Glossary

Opportunity

In B2B sales, an Opportunity is a qualified potential deal with a specific account, where there is a defined business need, buying interest, and a realistic chance of closing within a certain timeframe. It typically involves stakeholders such as the account executive, sales development representative (SDR/BDR), sales manager, and key customer personas (economic buyer, technical buyer, champions). An Opportunity usually comes into play from qualification through evaluation, proposal, and negotiation stages of the sales cycle, and is often used interchangeably with terms like deal, sales opportunity, pipeline opportunity, or open opportunity.

Importance in B2B Sales

An Opportunity is the core unit of measurement in B2B pipelines, forecasting, and revenue planning, so its definition and quality directly affect how accurately a business can predict revenue. Clearly defined Opportunities help sales teams prioritize where to spend time, align internal resources, and manage risk across the funnel. For leaders, aggregated Opportunities provide insight into territory performance, product-market fit, pricing effectiveness, and sales cycle health. For buyers, well-managed Opportunities translate into a clearer, more organized buying process with defined milestones, stakeholders, and expectations. Operationally, how a company creates, advances, and closes Opportunities shapes its CRM data quality, reporting, and strategic decision-making.

FAQ

When should I create an Opportunity in the CRM?

Create an Opportunity when you’ve confirmed a real business problem, identified at least one engaged stakeholder, and validated that there is potential budget and a plausible timeline—not just initial curiosity or a cold conversation.

What information should every Opportunity include?

At minimum: customer organization, key contacts and roles, problem statement, solution scope, estimated deal value, target close date, stage, next steps, and qualification notes (e.g., MEDDIC, BANT criteria).

How is an Opportunity different from a lead?

A lead is an individual or account with potential interest or fit, often unqualified; an Opportunity represents a structured, qualified sales pursuit with a defined sales process and forecasted value.

Who is responsible for owning an Opportunity?

Typically the account executive (AE) owns the Opportunity, while SDRs/BDRs may create and hand off early-stage Opportunities, and sales engineers, customer success, or partners may be contributors but not owners.

When should an Opportunity be closed-lost or closed-no decision?

You should close an Opportunity when the customer explicitly chooses another solution, cancels the initiative, goes silent after a structured re-engagement attempt, or materially changes scope such that a new Opportunity is more accurate.