How do you prove the value of your sales forecast?

Ok so I think that we need to get the boots on the ground and talk to the people that actually do the job like the sales people and the managers. A lot of reported data is weeks or months old and that doesn’t make it bad just not very timely. I get the ☝️comment but it’s almost from a Harvard biz school playbook. There is a lot of alphabet soup that is lost on one’s shirt as they read this. At the end of the day we are human and this bot makes good points but I’m not sure it’s getting “buy in” or trust. So that being said …yes the macro and micro Econ data is useful . It’s just the the customers need to feel a connection with the product and a need for it. Just my 2 cents. I am greatful for your feedback.

Forecasting is an art which you can develop by using data, experience & understanding of situation. Driving forecasted no also help to be perfect in forecasting ._

A good forecasting method is litmus tested through rigorous backtesting. It is very easy for teams to over-intellectualize this process and add unwanted variables, which just makes the forecast more unreliable over time. It is important for sales leaders to prioritize most key forecasting relevant data points in collaboration with front-line sales folks and then backtest the model to test it's accuracy.

Unfortunately, there is no secret sauce in sales forecasting...and if looked at closely with a critical eye, much is guess work where facts are loose. There are 4,000 books out there that will show you how to fill your funnel...but what is right for you and are your efforts measurable? Your specific efforts need to be measured if you are to look at where your successes are coming from. Once this has been accomplished and you find what works for you, hone that skill...perfect it, because you will be one of the few that will.

In my experience- 1. Interact one to one with senior managers in presence of frontline managers. Debate on grey points and tentatively freeze forecasts 2. Tally with last years same month forecast and achievement 3. Correlated with market scenario of last year and prevailing conditions 4. Take feed back of key accounts 5. Make the success ratio of accuracy of forecasting for each headquarter and put forth with at least one year data There’s are the layout where with the help of technology we can help improving accuracy of forecasts for sales.

Incorporate Market Insights and External Factors To ensure your sales forecast is robust, review market insights and consider external factors that could impact your objectives. Understand industry trends, economic indicators, and your competition. By updating your projections with real-time market changes, you can have confidence in your forecast and add an extra layer of credibility. This approach reinforces your ability to make informed predictions while remaining adaptable to changes as needed."

To determine the value of a sales forecast, the most important thing is evaluation. a good prediction or planning is to evaluate all kinds of sales data, understand sales trends, and look at sales statistics and see trends in the ups and downs of sales values either daily, weekly or monthly or even yearly

Proving the value of your sales forecast is crucial for gaining credibility and making informed business decisions. We can take these steps and strategies to demonstrate the accuracy and reliability of our sales forecasts such as Segmentation Analysis, Timely follow-ups, and accurate next steps along with the market trends that can impact the sales decisions.

The most accurate sales forecasts are often also ones that make you worried :) Sales leaders have the tendency to put together over-optimistic forecasts when they're based on compiled forecasts from different teams. This is because no one wants to look bad when forecasting their numbers which is why backtesting models is extremely important.

Regularly share reports with senior management and stakeholders, spotlighting significant insights, advancements, and measures implemented to improve the precision of sales forecasts.

First of all study the market set actions plans, set KPIs for the Sales ,profit, Customer Satisfaction .to find the weakness point to improve .

Targets should be set both top-down (when they originate in org goals) and bottom-up (when they originate in sales activity data) the closer these two numbers are the better aligned the org will be. This will also improve chances of success and bring in a culture of accomplishment in the long run.

First off all, the management must know that a sales forecast is never 💯 accurate. Management has to know the right steps to a product/service conversion. What's the sales lifecycle of the product/service you represent. Sales department teams have to be aware on how to use the CRM SYSTEM and, therefore an weekly meeting will be enough to adjust.

Structure compensation to match projections Provide support to the business environment Provide necessary resources for optimizing output Focus on penetration of product or service limit choices / max profit

Track you Customer Satisfaction, as long as this indicator is high all other indicators will arise automatically revenue, profit, more clients etc.

Ok I like this part and I missed it initially. It’s a great step to reach out even though there are times that the feedback might be less than desirable. Maybe you worked hard on something and it didn’t go your way. So being able to pivot and not be defensive is important. I am really impressed with you here on the 4th step. Good job👍you should be proud of yourself.

Ask for brutal feedback on the forecasting techniques used. Ensure everyone buys into the process or contributes to it in some way so that they can call it their own. This will help you make sure everyone owns up to the actual numbers it throws up each time you run it.

Define stakeholders in this section. To the general public, a stakeholder is likely someone who owns a piece of the company. Feedback is essential, but the message of how the input is communicated is important. Which stakeholders are polled? How? How often? How does the company address the feedback and implement changes?

Just make sure to show that the colllected feedback is being used for changing processes and practices. Otherwise you allienate customer from future feedbacks, as they think your feedback sessions are just "pro forma". It's annoying to realize that the time you've spent is wasted !

Soliciting and incorporating feedback is a crucial proactive step especially engaging the stakeholders. Feedbacks from different perspective would enhance sales forecasting in the areas of market intelligence at levels that maybe unknown to the sales experts but at times available to the operational leaders or even stakeholders. Constructive feedbacks leads to organizational growth and talents development that results in higher bottomline performance.

Absolutely, staying agile with your sales forecast is crucial for success in a rapidly evolving business landscape. Treating your forecast as a living document rather than a static prediction enables you to respond to market shifts and make informed decisions. By continuously updating and refining your forecast, you're better equipped to navigate uncertainties and capitalize on emerging opportunities. It's not just about predicting the future, but actively shaping it to your advantage.

I think learning from competitors and peers who are probably already doing a great job (preferably in the same space) is very important. Iterations that you make to an already set-up forecast model should be very well thought out. Unnecessary tinkering can throw thing out of balance.

Don't forget to update your process as well. The definition of rules for each stage may change. Sales teams change over the time, make sure they are still aligned with the process.

After reading the the whole thing I would give the bot an A minus. Initially I heard lots of word salad or soup but as I read through the steps they are sound, logical and inclusive to stakeholders. Hats off to this bot and it is my hope if and when it persists and exists in the next few decades that it will feel a sense of pride. Also that it was able to share knowledge and even humility that I observed in several points. It is possible that this entity will work work with humans on trillions of iterations to present the best possible outcomes. Great work

Ensuring that you do both a top-down and the bottom-up forecast allows you to capture the logical and emotional parts to sales forecasting. A top-down approach solidifies the logical side of forecasting done usually by sales or revenue operations while a bottom-up forecast allows to gather emotional insights from the reps.

Would AI ever replace the sales experts in sales forecast one day soon? In my opinion, AI may complement the human sales expert in forecasting by furnishing data because it's always the sixth sense that sales experts gain through respective experience which is an invaluable tool for forecasting.

Headings are defined, I think the description lacks depth and methodology that can be practically applied day in day out. Below are my views on how to prove value to Sales Forecast Skill. Just numbers for below should do! 1. Difference between budget and forecast value and its detailed profit and loss. (You may not make enough profit though you sell more) 2. What would be the impact on people, product and cost of operations if it not planned well. 3. Forecast how much you can save and increase profit by having an accurate sales forecast. 4. Analyse why X value didn’t Generate or what it was generated while not forecasted. A series of “Why” should give more intelligence and help in better planning These are my thoughts.