[GTM glossary](/glossary.md) Opportunity

Sales

# Opportunity

Also known as: sales opportunity, opportunities

In short

An opportunity is a qualified potential sale that a sales team tracks in its CRM, with a value, a stage, an owner, and an expected close date. It exists once a prospect has shown enough fit and interest to justify active selling effort.

Opportunities make up the sales pipeline. Counting, staging, and forecasting them is how teams predict revenue and decide where reps should spend their time.

## What an opportunity record includes

* **Account and contacts:** The company and the people involved in the decision.
* **Amount:** The expected contract value.
* **Stage:** Where the deal sits, such as discovery, evaluation, proposal, or negotiation.
* **Close date:** The date the team expects a decision.
* **Next step:** The agreed action that moves the deal forward.

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## When a lead becomes an opportunity

Each company sets its own bar, but a common standard is a confirmed problem, a fit with the ideal customer profile, an engaged contact with some authority, and a reasonable timeline. A form fill alone does not make an opportunity.

Define the entry criteria in writing. Without them, reps inflate the pipeline with weak deals and forecasts drift.

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## Opportunity vs. lead

A lead is a person or company that might be interested. An opportunity is a lead that has been qualified and has a specific potential deal attached. Leads are many and uncertain; opportunities are fewer and tracked closely.

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## Managing opportunities well

### Keep stages evidence-based

Move a deal forward only when the buyer has done something specific, such as agreeing to a technical review.

### Update next steps

An opportunity with no dated next step is a candidate for cleanup or closing as lost.

### Review regularly

Check age, stage, and activity in pipeline reviews to spot stalled deals early.

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## Common mistakes

* **Creating opportunities too early:** It inflates pipeline and lowers conversion rates.
* **Stale close dates:** Dates pushed every month make forecasts unreliable.
* **No loss reasons:** Closing deals without recording why removes useful learning.

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## Opportunity FAQs

**What is an opportunity in sales?**

An opportunity is a qualified potential sale tracked in the CRM with an amount, stage, owner, and expected close date. It means a prospect has shown enough fit and interest for the team to actively work toward a deal.

**What is the difference between a lead and an opportunity?**

A lead is a person or company that may be interested but has not been fully qualified. An opportunity is a qualified lead with a specific potential deal, tracked with value, stage, and close date. Opportunities form the pipeline that sales forecasts are built on.

**When should you create an opportunity in the CRM?**

Create one when the prospect has confirmed a relevant problem, fits your target profile, and has an engaged contact with a realistic timeline. Creating records earlier inflates pipeline and weakens forecast accuracy, so write explicit entry criteria for your team.

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## More related phrases

* [Opportunity management](/glossary/opportunity-management.md)
* [Closed opportunities](/glossary/closed-opportunities.md)
* [Sales stages](/glossary/sales-stages.md)

## Similar phrases

* [Sales qualified opportunity (SQO)](/glossary/sales-qualified-opportunity.md)  
A sales qualified opportunity (SQO) is a deal a rep has vetted and confirmed as a real, winnable sales opportunity worth forecasting and working actively.
* [Closed lost](/glossary/closed-lost.md)  
Closed lost is the CRM stage for an opportunity that ended without a sale, either because the buyer chose another option, did nothing, or disqualified.
* [Closed won](/glossary/closed-won.md)  
Closed won is the CRM stage for an opportunity where the buyer agreed to purchase and signed, which turns the deal into booked revenue.
* [Deal stages](/glossary/deal-stages.md)  
Deal stages are the defined steps an opportunity moves through in the CRM, from first qualification to closed-won or closed-lost, each with clear entry criteria.
* [Sales pipeline](/glossary/sales-pipeline.md)  
A sales pipeline is a visual, stage-by-stage view of every open deal, showing where prospects stand and how much revenue your team can expect to close.