Forecast Cadence and Process

On-demand reference for the revops-forecasting skill.

Weekly Forecast Rhythm

MONDAY: Reps update deal stages, close dates, and amounts in CRM
        Reps categorize active deals (Commit / Best Case / Upside)
        System generates pipeline snapshot (automated)

TUESDAY: Frontline managers review each rep's pipeline
         Challenge Commit categorizations against validation checklist
         Identify at-risk deals that need escalation or support
         Update team-level forecast

WEDNESDAY: Director/VP reviews rolled-up team forecasts
           Focus on: variance from last week, new Commits, deals that slipped
           Identify cross-team dependencies or executive engagement needs

THURSDAY: Executive forecast review (weekly or bi-weekly)
          Present: Commit, Best Case, Optimistic, vs. target
          Flag deals requiring executive involvement
          Pipeline generation status: are we building enough for next period?

The Forecast Call (How to Run It)

Do not let reps read deal updates from their notes. That's a status call, not a forecast call.

The structure:

1. START WITH THE NUMBER (2 minutes)
   Manager states: "We're at €X Commit, €Y Best Case, against €Z target.
   Gap to plan on Commit is €[Z-X]. Here's where I want to focus."

2. INSPECT AT-RISK COMMITS (bulk of time)
   For each Commit deal the manager has questions about:
   - What changed since last week?
   - What's the specific next step and when?
   - Who is the economic buyer and when did we last speak to them?
   - What could prevent this from closing on time?

3. REVIEW BEST CASE DEALS THAT COULD BECOME COMMIT (10-15 min)
   - What needs to happen to move this to Commit?
   - Can we accelerate any of these?
   - What resources/support does the rep need?

4. PIPELINE GENERATION CHECK (5 min)
   - Is next quarter's pipeline on track?
   - Where are the gaps by segment/territory?

5. ACTION ITEMS (2 min)
   - Who does what by when

The manager's job is to listen for red flags:

RED FLAG: "They're really interested" → No specific next step
RED FLAG: "We're just waiting on procurement" → No timeline or contact
RED FLAG: "I think the budget is there" → Budget not confirmed
RED FLAG: "Close date is end of month" → Same close date for 3+ weeks
RED FLAG: "The champion is on board" → Haven't met the economic buyer