Best Practices for Forecasting with 100%

Accuracy

Track: Sales Operations

Tacy Parker, Symantec Corporation

Suzanne McFadyen, Business Objects SA
Agenda

 Forecasting Overview

 Forecasting Success @ Symantec

 Forecasting Success @ Business Objects

 Sharing Forecasting Success

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Sales Forecasting

Blending Art and Science

 Past experience
 Individual judgment
 Methodology & process
 Metrics & measurement

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Typical Business Challenges

 Getting All Data

 Producing an Accurate View
 Getting Adoption
 Tracking the Right Metrics

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Customizable Forecasting Overview
 Bottom up: Deals based
aggregates & roll ups
 Top down: Hierarchy drill
down & number explanation
 Management overrides of
deals or aggregates
 Dynamic forecast updates
 Time-stamped forecast
freezing
 Flexible configuration options
 Deal date vs item date vs schedule date
 Overall vs product line
 Quarter vs month
 Calendar or custom FY
 Revenue or quantity
 Sale roles or territories

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Tacy Parker
SFDC Global Program Manager
tacy_parker@symantec.com

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Who is Symantec?
 The global leader in Information
Security and Availability
 4th largest Independent Software
INDUSTRY: Software
Company in the world
EMPLOYEES: ~16,000
 4,000+ sales reps, 40+ countries
GEOGRAPHY: Global
 Deployed Salesforce in Oct. 06’ # USERS: 4,200
to over 3,800 users PRODUCT(S) USED: Sales,
Marketing & 6 AppExchange
 22 week sales deployment applications
 2 Phased Approach
 Account & Opportunity Mgmt
 Forecasting & Quoting

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Benefits to Integrated Forecasting
Sales Rep, District & Regional Managers
 Proper opportunity management in
Salesforce instead of reporting in Excel
 No more chasing down the “Commit”
 One source for metrics
 Salesforce-based territory reviews

Regional Directors & Executive levels-up

 Improved data reliability
 Metrics they can count on
 Valid on-the-fly reporting

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Key Forecasting Challenges

Key Challenges
 Global Consistency
 Heavily Matrixed Sales Org
 Reporting Requirements
Key Issues
 Adoption and Behavioral
Adjustments  Process Inefficiencies
 Visibility to Revenue
Predictions Across Diverse
Global Sales Teams
 Organization’s Trust in
Forecasted Numbers

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Our Forecasting Solution

 Divide and Conquer

 Hierarchy: From Roles to Territories
 Business Units: Simple first, complex later
DEPLOYMENT DETAILS
 Gorilla/Phased Approach
 400+ deployed today
 Small POC first
 4 Sales Areas (2 US, 2
 Larger Pilot next
Europe)
 Word of mouth promotion
 Web/Phone based training
 Metrics: Both Standard and Specific  Web Based External
 Standard for revenue and pipeline Reporting
 Specific for regional metrics  Territory Hierarchy will
bring ability for Global
forecast

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Establishing Completeness & Accuracy
 Implemented comparable
sales stages
 Implemented new forecast
categories
 Ensured tools capability to
capture data points
required for metrics
 Moved forecast review
process into the tool

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Effective Measurement
 Analyzing forecast by
product segments
 Dashboards for
 Quota attainment
 % forecast committed
 Top opps/performers
 Comparing forecast
submits with actuals
 Tracking historical
submissions
 Deal velocity metrics

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Lessons Learned
 Start small & build a
following
 Draw a line and work both
sides
 Standardize process and
metrics
 Adoption, Adoption,
Adoption
 .xls = Security Blanket

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Suzanne McFadyen
CRM Operations Analyst
suzanne.mcfadyen@businessobjects.com

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Who is Business Objects?
 Business Objects is a global
business intelligence (BI)
software company, with more
INDUSTRY: Software
than 39,000 customers
EMPLOYEES: 5,000
 The salesforce.com and
GEOGRAPHY: Global
Business Objects partnership
# USERS: 1,400
enables companies to monitor
PRODUCT(S) USED: Salesforce
critical business information SFA
seamlessly within their
salesforce.com deployments

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Key Forecasting Challenges

Key Challenges Key Issues

 Poor accuracy  Low reliability of
 Long turn around times predicted probabilities
 Poor forecast consistency and sales revenues

 Low adoption  Labor intensive and

inefficient forecasting
process
 Low visibility to how
business is really doing
and where it’s going

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Our Forecasting Solution

 Create standardized, well-defined process

for forecasting (timeliness)
 Standardize definitions – remove some of
DEPLOYMENT DETAILS
the subjectiveness
 Keeping system up to date  # Forecasting users = 716
 Provide clear forecasting procedures and  Business Units -
Worldwide
responsibilities
 Training – deployed in
 Accountability - “What gets measured, regional centers
gets done”  Process change – change
 Methods to ensure reps keep forecasting of terminology
information up to date  Integration points –
External reporting
 Managers accountable for making reps
 Ongoing improvements –
comply Improved tracking

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Establishing Accuracy

 Enforcing timely data input

 Weekly forecasting check-ups
 Check-ups change to daily at quarter-
end
 Forecasting data in single system
(salesforce.com)
 Clear definitions
 First line manager can override a rep’s
forecast

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Establishing Adoption
 Competitions and rewards for
forecasting accuracy
 Maintaining forecast history for
tracking
 Promoting best practices to sales
management
 Showing the value
 Increased compliance
 Better reports supporting forecast
process
 Some issues affecting adoption
 Formula fields
 Forecast Category nomenclature

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Effective Measurement
 External reporting use
 Current and historical forecast accuracy
 Forecasting metrics
 Salesforce reporting use
 View direct and cross team forecasts
 Manager’s reporting
 Rep’s forecast
 Opportunity contributors can track the
opportunities they are involved with
 Currently looking at Salesforce
customization for partners to forecast
opportunities

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Key Results & Lessons Learned
Benefits
 Collaboration
 Simplifies the process
 Reduces subjectivity
 Reduces forecasting time
 Enables better business
decisions
 Allows focus on the right
opportunities and activities
 Assists with account
planning
Lessons
 Separate sales methodology
from forecasting methodology
 Separate pipeline analysis
from forecasting
 Need clear process and easy
to use tools
 Promote the value of a clean
and accurate forecast
 Enforce consequences for not
maintaining an accurate and
timely forecast
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Sharing Forecasting
Success – Q & A

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