Know where every business relationship stands in your sales journey
Not every company you work with is at the same stage. Some are just names on a list, others are actively considering your services, and a few have already signed on the dotted line. Understanding the difference between leads, prospects, and clients helps you focus your efforts where they matter most.
What is a Lead?
A lead is a potential customer who has shown some initial interest in your business but hasn't been qualified yet. They might have filled out a form, attended an event, or been referred by someone in your network.
At this stage, you don't know much about them. They could be a perfect fit for your services, or they might not need what you offer at all. Leads represent opportunity, but they require further investigation before you invest significant time.
What is a Prospect?
A prospect is a lead that has been qualified. You've done some research, had initial conversations, and determined that they match your ideal customer profile. They have a genuine need for your product or service, the budget to afford it, and the authority to make a decision.
Prospects are further along in the sales journey. They're worth pursuing with proposals, demos, and follow-up conversations because there's a realistic chance they'll become paying customers.
What is a Client?
A client (or customer) is someone who has made a purchase. They've moved beyond interest and evaluation to actually doing business with you. The relationship shifts from selling to delivering and nurturing.
Clients are your most valuable relationships. They generate revenue, provide referrals, and can become repeat buyers over time.
The Sales Journey
Think of leads, prospects, and clients as stages in a journey:
- Lead - Initial awareness, unqualified interest
- Prospect - Qualified opportunity, active sales conversation
- Client - Converted customer, ongoing relationship
Not every lead becomes a prospect, and not every prospect becomes a client. The goal is to move the right opportunities through each stage while filtering out those that aren't a good fit.
How Officaid Tracks This Automatically
Officaid assigns badges to companies based on their activity in your system:
- Lead - Appears when a company has a deal or quotation
- Client - Appears when a company has at least one invoice
A company can have both badges at the same time. For example, an existing client with past invoices might also have a new deal in your pipeline, making them both a Client and a Lead for new business.
These badges update automatically as you create deals, quotations, and invoices. You don't need to manually tag companies or update their status.
Why This Matters
Knowing where a company stands helps you prioritize your time:
- Leads need qualification before you invest heavily
- Prospects deserve focused attention to close the deal
- Clients require excellent service to maintain the relationship
With automatic tracking, you always know where your relationships stand without manually updating records.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. The Lead and Client badges are assigned automatically based on your deals, quotations, and invoices. This ensures the status always reflects your actual business activity.
Companies without deals, quotations, or invoices won't have a Lead or Client badge. They're simply contacts in your network that haven't entered your sales process yet.
Yes. A company with past invoices is a Client, but if they also have an active deal or quotation, they'll show the Lead badge too. This helps you identify existing clients with new opportunities in your pipeline.
What's Next?
Now that you understand the sales journey, explore how Officaid helps you manage it:
- Understanding Companies - Learn how company profiles work in Officaid
- Understanding the Sales Pipeline - Track deals from opportunity to close
- Understanding Quotations - Create and send proposals to prospects