System, method and computer program product for deriving commonalities among data entries

Abstract

In accordance with embodiments, there are provided mechanisms and methods for deriving commonalities among data entries, These mechanisms and methods for deriving commonalities among data entries can identify characteristics that are known to be common to at least some data entries in addition to unknown characteristics that are common to data entries, The ability to identify common known and unknown characteristics among data entries may allow data entries to be grouped according to the identified common known and unknown characteristics.

1 . A computer program product comprising computer-readable program code to be executed by one or more processors when retrieved from a non-transitory computer-readable medium, the program code including instructions, when executed, to implement a method, the method comprising:
 identifying a plurality of prospective customers of an entity;   identifying a profile specific to the entity storing a plurality of characteristics predetermined to be associated with successful sales by the entity;   for each prospective customer of the plurality of prospective customers of the entity, comparing the predetermined characteristics stored in the profile to characteristics of the prospective customer, and   determining a likelihood of a successful sale by the entity to the prospective customer based, in part, on a subset of the characteristics of the prospective customer matching the predetermined characteristics stored in the profile.   
     
     
         2 . The computer program product of  claim 1 , wherein the prospective customers of the entity are identified from a database. 
     
     
         3 . The computer program product of  claim 1 , wherein the characteristics are predetermined to be associated with the successful sales by the entity based on an analysis of similarities between the successful sales by the entity. 
     
     
         4 . The computer program product of  claim 1 , wherein the characteristics that are predetermined to be associated with the successful sales by the entity include at least one of a line of business, a company size, a location, annual revenue, and demographic information. 
     
     
         5 . The computer program product of  claim 1 , wherein it is determined that a sale by the entity to the prospective customer is likely to be successful when the subset of the characteristics of the prospective customer match the predetermined characteristics stored in the profile. 
     
     
         6 . The computer program product of  claim 1 , wherein it is determined that a sale by the entity to the prospective customer is more likely than not to be successful when the subset of the characteristics of the prospective customer match the predetermined characteristics stored in the profile. 
     
     
         7 . The computer program product of  claim 1 , wherein the method is performed by the entity. 
     
     
         8 . A computer program product comprising computer-readable program code to be executed by one or more processors when retrieved from a non-transitory computer-readable medium, the program code including instructions, when executed, to implement a method, the method comprising:
 identifying from historical data a plurality of successful sales, where each successful sale is indicated in the historical data with information describing at least one or more sales approaches that resulted in the successful sale;   for each successful sale, determining the information describing the successful sale;   determining a count of a set of the successful sales that share common information including at least common sales approaches;   comparing the determined count to a predefined threshold number; and   when it is determined from the comparison that the determined count meets or exceeds the predefined threshold number, storing the common information in a profile specific to the set of successful sales.   
     
     
         9 . The computer program product of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of successful sales are specific to an entity. 
     
     
         10 . The computer program product of  claim 1 , wherein the set of successful sales each include a record in a database. 
     
     
         11 . The computer program product of  claim 1 , wherein each successful sale is further indicated in the historical data with information describing characteristics of a customer to which the successful sale was made. 
     
     
         12 . The computer program product of  claim 11 , wherein determining the count of the set of the successful sales that share common information further includes:
 determining the count of the set of the successful sales that share common information including common customer characteristics.   
     
     
         13 . The computer program product of  claim 1 , wherein each successful sale is further indicated in the historical data with information describing characteristics of the sale. 
     
     
         14 . The computer program product of  claim 13 , wherein determining the count of the set of the successful sales that share common information further includes:
 determining the count of the set of the successful sales that share common information including common sale characteristics.   
     
     
         15 . The computer program product of  claim 1 , where the profile stores the common information to indicate at least sales approaches that are likely to result in future successful sales.