A forecasting course could be one of the most valuable resources you invest in for your sales team. After all, wouldn’t it be easier to design the right sales strategies, pitches, and methodologies, if you could effectively predict the future?
Forecasting in sales is as close as you can get to “predicting” what might happen for your business, months, or years in advance. Unfortunately, it’s not without its challenges. In order to effectively forecast what kind of budget, sales techniques, and strategies you’re going to need to achieve specific goals, your team members will need specific skills.
They need to know how to collect, and analyze data, examine historical trends, and eliminate inaccuracies in their reports. That’s where forecasting courses come in.
What is a Forecasting Course? An Introduction
“Forecasting” is a methodology used by virtually every business in some regard. Businesses use scheduling forecasts to plan how many team members they need to have in the office at any given time. Companies also use forecasting to predict how much money they’re likely to spend on marketing campaigns and promotional efforts.
One of the most common forms of forecasting is “sales forecasting”. This essentially evolves by predicting how a company’s revenue, sales opportunities, and strategies will change in the future, based on historical trends and data.
Sales forecasting can play a major role in any company’s success, as it allows salespeople and business leaders alike to make better decisions when prospecting, hiring, budgeting, setting goals, and acquiring leads. Unfortunately, while most salespeople spend anywhere up to 2.5 hours on sales forecasting each week, studies show their predictions are often less than 75% accurate.
The sad truth is that sales forecasting can be a complicated process. Not every salesperson will automatically be able to assess data and convert raw information into actionable insights. However, with a forecasting course, it’s possible for employees to learn more of the techniques and methodologies they can use to enhance their forecasting potential.
What Do Forecasting Courses Do?
Forecasting courses, delivered either online or in person, provide employees with step-by-step instructions on how to manage some of the core aspects of the forecasting process. They can help employees to better understand how forecasting works, as well as introduce individuals to different types of forecasting strategies.
For instance, a sales forecasting course might begin by introducing learners to the concept of “sales forecasting” in general, and why it’s valuable to business leaders and teams, before following up with an introduction to different forecasting strategies, such as:
- Opportunity stage forecasting
- Length of sales cycle forecasting
- Intuitive forecasting
- Historical forecasting
- Multivariable analysis forecasting
- Pipeline forecasting
After introducing different methodologies for sales forecasting, a course might explore different strategies for collecting and using data, like how to use the “rollover technique” for qualitative forecasting, and how to leverage tracking and smoothing strategies to improve data accuracy.
Sales forecasting courses can introduce professionals to concepts like how to use baselines to measure the performance of a company over time, and why it’s important to take seasonality metrics into account when predicting future sales opportunities.
The core focus of these educational resources is to provide sales professionals and team members with a series of strategies and methods they can use to enhance their sales forecasting results. Depending on the type of sales forecasting course you choose, your team members may learn how to:
- Collect data accurately using CRMs and lead management tools
- Set individual and team quotas based on forecasting results
- Choose the right forecasting method for each use case
- Understand different styles of qualitative and quantitative data
- Transform sales forecasting insights into actionable reports
Does Your Team Need a Forecasting Course?
Most business leaders know they need to invest in consistently educating, reskilling, and upskilling their employees if they want to generate the right results. After all, the sales landscape is a competitive and complex space. Consistent education ensures your team members can thrive in their roles, and contribute towards better outcomes for your business.
A sales forecasting course is just one example of an educational resource business leaders can use to empower and enhance their teams. When employees and business leaders know how to forecast correctly, they can start to unlock some of the key benefits effective forecasting can bring.
Powerful sales forecasts can inspire companies to make better decisions, set effective goals, and even motivate their employees to achieve the right results.
Just remember, not everyone on your team will necessarily need to take a sales forecasting course. These educational resources are best suited to employees who already work with data, as well as supervisors and managers responsible for setting goals for the entire business.
