Ankur Ahlowalia- Apttus- Sales Forecasting as a Management Tool

A 3 Step Guide to

Transforming your Sales

Forecasting Process

Ankur AhlowaliaVP Sales Operations

Sales Forecasting as a

Management Tool

So what’s my

secret sauce for

?

Nail down a process

Invest in a forecastmanagement solution

Get Predictable

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3 KEY INGREDIENTS…

Sales Forecasting Process#1

Be Honest with yourself.

• High degree of variance between call numbers vs actual close

• Inaccurate CRM data• Lack of proper tools• The importance of accuracy

Get A Plan.

• Write down current state

• Define Accuracy Goals

• Map out how you will get there

Set Accuracy Goals

Month 1: Call number is +/- 15% of Final CloseExample: Month 1 call is $1M, QTR close should be between $1.15M and $0.85M

Scrub CRM data ASAP Call number = deals in probable and commit + few deals from upside

Month 2: Call number is +/- 10% of Final CloseExample: Month 2 call is $1M, QTR close should be between $1.1M and $0.9M

No deals in pipeline category Evaluate upside deals Call number = deals in probable and commit + very few deals from upside

Month 3: Call number is +/- 5% of Final CloseExample: Month 3 call is $1M, QTR close should be between $1.05M and $0.95M

No deals in pipeline and upside category Call number = deals in probable and commit

Forecast Management System

#2

Automated forecasting =

1. Automate roll up process2. Real-time data3. One source of truth 4. Visibility on all levels5. Predictability for your

number

Automated Roll up

Single Pane View of Business

What’s Changed

Likely to hit?

Drill down to any opp

#3Predictive Analytics and Metrics

Predictive insights give you…

• Forecast on Day 1 of Quarter• Pipeline by Region & Rep• Win rates & conversion rates• Early warning signs • Measure yourself against goals set • See what’s changed between 2 periods of time

Predictive Forecast

The Results?

- Automated- Accurate- Visible- Usable- Predictable

Thank you!

aahlowalia@apttus.com