1 Define your goals and metrics

Before you start analyzing data, you need to have a clear idea of what you want to achieve and how you will measure it. What are your business development goals, such as revenue, market share, customer satisfaction, or retention? What are the key performance indicators (KPIs) that reflect your progress and success? How will you track and report them? Having a well-defined framework of goals and metrics will help you align your data and analytics with your strategy and vision.

2 Collect and organize your data

The next step is to gather and organize the data that is relevant to your goals and metrics. Depending on your sources and tools, you may have access to different types of data, such as demographic, behavioral, transactional, or social media data. You need to ensure that your data is accurate, complete, and consistent, and that you have a reliable system to store and manage it. You also need to segment your data according to your target markets, customer profiles, or other criteria that make sense for your business.

3 Analyze and visualize your data

Once you have your data ready, you need to analyze and visualize it to gain insights and patterns. You can use various methods and techniques, such as descriptive, predictive, or prescriptive analytics, to understand what happened, what will happen, or what should happen. You can also use tools and software, such as spreadsheets, dashboards, or charts, to display your data in a clear and engaging way. The goal is to identify the opportunities that have the highest potential, value, and fit for your business.

4 Evaluate and rank your opportunities

Based on your analysis and visualization, you can evaluate and rank your opportunities according to their priority. You can use different criteria and models, such as the BANT (budget, authority, need, and timing) or the ICE (impact, confidence, and ease) frameworks, to score and compare your opportunities. You can also use a matrix or a funnel to visualize your ranking and pipeline. The idea is to focus on the opportunities that are most likely to convert, generate revenue, and satisfy your customers.

5 Test and optimize your approach

The final step is to test and optimize your approach based on your data and analytics. You can use experiments, such as A/B testing or multivariate testing, to compare different versions of your messages, offers, or channels. You can also use feedback, such as surveys, reviews, or referrals, to measure your customer satisfaction and loyalty. The aim is to improve your performance and results by learning from your data and analytics.

Using data and analytics can help you prioritize new business opportunities more effectively and efficiently. By following these steps, you can make data-driven decisions that align with your goals and metrics, and that deliver value and satisfaction to your customers.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?