IMPROVING YOUR SALES FORECAST ACCURACY

Now more than ever, the CFO and the EVP of Sales need to be aligned because the consequences of poor forecasting can be dire.

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For example,

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• Underestimating sales can ripple through the supply chain, and result in product shortages. Overestimating could negatively affect sales force motivation, disappoint investors and have the regulators calling for answers.

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• Even though revenues are the lifeblood of a company, many CEOs and other senior executives are ignorant of all aspects of the sales function. Some, for example, believe that landing a big customer is more about art and very little science. But the simple truth is, those who believe this myth will continue to suffer the many volatile ups and downs of the sales roller coaster.

We help clients smooth out the ups and downs of their revenue stream by implementing definable, repeatable sales processes that can be tracked, planned and managed. Although this is admittedly a difficult task, we've helped some of the world's largest companies make drastic improvements.

It starts by adopting a common sales process, definitions and objective criteria as a foundation, and formal reviews to build validity and credibility. Many salespeople, for example, will claim that they're already too busy to spend precious time classifying and tracking their activities. But such a disciplined process is crucial, especially when a company absolutely needs to have a more predictable sales cycle.