Forecasting can not be predicted with 100% accuracy but, just like insider trading, if you have a better understanding of the problems we are about to face, you can better position yourself to secure the outcome. And unlike insider trading, this won’t put you in jail.
The real question when it comes to forecasting is how do we define a deal that is going to close?
Is it based on the amount of times you have met with a client?
Phone calls?
Or buyer intent? (Whatever the fuck that means).
It’s not about activity metrics. It’s not about some data point that can be Googled or bought.
It’s about solving problems.
Sellers must solve prospect’s business problems. The biggest problem becomes the priority. The problem can not be “they don’t have our product and want it”- why? Because they have been a business before you came around and they will be a business after you leave.
According to Pavilion sales cycles have lengthened by 32% this year! So what can we do to get better?
- Capture the damn data.
That’s it. We don’t have to keep asking sales reps like it’s donating a kidney, just fill in the CRM. Based on a recent poll during our deal management webinar we learned it is a 50/50 split between companies that have data organized and available for review.
- Follow a sales methodology or framework
Your sellers need to have an organized path. Did you know sales organizations that have a consistent methodology outperform those that don’t by 12-27% in KPIs? If you follow sports, imagine a football team playing with a playbook. People would be running in all different directions. Everybody would be on a different page. It would be chaos. So what makes your sales team different?
- Score deals based on the quality of information
Can you open your salesforce right now, head to the opportunities tab and honestly tell me which ones have a greater chance of closing, and those that will likely push to the next quarter?
- Review opportunity details and provide feedback
Sales opportunities need to be reviewed early and often. To do that, you need to have the right tech stack in place and configured to make this process easy and repeatable. This should be your CRM. So again, ask yourself, can you get caught up on a deal without calling the rep? If the opportunity is off track, can you give feedback to the rep? Can you see if and when the rep applied the feedback? If not, your tech stack is underserving you.
Noted Analytics allows for management to review data synced directly from the reps noted into CRM, opens a feedback loop between the two, and highlights key data points for C suite to organize forecasting and strategize with managers who are having the largest impact on win rates.
Still don’t believe me?
Go open an opportunity and tell me if you can make an educated guess based on the data when it is going to close – and you can’t use “I’ve got a feeling” as a data set 😉
