching out to lost prospects again after some time has passed since they told you they weren't interested, because you never know what might have changed for both of you over time. 

People acquire new abilities or requirements, so be ready to capitalise on a sales opportunity at any time.

It's simple to set up a follow-up method if you keep track of your sales prospects. Schedule a follow-up call for every missed opportunity. The time you arrange your follow-up call is determined by the length of the contract you were selling.

If you were selling a year's worth of services and lost the sale, for example, you'd want to be back in front of that prospect in 9 months.

You are aware that the time for them to renew their services is rapidly approaching. You want to be in front of them at that point. 

If you're still there after a year, it's too late... and you'll probably lose it. Again.

The middle section entails nurturing the sales lead to the point where it can be closed. This usually entails multiple talks in order to fully comprehend the customer's wants and identify how you may assist them.

Use the following six stages for each of these conversations:

1. Have a goal in mind

If you don't know why you're talking to a customer, it'll most likely be a waste of both your and the customer's time. Have a reason for phoning, even if you're just trying to create a friendship.

2. Conduct a fast search.

Check to see if the customer's business or industry has changed recently before approaching them. Check three places: the business news, the customer's website, and (if the customer is already a paying customer) within your own organisation.

Assume you're phoning XYZ Inc.'s vice president of manufacturing. Here's how you go about it:

Read the top stories on "XYZ Inc." on Google. Pay close attention to any financial outcomes or organisational changes that are announced.

For new press releases, new goods, and (particularly) new job positions, go to "XYZInc.com." This indicates where a company is expanding or in need of assistance.

3. Make a dialogue plan.

List the questions you'll ask during the conversation based on your aim (step 1) and what you've learned from your research (step 2). If your goal is to better comprehend your customer's purchase, for example, you might ask:

How have you previously purchased a product like this?

Who are the people who might be against the purchase?

What criteria does your supervisor use to evaluate the various options?

4. Take detailed notes.

The conversation's record is just as significant as the talk itself. You won't recall what was said or what commitments you and the consumer made to each other if you don't take notes. To properly organize the collected information, use an application like NotePlan that allows you to store all your notes in one place, categorize them by tags, or turn them into checklists

5. Make a decision on the next steps.

Obtain a commitment from the customer to go to the next step at the conclusion of the session. If your goal is to understand the buying process of a customer, for example, the next step might be to schedule a meeting with a stakeholder.

6. Take notes on the conversation.

Use your notes to compose an email to the customer at the end of the session, summarising what you learnt (to confirm you've got it correct) and confirming any pledges made.