Sometimes you need to just let it all out… and forecasting is one of those things we see LOT of frustration with.
Need some cheese with that whine? We won’t tell. In fact, we’ll chime in.
Some of the most frequent gripes we hear about forecasting are…
1) It’s so damn time consuming.
2) I have to chase my reps to update the forecast every month by the deadline.
3) I need to know not just what’s closing, but WHEN. No more moving close dates!
4) Salesforce doesn’t let me format the data the way I need it – but combining spreadsheets and passing around over email sucks too.
5) Sales Cloud has two versions of forecasting… yet still, neither one fits my process.
6) I have to take everything my reps put in the system with a grain of salt anyway.
7) Every team in the company does it differently.
8) No one is trained on how to forecast.
9) No matter what, there’s always a sandbagger in the mix!
10) My business is complicated – I need to capture the nuances of multiple currencies, product and revenue schedules, and use the terminology that my team can follow.
11) There’s more data I’d be interested in seeing, but it’s too hard to get.
12) I need revenue predictability. How am I supposed to staff and make investments without accurate information?
13) Reps neglect to update their opportunities until month end, and then they complain about having to go in and do it, one record at a time.
14) We’re not measuring accuracy or deviation from the forecast on an individual level – so people don’t have a real incentive to get it right.
15) Getting numbers from the channel is even harder than getting it from reps – they’re just not invested in the process.
16) We try to make our process fit the cookie cutter mold of a technology platform, and it Just. Doesn’t. Work.
17) Transparency is lacking, and the final forecast doesn’t always make it around to the people who are accountable for hitting those numbers.
A Light at the End of the Tunnel
If you’re fed up with forecasting, you’re not alone. But it doesn’t have to be this way.
We partner with growth-oriented companies who believe their process should dictate their technology and not the other way around. We’ve worked with several companies to build out custom, flexible forecasting apps in their Salesforce org to fit their unique process. The time and effort saved makes it pay for itself. (But hey, seeing is believing. Let us show you how.)
What Did We Miss?
Did we miss your favorite thing to hate about forecasting? What’s most annoying to you? What makes your blood boil about the process? Let us know in the comments!