Glossary · Sales and customers
What is a sales opportunity?
A sales opportunity is the CRM record of one piece of business under discussion with a specific customer that could be won. It holds the product or service, estimated value, stage, owner, and expected close date. The customer record describes the buyer; the opportunity describes the deal.
Last updated: · Author: Şevket Erer, Co-founder, AI Specialist
Why keep sales opportunities as separate records?
A company does many pieces of business with one customer over the years. If all of it goes into the notes on the customer record, it gets hard to tell which deal stands where. An opportunity record follows each deal on its own: which product the quote is for, who owns it, and what stage it is at. Separate records also make reporting possible. The total of open opportunities, the reasons deals were lost, and open work per salesperson can only be counted when each deal has its own record.
How does a sales opportunity move forward?
A sales opportunity opens from a qualified lead or a new deal discussed with an existing customer. The record holds the product or service, estimated amount, expected close date, stage and owner; when a price is given the quote is linked to the opportunity, and later quotes gather under the same opportunity. It closes as won or lost.
- Opening
A qualified lead becomes an opportunity, or a new piece of business starts with an existing customer.
- Details fill in
The product or service, estimated value, expected close date, stage, and owner are recorded. An unknown value stays blank until it is filled in later.
- The quote is attached
When a price is given, the quote is attached to the opportunity. Later quotes for the same deal collect under the same opportunity.
- Close
The opportunity closes as won or lost. If the reason for a loss is written down, the next sales meeting works from records instead of guesses.
An example
A hotel manager messages a furniture showroom on WhatsApp asking for a lobby seating set. The hotel is already a customer; it bought room furniture last year. The salesperson opens a new opportunity: lobby seating, needs analysis stage, owned by them. The same week, the hotel's accounts team asks about an old invoice. That conversation goes on the customer record and does not get mixed into the lobby deal.
How it looks in Corex360
In Corex360, a WhatsApp, Instagram, or web chat can be turned straight into an opportunity, and the conversation carries the opportunity number as a badge. The New Opportunity button at the top of the customer card ties a new deal to the same customer; open and recent opportunities are listed in separate boxes. Quotes sit in the Quotes tab of the same card. How a quote is prepared from an opportunity is shown in the demo.
Terms often confused with it
| Lead | A lead is interest that has not been qualified yet; what they want and who decides are unclear. An opportunity is a concrete deal whose need and decision-maker are known. |
|---|---|
| Quote tracking | A quote is a document prepared at one stage of an opportunity. One opportunity can have several quotes, while the opportunity itself is a single deal. |
Related terms: Lead, Sales funnel, Contract management, Quote tracking
FAQ
Can one customer have more than one sales opportunity?
Yes. Each deal is its own opportunity. If a product sale and a maintenance contract are both under discussion with the same firm, two opportunities are opened and each moves through its own stages.
Should a lost sales opportunity be deleted?
It is better kept. When lost opportunities are stored with the reason, recurring causes such as price, a competitor, or timing become visible.
What is the difference between a sales opportunity and an order?
An opportunity is a deal that might be won. An order is the record of a won deal on its way to delivery and invoicing. The order process starts when the opportunity is won.
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