This chapter covers the following topics:
Use an opportunity to enter and track:
Purchase Interests: Enter the products or categories of products the customer is interested in buying and the projected amounts.
Sales Team: Add individual sales team members or entire sales groups to form a team or let the territory management module assign a team.
Sales Methodology: Select a sales methodology. A sales methodology has sales stages, each stage containing defined tasks. The System administrator sets up the sales methodology.
Sales Credit: The sales credit the sales team members are to receive.
Contacts: Contacts for the opportunity.
Obstacles: Enter information about your competitors.
Closing Information: Track orders placed for won opportunities as well as information about competitors for lost opportunities. If an opportunity results in a sale, you must remember to enter closing information for an opportunity so the sales team can receive sales credit for their work. This is available from the menu.
Classification: Classify an opportunity according to categories defined by your implementation team. The values you enter here can be used to assign this opportunity to the appropriate sales team.
Tasks: View and assign tasks relating to the opportunity. The tasks display in the work queue of the individual you assign them to.
Leads: View the leads linked to the opportunity.
Quotes and Orders: View the quotes and orders resulting from the opportunity or launch the Quoting window to create new quotes and orders.
Forecasts: The sales credits for each purchase interest are added up as your sales forecast.
Partners: Enter criteria the channel manager in Oracle Partners Online will use to select a partner, or, when authorized, route the opportunity to a partner yourself.
There are two ways you can create an opportunity. You can:
When a sales representative attempts to create an opportunity from a lead, Oracle TeleSales automatically performs a check for potential duplicate opportunities.
If the application finds a potential duplicate, the sales representative can:
Link the lead to the existing opportunity.
Note: Agents can link a lead to existing opportunities even if they do not have access to those opportunities.
Purchase and other information is not transferred to the matching opportunity, but agents can access the lead from the Lead tab of the linked opportunity.
Copy purchase line items to the duplicate opportunity.
The copied items are transferred to the potential purchases in the existing opportunity. The copy process removes them from the lead.
The sales representative creating the new opportunity becomes the leader of the opportunity team. Any team member required to make modifications to opportunity information must be designated as having Full Access. This is done by selecting the Full check box.
The application automatically notifies new team members of the assignment through their work queues.
The team members use the opportunity to record information on the negotiations, to prepare forecasts, and to assign sales credit.
A team leader can decide to create a quote for a customer at any time. Quotes can be configured for all of the purchase items.
You can create new opportunities without a prior lead in the eBusiness Center or the Opportunity Center. The Opportunity tab of the eBusiness Center enables you to enter basic opportunity information. Later, you can use the Opportunity Center to add opportunity details.
Use this procedure to display opportunities for a consumer or an organization.
Prerequisites
Steps
Select the Opportunity tab. You can sort the opportunities by clicking on the table column headings.
If you want the list to display only opportunities you receive sales credit for, then select the Sales Credits check box.
If you want to view only open opportunities, then deselect the Display All check box.
Select the opportunity you want to view or modify from the list on the left. The basic information about the opportunity appears on the right side of the tab.
If you want to view notes for this opportunity, then click Opportunity Notes.
If you want to view more details about the opportunity, then click Details to launch the Opportunity Center.
Use this procedure to turn a lead into an opportunity.
Prerequisites
Steps
If the lead does not have a description, enter it now in the Lead Name field. A lead name is required for opportunity creation.
Click Create Opportunity.
The application checks the lead information you have entered in the lead against information in all existing opportunities to see if a similar opportunity already exists.
If a potentially duplicate opportunity exists, then the Lead-Opportunity Linking window appears. To check for duplicate opportunities to see if you must create a new opportunity or link any items to an existing one, click Detail.
Scroll through the possible matches using the Next button. The number of potential matches is shown in the Matches Found field.
If the lead matches an opportunity on the right, move any new purchase items from the lead to the opportunity using the right arrow and click OK.
If none of the opportunities found match existing business objects, click New Opportunity to create a new opportunity.
Use this procedure to create an opportunity without a prior lead. An opportunity allows sales teams to track the sales process from the time a lead is qualified to the time you create the order.
Prerequisites
Steps
In the View Details region, select the person, organization, or contact for the opportunity.
Note: When you create an opportunity for an organizational contact the lead is recorded for the organization and the contact is listed as the primary contact for the opportunity.
Select the Opportunity tab.
Click New.
Enter the basic opportunity information.
Note: Depending on your implementation, the status of an opportunity determines whether it appears in your forecast or not.
Enter a close date for the opportunity. This date determines the forecast in which your opportunity information appears.
Note: You can enter a customer's purchase interests directly on the Opportunity tab, but you must scroll to view additional fields. If you want more room to work in, then click Details and make your entries on the Purchase Interest tab of the Opportunity Center instead.
If you want to enter customer purchase interests directly on the Opportunity tab, then follow the procedure Entering Purchase Interests.
Choose one salesperson as the owner of the opportunity. You must be the owner of the opportunity (or the owner's manager) to reassign a new owner.
Click Save on the toolbar.
If the Opportunity - Lead Linking window appears. Perform the following steps:
View the open leads using the Detail button to review details.
If you find a lead you want to link with the opportunity, then click Link.
When you are finished linking leads or if there are no leads you want to link to the opportunity, click OK.
To enter other detailed information for the opportunity, click Details to open the Opportunity Center and follow the procedure outlined in Entering Purchase Interests in an Opportunity.
This window displays the current lead or opportunity you are working on and a list of available opportunities or open leads for the customer. You can select from the list and link your selection with the lead or opportunity you are working with.
You can perform the following tasks:
Use this procedure to link an existing opportunity to one or more leads.
Steps
View the opportunity in either the eBusiness Center or the Opportunity Center.
Activate lead linking in one of the following ways:
View the opportunity on the Opportunity tab in the eBusiness Center and choose Link Opportunity to Lead from the Actions menu.
View the opportunity in the Opportunity Center and choose Link Opportunity to Lead from the Actions menu.
View the opportunity in the Opportunity Center and on the Lead tab click Link Opportunity to Lead.
The Opportunity - Lead Linking window displays the current opportunity and all open leads for the customer that are not linked to an opportunity.
If you want to see the detail for a lead, select the lead and click Detail.
Select the lead or view the detail for the lead, and click Link.
The lead is linked to the opportunity.
You can display an opportunity in the Opportunity Center in a number of ways:
Use the Universal Search window to search for the opportunity using multiple search criteria.
Display the opportunity in the eBusiness Center and then click Details.
Navigate to the opportunity from the opportunity summary in the Dashboard tab of the eBusiness Center.
Use this procedure to create an opportunity in the Opportunity Center without a prior lead. If you want to create an opportunity from an existing lead, then follow the procedure outlined in Turning a Lead into an Opportunity. An opportunity allows sales teams to track the sales process from the time a lead is qualified to the time you create the order.
Steps
Navigate to the Opportunity Center.
Click New.
Enter the basic opportunity information in the fields provided. The fields include opportunity name, project name, source code, status, and budget.
Note: Depending on your implementation, the status of an opportunity determines whether it appears in your forecast or not.
Enter a close date for the opportunity. This date determines the forecast in which your opportunity information appears.
Click Save on the toolbar.
The administrator has the right to limit the maximum number of days allowed to close an opportunity. The opportunity close date should fall within the allocated period set by the administrator (must not be greater than the system date + maximum number based on system settings).
An opportunity appears in the forecast if it meets the following criteria:
The opportunity status is a status that is set up as forecastable.
The close date at the purchase line level is within the forecast period.
Use this procedure to enter a customer's purchase interests into an opportunity. You can also enter competitor and competitor product information.
Navigation
Navigator > Opportunity Center
Navigator > Universal Work Queue > Get Work for an opportunity
Steps
Display the opportunity in the Opportunity Center.
Select the Purchase Interest tab.
Enter the customer's purchase interests. For each purchase line:
You can select a different operating unit than the one defaulted.
Use the LOVs to find the product category, item description, or inventory item.
If you do not know the exact product the customer is interested in, then you can use the Product Category code LOV to enter the customer's general purchase interest.
Enter a Product Category if none appears.
The Forecast Date automatically defaults to the Close Date of the opportunity. Changing this date does not affect the forecast unless Use Close Date is deselected. See Splitting Up a Purchase Line for Inclusion in Multiple Forecasts for more information.
Optionally, enter the Units of Measure and quantity of the item.
Enter a currency amount of the purchase interest. This amount is added to the other purchase line amounts to give you the total purchase amount for the opportunity.
Enter the sales credit. The sales credit is the amount included in your sales forecast.
Under the Display LOV, select Competitors to add or view the competitors, competitor products, and the win/loss status.
The administrator can limit the maximum number of days allowed to close an opportunity. The opportunity close date should fall within the allocated period set by the administrator.
Use this procedure to enter contacts into an existing opportunity using the Opportunity Center. You can enter contacts for customers of the types organization and person. You can enter the primary contact directly in the header of the Opportunity Center. If you want to add any additional contacts, then you must do so using the Contact tab.
Prerequisites
Steps
Display the opportunity in the Opportunity Center.
If you want to add the primary contact for the opportunity, then:
Use the Primary Contact List of Values (LOV) to select the contact.
Select a role for the contact using the Contact Role LOV.
Click Save on the toolbar.
If you want to enter additional contacts in the Opportunity Center, then:
Select the Contact tab.
Using the Last Name or First Name List of Values, add the contacts.
If you want to designate a contact as the primary contact for the opportunity, then select the Primary check box. You can only designate one contact as a primary contact for the opportunity.
Click Save on the toolbar.
If you want to enter a note for the contact, then click Contact Note.
If you want to enter a note for the customer, then click Customer Note.
If you can view customer notes, then you can also view contact notes. If you can view contact note, you might not be able to view customer notes
Use this procedure to change the owner for an existing opportunity.
Navigation
Navigator > Opportunity Center
Change the owner name by entering the new name, or by selecting a sales representative from the LOV.
Click Save on the toolbar. The owner you indicate is also displayed on the Sales Team tab.
Use this procedure to change a customer for an existing opportunity. For example, you might find that you want to change a customer name after an opportunity has been initially created using a partner's name.
Navigation
Note: If a quote or proposal exists for an opportunity, you cannot change the customer for that opportunity.
Navigator > Opportunity Center
Navigator > Universal Work Queue > My Opportunities (Sales Team)
Navigator > Universal Work Queue > My Opportunities (Sales Credits)
Change the customer name by entering the new name, or by selecting a customer name from the LOV.
Click Save on the toolbar.
Use this procedure to classify an existing opportunity. The Oracle Territory Manager program uses this classification to assign a sales team.
Steps
Display the opportunity in the Opportunity Center.
Select the Classification tab.
Use the Lists of Values to classify the opportunity according to the classification scheme provided by your organization.
Click Save on the toolbar.
Use this procedure to track obstacles to a sale such as competitors.
Navigation
Navigator > Opportunity Center
Navigator > Universal Work Queue > Get Work for an opportunity
Steps
Display the opportunity in the Opportunity Center.
Select the Obstacle tab.
Use the Issue LOV to enter an issue.
Select a Status from the LOV. Statuses include Preliminary, Expired, Lost, No Opportunity, or Won.
Enter a comment.
Click Save on the toolbar.
You can track the competitors and their products for each line item in an opportunity. Competitors are set up in Oracle Marketing. Enter competitor information on any of the following:
The Win/Loss tab in the Opportunity Center
The Purchase Interest tab in the Opportunity Centere
Pipeline Management
Select Competitors from the Display list. Enter competitor information for a purchase interest by selecting the line item and using the LOV to select the competitor product and competitor. You can also enter a win/loss status for the line item.
Select the product category to identify the line item for which you want to add competitor information. Then select the competitor product and competitor from the LOV and add a win/loss status.
You can add decision information using the LOVs. Again select the product category to identify the line item.
Select Competitors from the Display list. Enter competitor information for a purchase interest by selecting the line item and using the LOV to select the competitor product and competitor. You can also enter a win/loss status for the line item.
Use this procedure to manually add sales agents and partners to an opportunity sales team. You can add individuals or entire sales groups to your team with this procedure.
Adding someone to the sales team makes them able to view an opportunity and add notes and tasks. Giving an individual full access status by selecting the Full check box enables them to modify all aspects of the opportunity.
If your organization has implemented the CRM Territory Manager module, then a sales team is assigned to an opportunity automatically. However you can use this procedure to override any automatic assignment by selecting the Keep check box.
Navigation
Navigator > Opportunity Center
Navigator > Universal Work Queue > Get Work for an opportunity
Steps
Display the opportunity in the Opportunity Center.
Select the Sales Team tab.
The tab lists the current sales team.
If your organization has set up the Oracle territory management module, then the sales team is automatically assigned to the opportunity when you create it.
If you want to add the team members of an entire sales group, then:
Click Add Resource Team.
The Add Resource Team window appears.
Search for the sales team you want to add by entering its name or partial name in the Team Name and clicking Find. Use the percent sign to substitute for any missing characters.
The sales teams that match your search criteria display in the Team Name column.
Select the sales team by positioning the cursor in the sales team information.
The names of the individuals on the sales team display.
If you want to provide the new team members with rights to modify opportunity information, then select the Provide Full Access check box.
Click OK.
The sales group sales team is added to the opportunity sales team. Each individual has the Keep check box selected. This means that their assignment cannot be overridden by the Territory Manager module.
If you want to add an individual sales team member, then, in the Internal Sales region:
Use the Last Name or First Name List of Values to add the sales agent.
If you want this individual to have update privileges for this opportunity, then select the Full check box. All team members have view privileges.
If you want to keep this individual regardless of the assignment made by the Oracle Territory Management module, then make sure the Keep check box is selected.
Click Save on the toolbar when you have completed adding agents.
If you want to designate someone as the owner of the opportunity, then select the Owner check box next to the salesperson's name.
If you want to add a partner to the sales team, then in the External Sales region use the LOV to select a partner. Use the Partner LOV to search for a partner. The search results enable you to view partner information including address, partner type, level, and certification level. Select a partner and click OK.
If you want to add contact information for a partner, do the following:
Click Add Partner Contact.
The Partner Contact Details window appears.
Use the Partner Contact LOV to identify and select your partner contacts.
Click the Save icon..
The window closes.
The resource groups you can add to the sales team are set up by your application's administrator using the Resource Manager.
Note: In some implementations, it is possible for agents to lose access to customer, lead, and opportunity records they create or modify. Changing a zip code on a customer address, for example, can cause the Territory Management module to reassign that customer to another sales territory. This can result in an agent losing access to that information. If you want to prevent this from happening, make sure you select the Keep check box next to each name on the Sales Team tab to override territory assignment.
An opportunity can have only one owner. The owner has final responsibility for the opportunity and for updating the opportunity information. At the time the opportunity is created the user creating the opportunity is defaulted as the owner. The owner can be changed only by the current owner, the current owner's manager, or by a user with the privilege to change the owner.
Use this procedure to view information about what services partners are selling and the history of partner activity for the opportunity.
You can only view the routing history of one partner at a time although an opportunity can be assigned to multiple partners.
Steps
Display the opportunity in the Opportunity Center.
Select the Partner tab.
The Preferred Partner field displays a partner associated with this opportunity, or you can use the Preferred Partner LOV to search for a partner. The search results enable you to view partner information including address, partner type, level, and certification level. Select a partner and click OK.
If you want to view a history of partner interactions for this opportunity including which partners were offered the opportunity, then click Routing Details.
Use this procedure to enter the criteria the routing manager will use to select a partner for the opportunity or, if you have the permission, route the opportunity to a partner directly.
Steps
Display the opportunity in the Opportunity Center.
Select the Partner tab.
If you want to route the opportunity to a partner and have the permission to do so, then:
Use the Preferred Partner List of Values (LOV) to select the partner you want to route to.
If you want to bypass the channel manager approval, then select the Bypass CM Approval check box. If you cannot select this check box, this means you do not have permission to do so.
Click Submit Routing.
The Routing Status field tells you the status of your request and whether the partner has accepted or not.
Click Save on the toolbar when you are finished.
Use this procedure to view any leads that are linked to an opportunity.
Steps
Display the opportunity in the Opportunity Center.
Select the Lead tab.
The leads that are linked to this opportunity are listed.
If you want to view any of the leads, then:
Select the lead.
Click Lead Center.
If you want to view details of multiple leads in separate Lead Centers, then select the Display Multiple Lead Centers check box.
Use this procedure to freeze an opportunity so that modifications cannot be made to the header and purchase interest tab information. After an opportunity is frozen, nobody, including the person who froze the opportunity, can make any modification unless they obtain permission from the application administrator.
Prerequisites
Steps
Display the opportunity in the Opportunity tab of the eBusiness Center or in the Opportunity Center.
Select the Freeze check box.
Click Save in the toolbar.
Use this procedure to split up an opportunity so that you can close on some purchase items while others remain open. You first make a copy of the opportunity and then specify the items you want to split by making deletions from the copy and the original.
Steps
Display the opportunity in the Opportunity Center.
Click Copy.
The Copy Opportunity window appears.
Click Copy.
The Opportunity Center displays the copy you have made. The opportunity number which is automatically changed to the next available number.
Rename the copy you have made.
Using Clear Record from the toolbar, delete from the copy the purchase items which are to close.
Click Save in the toolbar.
Use this procedure to delete purchase items from an opportunity.
Prerequisites
Steps
Display the opportunity in the Opportunity Center.
Select the Purchase Interest tab.
Select the purchase item you want to delete.
Click Delete on the toolbar or choose Delete from the Edit menu.
Use this procedure to copy an opportunity. You will want to copy an opportunity if you want to split an opportunity, for example, or if different customers want to purchase the same set of items.
Steps
Display the opportunity in the Opportunity Center.
Click Copy.
The Copy Opportunity window appears.
If you want the copied opportunity to go to a different party type, then select the party type from the LOV.
If you want the copied opportunity to go to a different customer, then select the customer using the Customer LOV.
Optionally, select an address using the Address LOV.
Enter a name for the opportunity. The default is "Copy of" (unless your administrator changed this to something else) followed by the original opportunity name.
Select the check boxes corresponding to the information you want to copy to the new opportunity. The header information is copied automatically.
Click Copy.
The Opportunity Center displays the copy you have made. The opportunity number which is automatically changed to the next available number.
You can update opportunities in one of three ways:
Update opportunities one at a time using the Opportunity Center.
Update the win probabilities, sales stages, close dates, and channel fields for a list of opportunities using the Opportunity Mass Update window. You must create a list using the Universal Search window and update all opportunities on that list to the values you enter in the Update Mass Opportunity window.
Updating your pipeline; this method allows you to query up the opportunities you want to modify and modify each opportunity individually in one window.
Use this procedure to update a list of all opportunities you want to update with the same value.
Use this procedure to update the win probabilities, sales stages, close dates, and channel fields for a list of opportunities. If you want to open multiple opportunities in one window so that you can update their values one at a time, then you must instead use the Pipeline Management window. See Updating Your Pipeline.
Prerequisites
Steps
Navigate to Opportunity Mass Update.
The Mass Update of Opportunities window opens.
Use the Lookup Name List of Values (LOV) to find your saved list of opportunities you want to update.
Click Search.
Select the opportunities you want to update by selecting the Select check box for each.
Make entries in the win percentage, sales stages, close dates, and channel fields for each entry.
Click Mass Update.
You can change multiple opportunities by entering different values for each in a grid format and then saving.
Use this procedure to update multiple opportunities at the same time using the pipeline management window.
Navigation
Navigator > Pipeline Management
Steps
From the Navigator, select Pipeline Management.
The Pipeline Search Criteria window appears.
Enter your search criteria.
You can use the percent sign to substitute for any missing characters.
You can enter one value or a range of values for win probability, close date, total amount, and sales credit amount.
Select one of the Credits radio buttons to search for opportunities with forecast credits, other (non-revenue) credits, or all for the agent listed in the Sales Agent field.
Note: The application uses the logical AND to connect your search criteria. Each field you enter restricts your search further.
If you belong to or manage multiple sales groups, then you can restrict the search to a particular sales group by selecting that sales group from the Sales Group List of Values (LOV).
If you manage a sales group, you can restrict the search to a single member of the sales group. To do so, use the Sales Agent field LOV to enter the name of the subordinate.
Note: If you do not manage a sales group, you can only search for your own opportunities. In this case, your name populates the Sales Agent field automatically.
Click Search.
The Pipeline Search Results window appears displaying the results of your search.
If you must modify the search, then click Return to Search to return to the Pipeline Search Criteria window.
If you want to update the win probability (Win %), status, close date, channel, sales stage, or close reason for an opportunity, then make your entry in the list of opportunities.
Note: You must use the scroll bar to reveal the Sales Stage and Close Reason fields.
If you want to view the total revenue amount of the opportunities listed, then click Calculate.
If you want to change the purchase interest for an opportunity, then:
Select the opportunity you want to modify from the list at the top of the window. You can click in any field to select an opportunity.
The purchase interest information for that opportunity appears. Select the product information from among the multiple operating units you can access.
Make your modifications.
Note: You must use the scroll bar to reveal the quantity, purchase amount, and other fields.
If you want to modify the sales credit for individual items in an opportunity, then:
Select the opportunity you want to modify from the list at the top of the window.
The purchase interest information for that opportunity appears.
Select the item.
From the Display drop-down list, select Forecast Credit or Other Credit.
Modify the credit amounts for the item.
Under the Display LOV, select Competitors to add or view the competitors, competitor products, and the win/loss status for a selected purchase interest.
Click Submit Changes to save your work.
If you want to close the window, then from the File menu, choose Close Form.
The Universal Work Queue displays a list of opportunities for quick navigation and update. There are two display options for the Universal Work Queue, one with the queue listed on the left side of the window, and the other with the choices in a cascading menu.
Steps
In the Select Items list or the Universal Work Queue nodes, select either My Opportunities (Sales Credits) or My Opportunities (Sales Team). Optionally, you can select your choice and skip steps 2 and 3.
Select one of the following options:
Closing Within 30 Days: Open opportunities scheduled to close in the next 30 days
Closing Within 90 Days
Closing Within 6 Months
Closing Within 1 Year
All: All open opportunities
The next selection list appears.
Select a status.
The window displays a list of opportunities that match the selected criteria and displays related note history for any selected opportunity.
If you want to update an opportunity, then perform the following steps:
Select the opportunity and select your choice from the Action drop down list. If you select more than one opportunity, then some actions are not available.
Enter or select your changes.
Optionally, enter a note.
Click Apply.
Your changes are saved for one or more selected opportunities.
Optionally, double-click in a row to open the opportunity in the Opportunity Center.
The Update Opportunity region can be customized by the Universal Work Queue administrator. The administrator can create new actions in the Action drop down list, disable seeded actions, change the order of actions in the list, and control the order of notes in Note History.
Use this procedure to split up an opportunity purchase amount so that it appears in multiple forecasts over a period of time. This is called a rolling purchase line. For example, if you are selling a $1200 service on a subscription basis and your customer makes twelve monthly payments, you can allocate the total over the twelve months so that only $100 appears in each monthly forecast.
Steps
Display the opportunity in the Opportunity Center.
Select the Purchase Interest tab.
In a blank purchase interest line, place your cursor in the Amount field.
Choose Rolling Purchase Lines from the Actions menu.
The Rolling Purchase Lines window appears.
The forecast date defaults to the close date of the opportunity. Changing this date also changes the close date.
Enter the number of periods you want to copy this purchase line into.
Enter the interval for the periods. This determines the forecast dates for each period.
If you know the Inventory Item number of the purchase, then use the Inventory Item LOV to enter it. The Product Category and Item Description fields fill in automatically.
If you do not know the Inventory Item number, but you know at least a partial description of the item, then use the Description LOV to search for the item by Item Description.
When you enter an item, the Product Category and Inventory Item fields fill in automatically.
If you do not know the exact product the customer is interested in, then you can use the Interest Type and Primary and Secondary interest code Lists of Values (LOVs) to enter the customer's general purchase interest.
Enter an Interest Type if none appears.
Note: Interest Type is required.
The Source Code field defaults to the marketing source code entered in the header for the opportunity as a whole. If this purchase line is related to a different source code than the opportunity header, then make another selection.
Optionally, enter the Units of Measure and quantity of the item the customer is purchasing in each of the periods.
Enter the amount of the purchase to display for each period. This is the amount included in each forecast and added to the other purchase line amounts to give you the total purchase amount for the opportunity.
Click Add Lines.
The application creates purchase lines in the Purchase Interest tab corresponding to the number of periods. Each new line is identical except for the Forecast Date.
Click Save on the toolbar.
Oracle TeleSales enables you to enter an overall forecast total for an opportunity (in the Forecast Amount field at the opportunity header level), as well as enter the amounts at the opportunity product line level (Best, Forecast and Worst fields for each product line). Also, you can capture forecast amounts for each opportunity product line that enable agents to receive sales credits at the non-revenue level. These amounts do not affect the revenue forecast amounts associated with the product line.
The Forecast Amount and Best, Forecast and Worst fields are interactive. You can add or modify the Forecast Amount for an opportunity at the opportunity header level. The value in the Forecast Amount field is the sum of the Forecast amounts for the opportunity product lines. When you change this amount, it causes the recalculation of the Best, Forecast, and Worst amounts at the product line level. The recalculated amount is distributed proportionally over the Best, Forecast and Worst fields. Also, you can modify the Best, Forecast and Worst amounts that are displayed at the product line level for an opportunity. When you change these amounts, the value in the Forecast Amount field recalculates.
You can always manually override the automatically calculated amounts for Best, Forecast, and Worst, as well as the Forecast Amount.
Navigation for Forecast Amount
Navigator > Opportunity Center
Navigator > eBusiness Center > Opportunity
Navigator > Universal Work Queue
Navigator > eBusiness Center > Navigate To > At a Glance > Opportunities
Navigation for Best, Forecast and Worst Amounts
Navigator > Opportunity Center > Purchase Interest
Navigator > eBusiness Center > Opportunity
Navigator > Universal Work Queue
Navigator > Opportunity Center > Purchase Interest > Display > Other Credits (for non-revenue)
How Forecast Amount Values are Calculated
Forecast Amount values are the sum of the Forecast values for the opportunity purchase lines. The value in the opportunity Status field affects the value in the Forecast Amount field in that when an opportunity changes to a nonforecastable status, the Forecast Amount field goes blank and is read only. If the opportunity status changes back to forecastable, the Forecast Amount field is again calculated.
How Best, Forecast and Worst Values are Calculated
The Best, Forecast, and Worst amounts are initially calculated based on system settings, but are recalculated when you enter the Forecast Amount at the opportunity header level and save your changes.
Amounts for non-revenue sales credits are calculated in the same way as revenue sales credits. Any manual updates that you make to the Best, Forecast, and Worst amounts will override the values that result from any defaulting that has been set for your organization.
Prerequisites
Steps
Add or modify the Forecast Amount or Best, Forecast and Worst fields as needed.
The application defaults amounts in these fields depending upon win probability and status of the opportunity.
Click Save in the toolbar.
Navigate to the locations of the Forecast Amount for Best, Forecast, Worst to verify the forecast amounts.
When you perform a Universal Search using Opportunity as the criteria, you save the search results as a list in the Saved Results window. This creates a personal opportunity list of your customers, which you can view of update in the Universal Work Queue.
With the help of personal opportunities lists, you can manage all those opportunities that you want to work on currently. After you create your personal opportunities lists, work on the desired opportunity from the lists, and use the work panel to update the lists.
Use this procedure to update the personal opportunities lists.
Steps
Launch the Universal Work Queue window from the Navigator.
Select the work type as Personal List - Opportunities.
If you want to update an opportunity, a task, or a note, then select an action from the drop-down list using the work panel.
Optionally, double-click in a row to open the opportunity in the Opportunity Center.
Click Apply.
The personal opportunities list is updated based on the action that you selected in the work panel. You can also view all the opportunity notes in the Universal Work Queue window.
Use this procedure to assign sales agents and partners both revenue and non-revenue sales credits for the individual purchases in an opportunity. You must enter the sales agents and the sales credits they are to receive separately for each item in the opportunity.
Steps
Select the Purchase Interest tab.
Using the select field to the left of a purchase item, select the purchase item for which you want to assign sales credits.
Any sales agents already receiving credit for this item are listed in the lower portion of the tab.
From the Display drop-down list, select the type of sales credit you want to assign for this item:
Forecast credit: Revenue credit amounts that show up in the forecasting module of Oracle Sales.
Other Credit: Non-revenue credit. For example, credit toward sales quotas.
If you want to modify the existing credits that agents or partners are to receive for the item, then:
Modify the numbers in the % field for the agent.
If you are modifying forecast credits, then you must modify the credit percentages for other agents and partners so that the total adds up to 100 percent.
Click Save on the toolbar.
Note: The percent amounts of forecast credits you assign to sales team members and partners must add up to 100 because you are adding up actual revenue. For other non-revenue credits any percentage is allowed.
If you want to add any additional salespeople who are to receive sales credit for this item, then:
Use the Sales Agent List of Values (LOV) to enter a sales agent. If no blank lines display, then use the New button in the toolbar to add information.
In the % field, enter the number corresponding to the percentage of commission the individual is to receive.
Any new sales person you add here is automatically added to the sales team for the opportunity.
If you are assigning revenue credit, then adjust the credit percentages of the other sales agents and partners for this item so the total adds up to 100 percent.
Click Save on the toolbar.
If you want to add any additional partners who are to receive sales commissions for the sale of this item, then:
Use the Partner LOV to search for a partner. Select a partner and click OK.
In the % field, enter the number corresponding to the percentage of commission the individual is to receive for this item. Do not enter a percent sign.
Note: The percent amounts of revenue credits you assign to sales team members and partners must add up to 100. For non-revenue credits any percentage is allowed.
If you are entering revenue credits, then adjust the credits of the other sales agents and partners, so the total adds to 100 percent.
Click Save on the toolbar.
Use this procedure to view the total sales credit sales team members are to receive on all the purchase items in an opportunity.
Steps
Display the opportunity in the Opportunity Center.
Select the Sales Team tab.
Click View Credit Total.
The Opportunity Credit Total window appears. The window lists both the revenue and non-revenue credit totals for each agent and partner for this opportunity.
Note: The terminology in this window is different from that used in the Purchase Interest tab. The label Quota Sales Credit refers to Forecast Credit (actual revenue). The label Non-Quota Sales Credit refers to Other Credit. (non-revenue)
Use this procedure to enter or view closing information for an opportunity. To receive sales credit and to assure accurate pipeline reports, you must close an opportunity and enter a close reason after placing an order for a customer.
Steps
Display the opportunity in the Opportunity Center.
Select the Win/Loss tab.
Use the Close Reason List of Values (LOV) to enter the close reason.
If this opportunity has been won, then the resulting orders are listed in the Win region.
If you lost the order, then enter the competitor using the LOV provided and any comment.
If the opportunity resulted in a sale by a reseller, then choose Reseller Information from the Actions menu and add the information.
Enter the rest of the closing information for the opportunity. Depending on your implementation you might be required to enter:
Win Probability
Close Date
Sales Stage
Change the Status. If you made the sale, then change the status to won.
Note: To change the status of an opportunity to Won, Lost, or No Opportunity, you must enter the close reason first.
Click Save on the toolbar.
Note: Changes made in the Opportunity Center are not immediately reflected in the Opportunity tab. You must refresh the eBusiness Center display first.
Use this procedure to view a lot of all activities and changes made to an opportunity.
Navigation
Navigator > Opportunity Center
Navigator > eBusiness Center > Opportunity Tab
Navigator > Pipeline Management
Steps
Display the opportunity in the Opportunity Center, eBusiness Center, or Pipeline Management Center.
From the Actions menu, choose Opportunity History.
The Opportunity Log window list the history of changes made to the opportunity.