{"id":20819,"date":"2020-07-09T13:06:00","date_gmt":"2020-07-09T13:06:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/perpetos.com\/?p=20819"},"modified":"2024-04-28T09:18:48","modified_gmt":"2024-04-28T09:18:48","slug":"forecasts-in-uncertain-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/perpetos.com\/en\/remote-selling\/forecasts-in-uncertain-times\/","title":{"rendered":"Forecasts in uncertain times"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>In this article we will focus on <strong>commercial forecasting<\/strong>, i.e. we will look at unsigned orders and contracts. <strong>Sales forecasts are never easy<\/strong>. <strong>However, in uncertain times it\u2019s no exaggeration to speak about \u201cunpredictability\u201d<\/strong>. This is certainly true if the following factors are combined:&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>Project and\/or recurring sales&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Direct and indirect sales, co-selling and working with agents&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Complexity of the deal (product mix, size,\u2026)&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Buying cycle variety:&nbsp; number of people involved \u2013 buying experience,\u2026&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Length of the selling cycle&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Experience of salespeople and their management&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Composition of the territory, regions and product mix per salesperson&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Market share, brand awareness and competitive strengths&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>A brief survey during our webinar has made it clear that when making their forecasts, enterprises mainly <strong>struggle with delays in making decisions and the reliability of data<\/strong>. This leads to all kinds of complex processes, Excel worksheets outside the scope of the CRM and uncertainties.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Fortunately, there are ways <strong>to drastically reduce this unpredictability<\/strong> and at the same time enable management to undertake action in time and proactively. This is even more important in uncertain times.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>An \u201c<strong>agile forecast<\/strong>\u201d is best composed of:&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li><strong>3 parallel scenarios<\/strong> that allow an analysis of the frictions as well as timely decisions. These scenarios are typical: <strong>the worst possible result, the most realistic outcome and the scenario that is feasible with some luck.&nbsp;<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>No targets and forecasts on the basis of the calendar year or the fiscal year. It\u2019s preferable to work with <strong>a rolling forecast<\/strong> of four quarters. In other words, a new quarter is added after every quarter.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The combination <strong>of proper visibility<\/strong> <strong>and accuracy<\/strong> and the continuous improvement of the <strong>quality of your sales<\/strong> require a number of conditions or criteria to be met:&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>The same mechanism should be used, from the individual salesperson up to management level&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>There must be a constant visibility of 4 quarters&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Several parallel scenarios (as mentioned above)&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Use buying phases as a process rather than the salesperson\u2019s selling phases. This is crucial as a solution for the continued delay in the decision-making process. More information can be found in the blog and the webinar about <em>(CTA to blog 2)<\/em>&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The criteria for the calculation of the scenarios must be based on verifiable customer information. A typical example: Has the budget been approved and is it available?&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>A forecast made in this manner has <strong>major permanent advantages<\/strong>:&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>Better use of the selling time and support&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Maximum visibility, and the possibility to make adjustments in time\u2026&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Less complexity thanks to the uniform process and way of working throughout the company and the avoidance of parallel work in CRM and Excel worksheets&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Continuous process that significantly simplifies the annual planning, while avoiding the complex quarterly business reviews (QBR).&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Uniform system that makes consolidation possible in spite of high diversity&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The coaching and developing of sales talent is a major secondary effect of this way of working<\/strong>. Good salespeople will use this system for <strong>self-coaching<\/strong> and thus achieve even better results.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In this article we will focus on commercial forecasting, i.e. we will look at unsigned orders and contracts. Sales forecasts are never easy. However, in uncertain times it\u2019s no exaggeration to speak about \u201cunpredictability\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[697,723],"tags":[],"department":[509],"media":[545],"topic":[522,524],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v19.13 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Forecasts in uncertain times - Perpetos<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Forecasts in uncertain times - Perpetos\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/perpetos.com\/en\/remote-selling\/forecasts-in-uncertain-times\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Forecasts in uncertain times - Perpetos\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Forecasts in uncertain times - Perpetos\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/perpetos.com\/en\/remote-selling\/forecasts-in-uncertain-times\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Perpetos\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-07-09T13:06:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-04-28T09:18:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Pascal Persyn\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Pascal Persyn\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/perpetos.com\/en\/remote-selling\/forecasts-in-uncertain-times\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/perpetos.com\/en\/remote-selling\/forecasts-in-uncertain-times\/\",\"name\":\"Forecasts in uncertain times - Perpetos\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/perpetos.com\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2020-07-09T13:06:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-04-28T09:18:48+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/perpetos.com\/#\/schema\/person\/cccebf6f6bfb94de0ea198002c0ab079\"},\"description\":\"Forecasts in uncertain times - Perpetos\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/perpetos.com\/en\/remote-selling\/forecasts-in-uncertain-times\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/perpetos.com\/en\/remote-selling\/forecasts-in-uncertain-times\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/perpetos.com\/en\/remote-selling\/forecasts-in-uncertain-times\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/perpetos.com\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Forecasts in uncertain times\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/perpetos.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/perpetos.com\/\",\"name\":\"Perpetos\",\"description\":\"Sales and Commercial Excellence\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/perpetos.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/perpetos.com\/#\/schema\/person\/cccebf6f6bfb94de0ea198002c0ab079\",\"name\":\"Pascal Persyn\",\"description\":\"Pascal supports organisations in delivering commercial excellence in the areas of Sales Enablement, Content Strategy and Buyer Journey Enablement. 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