Why don't salespeople do this?

Things you do for yourself that enhance your life:

• Exercise
• Eat a healthy diet
• Live within your means
• Get plenty of sleep
• Forecast

Wait, what? Forecast? How does that fit in with things you do for yourself?

A complaint we hear from managers is that salespeople do not put much effort into the forecasts. Managers have even joked that their salespeople are probably frantically updating their forecasts on the day before the forecast meeting. If the forecasts your management provides to their management are inaccurate, your company will not know how to plan for future business, adversely affecting profits. When done correctly, forecasts are beneficial to close business. When not done correctly, forecasts become dangerous because they are inaccurate and based on false assumptions. No one benefits from erroneous forecasts. They waste time for all who create and rely on them.

How different would things be if you used your forecast as a checklist for what you need to accomplish to keep projects and opportunities moving through the pipeline? What if you forecasted for yourself? What if you looked at your sales funnel and considered what you need to discover to move the process forward for each account represented? Your forecast could be used as a GPS to close business, keep organized, and help you make more money which could help you realize your personal goals and dreams. A side effect could be that your management can provide accurate forecasts to their management. A win for everyone!

Sound good? Our workshop, Objective Forecasting, is designed to give you the tools to forecast for yourself so you can reap the benefits.