Sales Forecasting Methods
Historical Forecasting
Effectiveness score: 2/5
This is probably the oldest sales forecasting methodology for small businesses. In this method, if you want to project sales for a particular week, you can do that based on data from the previous week or year to arrive at an estimate. For instance you if won business worth $10000 in September, your sales forecast would be $10000-$11000 in October.
Opportunity Forecasting
Effectiveness score: 3/5
This sales forecast method depends on probability and analyzes behavioral prospects. A CRM that tracks the in-app and website behavior of a prospect will play a huge role in identifying leads that would convert to prospects based on their demo. If you find that more leads who sign up for trial from your website are converting into customers, you can plan your activities around this behavior.
Pipeline forecasting
Effectiveness score: 4/5
A deal pipeline is the easiest and most accurate way to forecast sales as it is based on data within your CRM. This method involves adding up the value of all the current deals in your sales pipeline for a particular period of time. A good CRM software like Freshsales comes with a visual pipeline of all your deals in one place, which will help you forecast your sales better.