SAP recently published the results of their survey of the top challenges facing teams selling cloud-based services. Straight in at number one was “Accurately Forecast Business”.
Over-inflated sales forecasts have troubled managers and leaders since the dawn of the profession and correcting it is something of a black art. For its own part, SAP offers this tip: “Use personalised and predictive sales analytics to consistently crush your sales quota.”
But is forecast inaccuracy really driven by the lack of analytics? Sales leaders frustrated at deal drift will often look at their team’s closing techniques or qualification process. Our experience with sales teams in a range of sectors is that this is much more to do with the fundamentals of human psychology.