Forecast Overview

Forecasting is comprised of the following components:

  1. Sales stage = Where the opp is in the sales process
  2. Forecast category = Where the opportunity sits in your forecast
  3. iARR = The* likely amount* the deal will close for
  4. Close date = Targeted date to close

Sales Stage is determined by assessing where the opportunity currently is in the sales process, as outlined in our Customer Engagement Process.

Forecast Categories (Opportunity Level Definitions):

  • Won - For opportunities that have been Closed/Won - should be set automatically in Salesforce when an opportunity is closed.
  • Commit - Opportunities where you have 1) the technical win, 2) received confirmation from the EB that they intend to purchase at or around the Amount/iARR and by the Close date you are forecasting, and 3) you have full understanding of the Paper Process and are aligned with the customer on a clear path to closure
  • Best Case - Opportunities that have a 50% and above probability to close in a period. You should have 1) technical win or are currently in technical validation and 2) a mutual action plan to close within the period, that your EB or strong champion has agreed to
  • Pipeline - opportunities in earlier stages (2-3) that you have reason to believe that you will be able to close by the Close Date specified on the Opportunity. Rarely should a Pipeline deal be present in your current quarter forecast
  • Omitted - early stage (0-2) opportunities that aren’t qualified or shouldn’t be included in forecast at all

Forecast Categories (Rollup Forecast Definitions):

  • Commit - sum of Closed + Commit. Barring a truly exceptional situation, we will be fully counting on this to come in.
  • Best Case - roughly the sum of your Call + any upside potential on existing deals + Best Case opportunities. If everything goes right, you have a path to reaching this Best Case number.
  • Call - roughly the sum of Closed, Commit, and Best Case opportunities that you feel will come in. This value serves as what you believe will be your actual forecast. If you consider the Commit as the floor and Best Case as the ceiling, then the Call is the number in between that you are forecasting as the most likely outcome.

Forecast process:

As of , Forecasting is now done through Clari.

It is expected that all AEs keep their opportunities updated and current in Salesforce, the following fields directly influence Forecasts:

  • Close Date
  • IARR
  • Stage
  • Forecast Category
  • Stretch IARR (for Best Case Forecast Categories)

During the first two months of the quarter, forecasts should be made for the current quarter. In the 3rd month of a quarter forecasts should be made for both the current and next quarter.

  • Clari forecasts are real-time – AEs should arrange and coordinate with their managers on the best weekly cadence
  • Once a week, AEs should submit a Call, Best Case, and Commit number in Clari.
    • The Best Case and Commit number should reflect information in Salesforce, while the Call number should be a number in between that reflects the rep’s best estimate of where they will finish the Quarter.
  • Managers should also submit a Call, Best Case, and Commit number each week after their reps have submitted forecasts.
  • Forecasts that need to be submitted for the week will be marked with a (orange clock) symbol and an UPDATE REQUIRED message.
    • Submitted forecasts for the week will be marked with a (green checkmark) symbol and a COMPLETE message.
    • COMPLETE forecasts are reset to UPDATE REQUIRED every Tuesday EOD.
  • Regional Forecasts are reviewed weekly on Tuesday during the weekly regional forecast call.