{"id":2174,"date":"2019-11-14T17:30:00","date_gmt":"2019-11-14T22:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/primaressource.enconstruction.website\/6-sales-forecast-errors\/"},"modified":"2023-04-18T13:11:42","modified_gmt":"2023-04-18T17:11:42","slug":"6-sales-forecast-errors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.primaressource.com\/en\/6-sales-forecast-errors\/","title":{"rendered":"6 sales forecast errors that will make you miss your goals"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"6I see many sales leaders struggling to establish reliable sales forecasts for the coming year. This is a very difficult exercise that leaves all managers and sales leaders with headaches.<\/p>\n

However, you can improve the quality of your forecasts and avoid some very common mistakes.<\/p>\n

1. Consider unusual gains as reproducible<\/h2>\n

<\/p>\n

It can happen that a salesperson wins an exceptional sale that will boost the company’s revenue. However, some sales managers make the mistake of thinking that other big opportunities in the pipeline will close when they make their forecasts. This is a mistake.<\/p>\n

Unusual gains should not be taken into consideration, as it is almost impossible for a salesperson to be able to repeat the same stunt for a second year in a row. It is possible that the sales rep worked on the opportunity over a period of two years, for example.<\/p>\n

To be more accurate in your sales forecast, rely on typical opportunities<\/span>. This will also allow your team to stay focused on profitable sales activities instead of investing time and effort in exceptional opportunities that are less likely to lead to sales<\/a>.<\/p>\n

2. Poor knowledge of the market<\/h2>\n

A poor knowledge of the market can take two forms:<\/p>\n

1. In relation to existing customers<\/h3>\n

Sales forecasts are often based on what customers have purchased in previous years. However, by limiting yourself to this exercise, you are not digging to see if other opportunities exist for these clients. You do not encourage the customer to question whether there is another problem that you could solve, either directly with the customer or with a subsidiary, for example.<\/p>\n

You don’t push your salespeople to grow existing accounts, which probably deprives your company of a significant volume of sales<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

2. In relation to market shares<\/h3>\n

It is often difficult to assess the market potential and your actual market share. For example, if you aim to gain 5% of the market shares held by your competitors, how do you know what revenue this represents? To answer this question, it is necessary to have a precise knowledge of your potential market.<\/p>\n

3. Not considering your products’ life cycle<\/h2>\n

If you plan to launch a product during the year, you must consider the product life cycle curve and the adoption curve. Indeed, this step is crucial if you want to be realistic about the sales of new products. The same applies to products in a phase of decline.<\/p>\n

Moreover, the decline may be more sudden than expected, which distorts sales forecasts.<\/p>\n

\"productSource: https:\/\/www.assignmentpoint.com\/business\/marketing-business\/product-life-cycle.html<\/a><\/p>\n

4. Not following up on forecasts and objectives with the representatives<\/h2>\n

Your salespeople must understand the importance of having a sales funnel that meets the 4 health criteria at all times:<\/p>\n