How do you prioritize and qualify the opportunities in your sales pipeline?

I appreciate the opportunity to address this issue however I was forced to retire in 2016 due to a corporate buyout and have not re-entered the workforce. I have no current sales pipeline.

The methods for assessing the sales pipeline and qualifying leads varies depending on what products or insurance lines of coverage I’m offering. As a P & C agent, it’s really a simple matter of making sure any prospects have at least one insurable item, which is generally anyone who owns a vehicle or drives. For life insurance, it’s necessary to take qualifying a prospect to the next level. For example, young couples who are in the early stages of growing their families (newborn or elementary aged children and a recent home purchase) are always good candidates as they can typically be negatively impacted the most with the loss of a primary or secondary bread winner.

Here are some key steps to prioritize and qualify opportunities effectively: 1?? Define your ideal customer profile. 2?? Establish qualifying criteria. 3?? Conduct initial lead qualification. 4?? Evaluate prospect engagement. 5?? Determine decision-making authority. 6?? Analyze prospect's needs and pain points. 7?? Assess budget and timeline. 8?? Evaluate competition and market dynamics. 9?? Assign a scoring system. ?? Regularly review and update. By following these steps, you'll focus on prospects with the highest potential, maximize efficiency, and drive sales success.

In sales, all your opportunities are critically earned. One must not lose any of them unless it's a situation of choosing one over the another. The below might help- 1. Bulk deals always take time. 2. Keep retail business in hand. 3. Never believe in working at the end (month-ends) 4. Month-ends are monsters if you do not achieve a desired outcome 5. They are super monsters if you achieve desired outcomes because (congratulations, the next month has started).

Review your target markets. Be sure you are clear that someone is a prospect. Start with the industry verticals you service. Review the size of your prospects. Do you service small companies, large companies or everyone? Is there a specific geographical area that you service? Consider a full assessment of your target accounts before adding them to the pipeline. Are these companies or contacts just suspects or are they a qualified prospect? Know who is a good prospect. If you are having trouble, consider profiling your best clients and go get more of those!

I’m a huge fan of Key Performance Indicators (KPI). Identify the actions necessary to migrate and nurture your leads through the pipeline. KPI should reflect actions you can take and do not rely on the action of another. Set contact frequency and method, keep notes of each interaction, and adjust as necessary. The goal is the direction you point the boat, but KPIs are the oars to move you in that direction.

For those sales managers who are working for a small or medium sized company (who perhaps doesn't therefore have the time or the tools to 'prioritise opportunities as suggested above) with a team making sales in the tens of thousands (of ￡ or $) and not in the millions, just do 2 things: 1. Use BANT (as suggested) and then .. 2. Ask the salesperson if they rate the potential opportunity as gold, silver or bronze. It's a simple question and you'll quickly learn which of your salespeople has the ability to accurately assess the quality of their pipeline.