Many Sales Managers struggle with forecasting, it can be challenging to deliver accurate forecast figures month in and month out.

It’s a feeling often shared by their salespeople too! 

What are some of the reasons behind the challenge?

One reason is the company doesn’t have a clear criteria to judge sales opportunities.

A lot is left to the individual salesperson to interpret how they ‘feel’ things are going on a deal as to whether it should be forecast or not; this historic intuition based or a “finger in the wind” approach causes confusion and a lack of confidence.

Other reasons include:

• Insufficient and Inaccurate data in the CRM

• Using Manual, Unscalable and Error-Prone Spreadsheets

• Lack of Real-Time Data (Win/Loss, Sales Funnel, Sales Cycle)

• Lack of Forecast Accountability from the individual salesperson

• No Formal Coaching and Training in Sales Forecasting

However, by aligning your sales team and processes with a more data-driven approach combined with a clear criteria everyone understands it’s possible to reduce risks and get more accurate results that positively impact the bottom line.



How important is your sales forecast? 

When you consider the significance of the revenue forecast to a company, it is strange that often little attention is focused on how the figures are produced?

Especially when Senior Management will ultimately make future decisions on hiring, investment, expansion, and a whole range of other areas based on their confidence in the company’s sales forecast.



4 Areas for Improvement   

Therefore, it’s worth ensuring the right foundation is in place to build upon.

Below are 4 key areas worth reviewing.

1. Map your sales process.

Have you clearly mapped out your sales process A-Z from lead generation to post sales recently?

Does it really fit your current ideal business model?

Often when we do this exercise with clients, they find it highlights processes that have developed over time but are no longer serving them effectively today.

You could start with questions such as…. Do we treat all our sales leads in the same way?

Or do some leads need to be treated separately and resourced accordingly, just as one example. Take care to examine the process and ensure it is fit for purpose.

2. Does your CRM actively support your sales effort?

A common issue we find is where companies have let their CRM dictate the steps or processes, they use.

Why does this happen?

Could it be that your current CRM reflects an initial set up by the I.T department implemented years ago?

Or alternatively have you adopted a standard software CRM Sales process with a dozen sales stages that is far more complicated than you need, causing confusion and inaccuracy?

Either way Senior Management need to invest the time to ensure that their sales process is accurately reflected in the sales stages they are using to win business effectively today.

Just as they would with all the other business processes…purchasing, accounting etc the sales process is no exception it needs real clarity to achieve accurate forecasts.

3. Is there a disconnect between your sales process vs. your buyer’s purchasing process?

Does your sales process effectively match each of the key milestones in the buyer’s decision-making process? If not, then opportunities may appear to be progressing nicely towards an order but in reality they have barely moved forward in your buyer’s eyes and in his process!

There can be a major difference.

A key element is the selection of the correct sales stages themselves – Each one should be simple to understand and clearly defined so everyone in the organisation is using the same forecasting criteria and it’s not open to ‘personal interpretation’ by the sales person.

4. What are our salespeople saying in front of potential clients? 

      Is the quality of information obtained sufficient to deliver accurate forecasting?

Whilst the correct sales process and supportive CRM will go a long way to gain clarity in your forecast, there is another element which is far more fundamental and impactful to your forecast and ultimate sales results: and that is what your salespeople are saying in front of clients.

You would be surprised the number of Sales Managers and Directors who have difficulty in answering the above question with conviction. Generally, not enough time is spent out with salespeople actively listening to their conversations with clients.

Ironically, the most dramatic improvements in forecasting accuracy and increased sales results we see, come from refocusing the sales team’s approach to their meetings.

By improving their communication skills, questioning and active listening abilities, they gain a heightened quality of information from clients. This allows more confident forecasting because it’s based on an in-depth knowledge of the client and a real awareness of the key business issues involved.

Tightening up on these areas will raise your accuracy and give you confidence in your forecast figures, it’s not a dark art but rather having a practical process in place that both sales and management can work with successfully.

Next time discover the top 5 forecasting pitfalls and how to avoid them.

Committed to Your Continued Sales Success!

Peter Holland

Copyright September 2023