Because of what we do in Revcast, I get to talk to CROs and CFOs every week. When it comes to revenue forecasting and planning, each may have unique needs and perspectives – but they almost universally agree on the following:
- They want better forecasting accuracy
- They want a current, unified view of the sales plan
Why? Because forecasting misses and sales planning blunders aren't just inconvenient, they’re extremely costly. Last year, nearly 80% of organizations reported missing forecasts at least two quarters per year, resulting in damaging hiring freezes, unexpected budget cuts, and diminished trust from boards and investors.
Similarly, sales plans developed in isolation can lead to unrealistic targets, misallocated resources, and poor team morale. Forecasts and plans have a unique relationship: bad sales plans can directly lead to missed forecasts, and forecasting inaccuracy can directly lead to bad sales plans.
So what’s the best course of action to keep everything well orchestrated? It starts with CRO and CFO alignment.
Defining the Unified Forecast and Sales Plan
Perhaps the best place to start is to ask a simple question: why aren’t these two unified today? The most common culprit is siloed data. Crucial data exists in spreadsheets, CRMs, ERPs, HRIS, forecasting tools, etc. Worse yet, data is duplicated and modified in different places by different teams. Under these conditions, it’s quite easy to see how misalignment occurs.
In contrast, a unified approach is one that eliminates data silos, relies on a consistent definition of the data involved, and drives alignment via a real-time system that incorporates both forecasting and planning. This not only unifies, but it provides the foundation for a GTM organization that is truly agile: one that delivers a high degree of forecasting accuracy, which in turn enables continuous optimization of the sales plan.
From Definition to Reality
Sounds great, right? So how do you go about making it happen? It involves changes across the people/process/tech spectrum that will vary, but there are 5 core actions that all companies should follow.
- FP&A, FinOps, and RevOps must be aligned. Often this means the CRO/CFO designating a task force from these teams (or for smaller companies without those specific teams, bringing in those who carry those responsibilities) to jointly work on planning and forecasting. There should be a singular version of the sales plan at all times. Finance often needs to forecast more than just sales (i.e. revenue), but on the sales forecasting side there should be collaboration – at the very least alignment on data being used to formulate the forecast (even if finance has a different view of likely outcomes than sales).
- Standardize your data definitions. This seems basic but is too often overlooked, and the result is disagreement on the calculation of important KPIs and performance measures such as pipeline conversion rates, win rates, velocity, ramp times, and more. It’s crucial to ensure everyone has a shared view of how these are calculated because this data drives decision making.
- Look to adopt a multidimensional forecasting and sales planning platform - like Revcast! The platform should drive better forecast accuracy through multidimensional forecasting (people, pipeline, performance, deals), a single source of truth for the sales plan, and real-time intelligence to drive better GTM decisions. Importantly, look for a solution that captures risk signals that traditional methods miss, ensuring earlier action that keeps the GTM team on path to hit company targets.
- Ditch the concept of quarterly plan adjustments. Instead, adopt a rolling 12-month sales planning cadence using your new platform and the unified dataset. Continuously refresh your model by dropping the past month and adding a new month at regular intervals. This ongoing update, enabled by a tight integration with sales forecasts, reduces latency and helps teams course-correct much faster.
- Institutionalize a quick, weekly forecasting and sales plan review between the CFO and CRO. A 30-minute focused discussion every Friday to review forecast accuracy, sales plan progress, major risk factors, and required changes ensures both leaders remain in sync. Decisions from this meeting should directly update your live platform, providing an auditable trail that maintains history and accountability. [RELATED RESOURCE: CRO's New Weekly Operating Manual]
Revcast for Unified Forecasting and Planning
We’ve built Revcast to be the platform that drives this type of transformation. Our platform provides sales planning. This is robust bottoms-up planning that captures your teams, targets, quotas, ramps, and more. We also deliver multi-dimensional forecasting capabilities that go beyond deals in the CRM to include pipeline performance, individual AE performance, and sales capacity plans.
Our AI agents connect the refined forecast to the sales plan and autonomously detect risks and opportunities in order to recommend actions. By capturing a singular plan, providing a more accurate forecasting approach, and driving actions to adjust your GTM approach, we’re helping unify CROs and CFOs in a way that drives better business outcomes.
Ready to streamline your forecasting and sales planning alignment with Revcast? Let’s connect.
