What Your Sales Forecast Isn't Telling You
In a lot of organizations, your sales forecast is only giving you a partial representation of the truth
The first challenge is to establish objective criteria against the data
Sales people are generally very optimistic and hopeful, and as great a trait as that is, it doesn’t always make for great judgement when evaluating where a sales opportunity is within the sales cycle. One very simple, yet powerful method to get objectivity into the numbers is to define what your various sales cycles look like. You enter into a market with competitors that have access to essentially the same gear and expertise as you. However, you show up in the market differently than they do. That is called your Value Proposition. How are you different than they are? I’m sure everyone can answer that question within your sales department.
