(Adopting the Forecasting Tool)

The following is a general recommendation - you will need to make adjustments for your specific book of business

• At the beginning of the quarter, use the bulk update feature to create a “baseline” Client Forecast for all your accounts using either Last Quarter Revenue or This Quarter Last Year. Then, manually update any accounts that you know will spend significantly differently.
• Every Monday morning (or as otherwise indicated by your Director) update your Client Forecast, as needed.
• By the 3rd or 4th week of the quarter, most reps will start to bulk update using the Straight Line Projection (Straight Line is based off of spend so far this quarter, so it becomes more accurate and reliable as the quarter goes on).
• The easiest way to bulk update is by filtering based on Update Type - when you filter for the Update Type of Straight Line Projection, you can then select those accounts and bulk update them without also updating the accounts you wish to edit manually.
• As the quarter progresses, you should need to make fewer manual adjustments
• The same process applies to forecasting for future quarters
• Pipelining (creating and adjusting Opportunities in Stages 0, 1, 2, and 3) should be done in real-time as you work on those deals.
• When you move an Opportunity to Closed-Won, it will automatically add the amounts from the Revenue. *Schedule to the Client Forecast, and the Update Type will change to “Manual.” You can then either bulk update the Client Forecast the next Monday morning, or continue to edit them manually.

Pipelining Rules (NO CHANGES)

• The following rules apply so long as:
• You are proactively a part of the selling process (IOW, ou do not need to create an Opportunity if the client starts spending on their own) There will be multiple steps in the sales process (IOW, you do not need to create an Opportunity in Closed-Won for a 1-call close) (ARCHIVE)*
• The deal is for a significant amount of revenue (IOW, you do not need to create an Opportunity for small, expected changes in spend)
• A new Opportunity should be created when you have a positive 2-way conversation with a client about a specific product
• The stage should be updated as you make progress and increase the likelihood of the deal closing (if your market has specific rules for when to select stages please continue to follow those rules)
• Opportunities should be moved to Closed-Won when the client has committed in earnest, to spending the indicated amount (depending on your clients, this could be when the IO is signed, there is a verbal contract to spend, or the client actually starts spending)
• Opportunities should be moved to Closed-Lost when the deal is no longer believed to be worth pursuing
• Once the Opportunity is moved to Closed-Won, you will no longer update that Opportunity (see the Forecasting Rules below!)

Overview

(Include an explanation of booked revenue (passive) and new deals (pipeline)

The Forecasting and Pipelining process divides your work into 2 different exercises:

• Pipelining - The process and documentation of moving a deal from the initial conversations to the point when the deal is closed.

• Forecasting - Understanding the amount of expected revenue during a given time period.

In this article:

• Overview
• Pipelining Rules
• Forecasting Rules
• (Adopting the Forecasting Tool)
• Forecasting Tool Terms
• Additional Features
• Locating the Sales Forecast Tool
• Einstein Terms
• Forecasting and Quota Attainment
• Opportunity Movement Graph
• FAQs
• Resources

Forecasting Rules

(Kicking Off a New Quarter) * There is often a delay of 3-4 days at the beginning of the quarter for all revenue data to appear in the tool. Your quota for the quarter is typically not assigned until a week into the quarter, and the Sales Forecast Tool will update several days after it is assigned. * In the Client Forecast, enter the amount of revenue you expect the client to spend outside of any Opportunities in Stages 0, 1, 2 or 3 you are working on. * The Client Forecast can be thought of as the amount of revenue you can safely consider “locked in” for the quarter.

(Account Ownership & Forecasting) * The Client Forecast is inclusive of all Sub-Account and Product spend. * The Sales Forecast Tool will show you all the Parents you own, regardless of whether or not it has an Opportunity, has spent, etc. * The Client Forecast should be entered based on what you believe the client will spend for the given quarter, regardless of whether or not you will own the account for the full quarter. In the case where you only own the Account for part of the quarter:

• The Rep who is losing the account will have their My Forecast replaced with the revenue that spent on the account while they owned it
• The rep gaining the account will have their My Forecast be the Client Forecast minus any revenue that was spent while they weren’t the owner

• In this way, we use the Client Forecast and then “pro-rate” it based on the revenue that you will actually get credit for. This is why we use your My Forecast as the number we compare against your quota.

• Note: When accounts transition to a new owner, it will take a day in order to start showing revenue data as well as the My Forecast for the new owner

• Note: For new reps, we need a quota and team to be assigned in order to display revenue information which can sometimes take several weeks
• Parent ownership is basically determined by whichever rep is assigned to the most Sub-Accounts under that Parent.

(When to Update the Forecast) * The Client Forecast should be updated every Monday morning (unless otherwise instructed by your Director). * The revenue information in the tool is a guideline only - you are responsible for making sure the forecast reasonably reflects what you expect the client to spend. * Your market leaders will tell you whether you are responsible for entering the Client Forecast for Agency Sub-Accounts. In some markets this will be the Direct Rep, in others the Agency Rep. * When entering the Client forecast for the Direct Parent, you should enter the total amount of Direct spend AND Agency spend. When entering the Agency Sub-Account spend, you should only enter the Agency spend. * Direct reps will only see their Direct Parents by default. To see Agencies, select the “Show Agency Accts” checkbox.

• You can still reference the Account Executive Report, the PIT Reports, etc for additional information about your client’s spend, if needed.

(Managing Closed-Won Opportunities) * Essentially, the single number for the Client Forecast replaces the need to ever adjust any Closed-Won Opportunity. * You no longer need to update your Closed-Won Opportunities. Instead, enter and update the single number for the Client Forecast.

(Navigation Basics) * When you make updates to your Client Forecast, there is a “Save” button you need to click in order to save these changes. It’s at the bottom of the page, so isn’t always obvious depending on where you’re looking. * If my Forecast and the numbers in the Summary don't change, just refresh of the page and you should see that information updated!

(Keep in mind - data) * When you refresh the Sales Forecast Tool, you will see your Pipeline and Forecast (Client Forecast, My Forecast, etc) in real-time, Einstein will update in the next 5 hours or less. * All the revenue reporting we provide you is updated as close to real-time as possible, but that is different for each system: Adcentral is very close to real-time, Einstein is up to 5 hours delayed, and the Sales Forecast Tool is approximately 1 day delayed.

• Additionally, most reports you have access to are pulling commissionable revenue (the revenue you actually get credit for while you owned the account), whereas the data in the Sales Forecast Tool is based on what the Account spent, regardless of when you owned it.
• The revenue data in the Sales Forecast Tool (QTD Revenue, Straight Line Projection, Projection Category, Last Revenue Date) is approximately 1 day delayed. All other data in the tool will be in real-time (just make sure to refresh the page!)