5 Forecasting Reports Every Tech Sales Rep Should be Using
Have you ever felt like your boss or company expects you to be a fortune teller when it comes to setting goals? Or, have you taken the brunt of their fury when a predicted sales forecast went the other direction?
I’m sure I speak for all of us when I say, “I’ve been there…”
But, what if I told you, you no longer have to fear sales forecasting?
Today, we’ll discuss how I look at forecasting differently and the five forecasting reports you should be able to run at all times. Let’s dig in.
What is Sales Forecasting?
First things first, we have to understand what we’re talking about to change our strategy. Don’t worry, I’ll make this review short and sweet.
A sales forecast is an in-depth report that predicts what salespeople, teams, and companies will sell weekly, monthly, quarterly, or annually and are typically created using past performance data.
Used correctly and efficiently, sales forecasts enable tech sales reps and business leaders to make smarter decisions when setting goals, hiring, budgeting, prospecting, and other revenue-impacting factors. It’s also how everyone stays on top of sales trends and makes sure the lights stay on.
Where Sales Forecasting Goes Wrong
In theory, sales forecasting will allow you to spot or avoid potential issues to ultimately drive sales and company success. It’s also the ability to understand what revenue is coming into the business that day, month, quarter, and year.
So, why is it such a hard skill to master? (Notice, I said hard, not impossible.)
The truth is…most sales reps are bad at it. Yeah, I said what I said.
Why are they bad at it? Because they, like a meteorologist trying to predict rain in the middle of a drought, are looking at the forecast wrong.
In fact, most people fail because they look at forecasting as a point-in-time activity when in actuality, it’s something that needs to be constantly monitored in order to base the information you have available to you. Simply put, sales forecasting shouldn’t and can’t be a once a year, set it and forget it practice.
It’s a strategic daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual practice of using the data to anticipate sales, revenue, leads, new customers, supply and demand, and so much more. And I promise, switching from a one-and-done practice to a more consistent approach will set you and your company apart from the pack.
5 Sales Forecasting Reports You Should Be Running
It’s time for the good stuff. Here are the five forecasting reports every tech sales rep or account manager should be running.
1. Rolling 90-Day Forecast
Rolling 90-Day forecasting reports show your 90-Day forecast at any given time. This management tool enables you or your organization to continuously plan over a set time horizon by re-calibrating the forecast and resource allocation every ninety days, or however long your rolling forecast timeline is.
Using this model, businesses and sales reps alike can make resource decisions as close to real time as possible and managers have a timely vision of their goals every ninety days. Meaning, in a perfect world, you will be calling the number you are expected to hit and have sufficient pipeline to cover anything that falls out.
2. Current Quarter Forecast
Much like it sounds, a current quarter forecast report gives you a snapshot of the current quarter you are currently in.
It provides a lot of similar information to the rolling 90-Day forecast while also informing you of the gap that is required to hit your quota.
3. Next Quarter Forecast
Taking annual forecasting to a more granular level is the next quarter's forecast.
This forecasting report looks at the next quarter to help predict how a company’s stock will perform in that upcoming quarter.
By paying attention to this report and thinking ahead, you’ll have a good idea of what you need to do in order to hit your quota and other sales goals long before you get there.
4. Six-Month Forecast
Figure out the health of your territory and company for the next six months by using a six-month forecast report.
I’ve personally seen using this specific forecast report has helped me stay ahead of the game, plan a better sales strategy, and close any gaps that inevitably come up.
5. Seven-Day New Deal Pipeline
While it’s not a report typically used for forecasting per se, the seven-day new deal pipeline report is a good indicator of how effective your activity was for the week.
For example, if you’ve entered a healthy number of new deals into your CRM, the meetings you had that week were, by all accounts, effective.
If you didn’t, well then, the meetings you had that week weren’t as effective, and you probably have some work to do. But, you would never know unless you're running a seven-day new deal pipeline report.
Knowledge is power and there’s no reason you shouldn’t be using all the tools available to make sure you know the state of you and your company’s goals at any given moment.
If you have access to these reports, these reports should be able to inform your decision, activity, and strategy. If you don’t have access to them…well, get access.
We’ve all been there when sales predictions and forecasts for the year don’t go as planned. Don’t let that be you.
Use these five sales forecasting reports and you’ll finally see tech sales forecasting work for you, not against you.
What’s Next?
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