[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2019\/03\/28\/3-reasons-why-sales-forecasting-doesnt-work\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2019\/03\/28\/3-reasons-why-sales-forecasting-doesnt-work\/","headline":"3 Reasons why sales forecasting doesn’t work","name":"3 Reasons why sales forecasting doesn’t work","description":"Sales forecasting is an age-old practice, but one that has evolved with an odd lack of urgency compared to other business imperatives.","datePublished":"2019-03-28","dateModified":"2021-09-01","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/contributor\/shawn-willett\/#Person","name":"Shawn Willett","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/contributor\/shawn-willett\/","identifier":325,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cdaa0d1368da7b2abde5f8a353ad62de862dbeb371cea1a447a8f6e3688194c3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cdaa0d1368da7b2abde5f8a353ad62de862dbeb371cea1a447a8f6e3688194c3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"The Future of Commerce","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/logo-foc-schema-app-1.png","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/logo-foc-schema-app-1.png","width":172,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/thumbnail-ceaef6ce2417bd30ea9e695d311994e3.jpeg","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/thumbnail-ceaef6ce2417bd30ea9e695d311994e3.jpeg","height":375,"width":1200},"url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2019\/03\/28\/3-reasons-why-sales-forecasting-doesnt-work\/","about":[{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/sales\/crm\/","name":"CRM","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Customer_relationship_management","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q485643"]},{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/sales\/","name":"Sales","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Sales","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q194189"]}],"wordCount":489,"keywords":["CRM | Customer Relationship Management","Sales Forecasting"],"articleBody":"Sales forecasting is an age-old practice, but one that has evolved with an odd lack of urgency compared to other business imperatives, such as customer relations.You would think that something as important and time-consuming as forecasting your sales would be given more attention and technology, especially given that most sales forecasts are flat-out wrong. There\u2019s nothing like telling your CEO a week before the quarter closes that your projected $1 million in quarterly sales is going to be more like half a million, or $250,000.Even though there are tools and techniques out there for making your sales forecasts accurate, a lot of sales operations managers continue to make the same mistakes over and over.Why sales forecasting doesn’t work1. Over-optimismYour sales pipeline always looks way rosier in the eyes of your sales reps, who have a natural inclination to be overly optimistic about their chances. After all\u2014it\u2019s this hope and optimism that keeps them going, no matter how many disappointments or setbacks come their way.But it\u2019s this very trait, which makes them great sales reps, that also makes it hard for you to depend on them for accurate forecasting data.While there are ways around this issue, most sales managers listen a little too closely to their reps\u2019 assessment of the pipeline, and end up going on an overly-optimistic picture of their upcoming sales.2. Lack of transparencyFar too many sales teams use CRM systems that don\u2019t provide the transparency or controls you need to make accurate forecasts.For example, a sales rep just informed that an opportunity is falling through could choose to simply move the deal\u2019s closing date up a few months on the CRM instead of marking the deal as dead. The rep may be doing this either intentionally \u2014 that is, to purposely make himself look better \u2014 or unintentionally \u2014 that is, because he truly believes he can still close the deal.Either way you are left with a forecasting inaccuracy.This lack of accountability and transparency of pipeline and sales data reporting wreaks havoc on forecasts.3. Bad dataThis is one of the most easily fixed sales forecasting issues, which makes its continued existence all the more egregious and puzzling.Bad data from CRM systems is rampant, and that\u2019s because most sales reps don\u2019t want to spend their time updating a CRM \u2014 they want to be talking to potential new customers.This leads to data that is old, inaccurate, or just plain non-existent, and when your forecasts are based on bad data, you know very well what happens.The good news is, it really doesn\u2019t have to be like this. There are solutions and best practices out there to turn sales forecasting from an act of futility into an act of reality and even value-building.  More options. More conditions. More stakeholders. More circling-back.Modern selling is anything but simple.Intelligent sales enablement starts HERE."},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"2019","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2019\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"03","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2019\/\/03\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"28","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2019\/\/03\/\/28\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"3 Reasons why sales forecasting doesn’t work","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2019\/03\/28\/3-reasons-why-sales-forecasting-doesnt-work\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]