Are you looking for a sales forecasting solution to replace endless meetings and spreadsheets? The right sales forecasting tools can make your life simpler, automating essential communication across departments so you can focus on the day's work instead of explaining it. They can also improve your forecast's accuracy, increasing your team's confidence in the deals they choose to close.
Sales forecasting tools offer new opportunities for in-depth conversations because they make the basics transparent and accessible for team members. In this article, we'll discuss key features of sales forecasting tools and offer advice on best-use practices.
Why Invest in Sales Forecasting Tools?
Businesses use sales forecasting to predict future revenue. For accurate forecasting, you need access to sales data and a way to organize it. Technically, you could complete sales forecasting for your company with nothing but a spreadsheet and elbow grease.
However, revenue forecasting tools are designed to automate and streamline the process, allowing you to spend more time assessing data and less time organizing it. The right tools can completely transform your sales process, highlighting areas for improvement and offering accurate forecasts so you can make confident business decisions.
Key Features to Look for in Sales Forecasting Tools
Not every tool offers comprehensive data collection, integration, and analysis features. Your best tool will depend on priorities like your preferred features, budget, and existing tech stack.
Here are eight factors to consider when comparing sales forecasting tools:
User-Friendly Interface
To simplify data analysis, sales forecasts must be simple to use. Look for a forecasting tool with a clean interface that's easy to navigate. The right forecasting tool makes it easy to understand data and actionable insights. Customizable dashboards and reports will allow you to make the most of this tool.
Real-Time Integration
If you're going to combine a sales forecasting tool with your existing tech stack, it's essential that they can communicate. You can invest in additional software that makes integration possible, or look for a forecasting tool with built-in integrative capabilities. Sales forecasting tools need to integrate with CRM systems and multiple other sources.
Data Analysis Capabilities
Your forecasting tool should analyze past sales data and predict future sales. It should show you trends, patterns, and future forecasts that are consistently accurate. To learn about a tool's data analysis capabilities, read user reviews. A tool's ability to analyze past and future data is its most important feature.
Performance Tracking and Metrics
To help you turn data into action, sales forecasting software should have custom KPI and metrics options. After you customize performance indicators, you can stay updated on business goals and find ways to improve over time. Tracking and comparing KPIs to past performance is easy with the right sales forecasting tools.
Scenario Planning
Ideally, your forecasting tool should allow you to see how potential changes could impact your company's forecast. The ability to simulate scenarios based on internal and external company changes can equip you to make better decisions as a company. You should be able to experiment within a simulation by changing sales cycles, conversion rates, changes in pricing, market conditions, and more.
AI and Machine Learning Capabilities
With AI and machine learning, sales forecasting tools can provide automated insights based on past and current data analysis. AI-driven insights streamline the forecasting process, saving you time and allowing you to quickly see opportunities and understand business risks.
Automated Reporting and Alerts
Sales forecasting software should save time, and the best way to do that is through automation. Reports should automatically generate, and you should be able to set up automatic communications and alerts between team members. An automated system supports you so you can run revenue without acting as your own secretary.
Team Collaboration
One of the benefits of forecasting tools is that you can quickly communicate between team members with shared dashboards, comments, alerts, and other features. Role-based access allows team members to view data based on their clearance level. Consider what communication could benefit your company, and look for a forecasting tool that offers those features.
Essential Tech Stack for Sales Forecasting
Sales forecasting is part of the bigger picture of data and communication in your company. Some sales forecasting software can handle multiple jobs, simplifying your tech stack without losing essential information.
However, other sales forecasting software is meant only for forecasting and requires integration with other programs. The right tech stack for sales forecasting depends on your industry and the size of your company.
Adjacent Tech to Sales Forecasting Software
How does sales forecasting fit into your company's existing tech stack? Here are five types of data management systems that impact sales forecasting:
- Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
- Business Intelligence
- Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
- Statistical Analysis
- Project Management
To forecast sales accurately, you need data that covers cash flow, project timelines, and market research. A smooth sales forecast process starts with streamlined data collection and analysis across your organization.
Best Practices for Using Sales Forecasting Tools
Sales forecasting tools support your team with the data and analytics you need to run revenue and make accurate forecasts. The right software can increase confidence, justifying itself with a proven track record of data-backed success. Here are several best practices to keep in mind when using sales forecasting software:
- Integrate early. The more history these tools have to work with, the more accurate their forecasts will be. Investing in sales forecasting software early can save your company long-term costs, equipping you to react quickly to changes as your company grows.
- Automate tasks. Automating reports and communication saves you time. It can also lead to creative problem-solving and new conversations as team members think about the data they're seeing from forecasting software.
- Evaluate often. At its heart, sales forecasting is an evaluative tool that allows you to make future commitments with confidence. Frequent evaluation of data equips you to understand and improve your sales process.
Using a sales forecasting tool should feel simple and intuitive. The right software will help you make sense of your sales process and offer insights that empower company growth. It will provide accurate forecasting and real-time insights, saving you time and improving your company's sales strategy.
Simplify Sales Forecasting With Clari
Sales forecasting should be easy — not a tangle of spreadsheets, emails and explanatory meetings. With Clari Forecast, you can track valuable data, automatically share insights with coworkers and improve forecasting accuracy. Our technology uses AI and offers extremely accurate forecasts, increasing company confidence in your financial future.
Instead of justifying your forecast, you can focus on what your company should do about the data. Clari Forecast stands out from competitors because of its:
- Simple interface
- Data-driven insights
- Real-time pipeline management
- Integration capabilities
- AI-powered forecasts
- Deal risk assessments
Our platform is accessible on mobile and desktop, making it easy to reference data while on the go. Clari offers a single source of truth for sales forecasting, simplifying your process and enhancing your accuracy. Book a demo with Clari today to see our powerful tool in action.