Forecasting kinda sucks. No one really has control of our customers – I don’t believe any one of us can make them buy. Still, we should have some idea when they will buy, right?
Here’s another way to look at it – treat forecasting as a part of your selling process. Forecasting is a way to help you sell to lots of people. Some ways to sell your forecasts….
To yourself
Take a look at your list of deals. Then, take out a piece of paper. Write out the ones that will close on it – actually sit there and write it out. Then, look at that deal. Ask yourself one question: Never mind me, what is going to make these guys buy by this date? Don’t tell yourself what they told you…..don’t say you have a good feeling about it. Really, why would they buy? I bet half of your prospects can’t even pass this test. Now, if you cannot honestly do this in the comfort of your own space and not in front of anyone else, you have another problem….
To your manager
This is where you can tell your manager what you need. Your manager needs the revenue as much as you do, so her goal is not simply to hassle you. What does your forecast say to your manager? What conclusion would your manager draw from this? Do you have too many sales to current customers? Are there more marketing efforts to be done? Remember, you are a salesperson, so you know that simply telling someone something is a bad way to get what you want. The other party has to see it for themselves. So, how can you guide your manager to seeing the conclusion you want to make? You gain a lot of credibility this way.
To your co-workers
Ask around – what are other people expecting to come in? You can often trade some valuable info you have for some valuable info someone else has. Find someone successful and ask about a good deal she has. Maybe it can help you find one of your own – maybe you have a deal is relates to. This is a two-way street (like any good sale), so you both need to win from it. SEs also would be interested to see this – you can help guide them in the right direction as well.
All of this means you need to take an active role in this process. You need to be honest – you need to be open. I bet doing this a few times will make the whole process a lot easier. You’ll spend less time worry about “your pipeline” and more time worrying about the real problems that caused that crappy pipeline.
