Forecasting accuracy is a key component of sales performance Accurate forecasts are an essential part of resource planning They ensure that expenses match revenues They provide the link between corporate and individual goals (performance measurement) Recent research by Aberdeen Group shows that best-in-class sales performance is linked to forecast accuracy Companies that implement forecasts demonstrate higher revenue and margin growth… …as well as better attainment of quotas Yet B2B sales forecasts are rarely accurate Research by CSO Insights shows that less than half of B2B sales opportunities close at the amount or in the time frame predicted. Better Sales Forecasting Through Process And Technology.
Modern CRM software like Sales force is a great help It is a centralized repository for Sales and marketing information Calculable sales and marketing database Available anywhere, anytime It combines administrative, logistical and reporting capabilities Flexible management of tasks, calendars, contacts, leads, opportunities, accounts… Built-in report library and engine Its validation rules and automated updates foster data quality and consistency Data quality is a prerequisite for business intelligence Share.
Your first step is to create a sales pipeline The opportunity stages in your sales pipeline should reflect your sales process The 11 default Sales force stages may not be appropriate for all businesses We generally advise to favor simplicity (e.g. fewer, well understood stages) over sophistication New: create a new stage (open, Creating pipeline stages in Sales force closed/won or closed/lost) and give it a closing probability 1 Click the Opportunities tab and open an opportunity 2 In the Force.com menu on the right, choose View Fields Reorder: change the order of your pipeline stage to reflect your sales process Sales force screenshot 3 Click Stage in the list of fields Replace: replace an existing pipe- line stage / use this carefully (the corresponding opportunities will be 4 Use Opportunity Stages Pick list Values to reassigned) create, reorder or replace pipeline stages Sales force screenshot.
Tips for creating the right pipeline Create appropriate tasks for each stage in your pipeline Follow the buying process of your clients: your tasks for each stage of your pipeline should reflect their purchasing behavior Resist the temptation to multiply tasks! Too many tasks often reduce adoption and data quality A neat (and free) tool to manage stage tasks in Sales force: Sales Coach Managing existing and new Business Opportunities in a single pipeline is a common challenge It is often easier and faster to sell into existing accounts Using the same pipeline to manage existing and new business opportunities can distort your sales forecasts Share.
Managing sales processes in Sales force “Sales Processes” is a feature available in the Enterprise and Unlimited editions of Sales force It lets you manage multiple sales pipelines, potentially with varying structures (number and name of stages) To create Sales Processes in Sales force: Sales force screenshot Go to App Setup > Opportunities > Sales Processes First, create a “central pool” of pipeline stages Then, allocate stages to your multiple pipelines Distinguishing between existing and new business in Group and Professional is less convenient We suggest using simple and versatile pipeline stage… Salesforce screenshot … and filtering opportunities based on Type, using Opportunity Views Share
Should you use closing probabilities? The weighted pipeline is a common forecasting technique Each opportunity comes with a closing probability Forecast = Amounts x Probabilities (for a set of closing dates) Problems Opportunities are either 100% won or 100% lost… …and judgmental probabilities are notably inaccurate Conclusion Closing probabilities work in 2 situations Super tight sales process High-volume, transaction sales Relying on them can be misleading Suppressing them is not possible in Sales force, but you can choose to hide them Share.
Forecast categories – The concept “Forecast Categories” are the basis The correspondence between pipeline stages for Sales force's standard forecasting and forecast categories is based on your experience method Pipeline stages Forecast categories They are a parallel ordering Suspect of opportunities The categories are common to all opportunities… Prospect Pipeline …and reflect their likelihood to close Analysis Best Case The allocation of opportunities to forecast categories is based on sales rep declarations (though subject to review) Negotiation Commit The opportunities contained in the pipeline are allocated to forecast categories based on how advanced they are in the sales process.
