August 28, 2019
Article
Harvard Business Review Digital Articles

How to Make Your Sales Forecasts More Accurate

Format:Electronic

Abstract

Companies need consistently accurate sales forecasts — but unfortunately they are rare. That’s because many companies fail to align their sales and marketing departments, and that alignment is a prerequisite for forecast accuracy. Companies can achieve better alignment and avoid end-of-quarter angst by agreeing on what constitutes a “lead” that a salesperson will be able to close in the month, quarter, or year. This definition of lead viability needs to be ratified by the entire senior management team. And, just as important, the group needs to agree not to change the definition on the fly.