The Power of AI: Bringing Sales Forecasting into the Future

Sales forecasting is essential for every business that wants to survive and thrive in the market, but it's also extremely time-consuming. In the world of constantly changing business strategies, Artificial Intelligence (AI) can get and keep you at peak performance. 

Why is Sales Forecasting Important?

Sales Forecasting is essential for any business. Sales Forecasting is estimating the future sales of particular products or services based on historical data, market trends, and other relevant factors (Revenue forecasting on the other hand is the process of predicting your company’s revenue over a period of time, ranging from annual forecasts to weekly revenue predictions). 

At a transactional level, sales forecasting can anticipate which products are in higher demand and should be prioritized in marketing efforts. On a company level, sales forecasting can identify potential problems and opportunities both for products and the workforce.

This practice can keep businesses ahead of the competition by allowing them to strategize faster and earlier.

How is AI Used in Sales Forecasting?

Many companies are apprehensive about adopting AI in their business functions. Companies may ponder how Artificial Intelligence, a form of technology, could outperform natural human intuition.

The answer is simple: it does not replace the human component of making a sale; it enhances it. AI is a tool to assist the salesforce at a company through data analysis and automated strategy building.

Companies that refuse to adopt evolving technology are falling behind the market competition. A Gong report revealed more than 80% of companies have missed their revenue forecasts within the last two years. And a recent study we conducted uncovered that 4 in 5 sales and finance leaders have missed a sales forecast in the past year.

A huge barrier in both sales and revenue forecasting is the manual entry of data. There are systems that tackled Sales Forecasting in the past, but they are not equipped to handle the large volumes of data or the tools to accurately use the data they receive.

Artificial Intelligence removes the possibility of human error by utilizing machine learning; the more data it processes, the more accustomed it becomes to your business.

Xactly has cultivated an Intelligent Revenue Platform that efficiently and effectively analyzes data, centralizes cross-functional departments, and suggests data-informed strategies.

How AI-Assisted Sales Forecasting Software Can Help You

1. Automating Sales Forecasting and Sales Pipeline Management

Business used to be a traditional pen-and-paper job and a large filing cabinet. As technology has advanced, the business world has adopted more and more programs to make daily tasks more efficient. Efficiency isn't just speed; it's also accuracy.

Business operations, such as Sales Forecasting and Sales Pipeline Management, are very time-consuming tasks. Accurate Sales Forecasting allows businesses to analyze historical data, optimize current sales, and plan for future sales strategies.

Automating these operations offers more benefits than just more time for employees to complete other tasks. It also centralizes business operations, and data management, and removes the possibility of human error.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has the capability to organize, perform, and strategize more efficiently than humans do. Xactly can provide products and services that automate Sales Pipeline Management and assist businesses every step of the way. Our products and services don't replace the human part of the process.

Instead, Xactly offers the capability of streamlining processes and improving the human work experience company-wide.

Learn more about Xactly Forecasting here.

2. Better than the Human Eye: Enhanced Agility

A common saying, older than America itself, is that "Time is Money." One of the core benefits of using AI software is saving time. Time is a finite resource, and automation removes the need for long tasks to be performed by people.

While AI algorithms sift through thousands of data entries, they can identify different factors and trends that influence the data. This method can reduce the possibility of human error during manual data entry.

These data-informed insights can enable leaders to quickly adapt to changes in the market, make informed decisions, and stay ahead of the competition.

AI can identify specific combinations of factors that could generate the highest potential leads. Being able to recognize these factors allows businesses to focus on them and improve the lead-scoring process. Having insight into prospective clients before the competition can set a business ahead of the game.

AI Forecasting provides a centralized platform for data sharing and analysis. This facilitates collaboration among teams and fosters alignment across departments.

Cross-functional alignment can transform several good departments into a well-oiled machine. Having a strong central platform for teams to collaborate increases sales effectiveness and efficiency.

3. Strategic Decision-Making

Data is the building block for any business. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems hold a lot of data for companies, but a lot of the data is underutilized. AI algorithms can automate data analysis and make data start working for you.

AI algorithms are capable of processing massive amounts of data. AI can extrapolate indicators and trends related to sales and performance (eg, historical rep ability to close, deal velocity, customer vertical, time of year).

It would take a large amount of personnel hours to complete this volume of analysis. AI is able to examine individual deals and identify the most advantageous combination of factors to improve sales.

AI algorithms are also able to identify complex patterns, correlations, and anomalies. This allows revenue professionals to detect both opportunities and potential problems in real-time. This could serve as a failsafe for human error in data entry or other mistakes.

Having access to the most recent data enables the business to take proactive actions during the sales process and planning, including adjusting pricing, targeting specific customer segments, or addressing potential bottlenecks to optimize their sales outcomes.

AI algorithms can provide support to revenue strategists through sales forecasting. They could easily access reliable and accurate information. Being able to look into the future means making well-informed decisions, anticipating demand, and identifying potential sales opportunities.

Having a strong team equipped with advanced technology provides stability, even through volatile market conditions.

4. Increased Reliability and Accuracy

Artificial Intelligence is designed to operate without biases and can eliminate human errors that can occur in manual forecasting. Automating Sales Forecasting through the use of AI ensures more reliable and consistent results.

Businesses that harness both human and technological power can consistently improve sales by optimizing strategy and customer satisfaction. Human intuition plays a large role in closing a sale. AI can assist sales representatives by identifying the indicators that yield the highest probability of closing a sale.

Xactly Forecasting can analyze the Sales Pipeline to identify areas that perform well and areas that need improvement. It starts by selecting the best sales forecasting model for a given insight. This model can then be applied to the business plan.

If there are certain points in the Sales Pipeline that sales often fall through at, AI can identify those points. Being knowledgeable about internal strengths and weaknesses allows the company to fine-tune their business plan and task delegation.

AI-powered forecasting models are programmed to continuously learn and adapt to new data. The information it analyzes and generates compounds with every business deal.

This means that the predictions, based on data-driven insights, are more reliable and accurate than manual forecasting. AI algorithms are able to pick up on things that a person may overlook.

5. Optimal Resource Allocation

Optimizing Resource Allocation goes beyond identifying representatives' performance value. Xactly offers Sales Performance Management (SPM) to assess sales performance and unify the team that makes revenue possible.

This allows businesses to analyze, manage, and plan sales performance at the necessary scale. AI provides an unbiased assessment of employee performance.

Alongside using AI to identify deals that should have been closed but failed, it can be used for external management as well. AI algorithms have the scope to analyze company performance, customer behavior, competitor activity, and market environments.

Experts at Xactly trust and endorse AI's capability to enhance Sales Forecasting and improve Sales Pipeline Management.

"The ability of AI to identify the best fit will continue to create better forecasts for leads in the pipeline as well as longer-term horizons. There is simply too much information being captured about prospects to create forecasts without AI. AI will feed on the information from the CRM and create links both upstream (Marketing) and downstream (performance management). Companies that invest in technology early will have a distinct advantage in capturing high-potential clients and finding efficiencies in their organizations.”
- Jason Rothbaum, Senior Principal, Xactly

CRM systems are useful for keeping track of customer information and behavior. AI algorithms can take that data a step further by analyzing customer demographics, preferences, and behavior. Xactly's platform features a Territory Mapper that elevates the use of customer data.

Using customer data in tandem with historical sales performance and market potential can optimize territory planning by customizing the approach. This optimization leads the salesforce to the best and most profitable prospective clients. Sales teams can focus on target segments and customer satisfaction.

After identifying territories and tailoring them to fit specific client needs, the company can focus on the big picture. AI can balance territories that align with company goals, maximize sales opportunities, and effectively allocate resources.

Businesses can implement Management by Objective (MBO) to improve overall team engagement. Automation eliminates the long wait time for data analyses while streamlining decision-making and taking action.

6. Continuous Improvement and Learning
 

A big part of Artificial Intelligence is that it is a lifelong learner. AI algorithms are not limited to the task at hand; they can be utilized to perform multiple tasks and tasks on a large scale. AI takes the data available and does so much more than just analysis.

Xactly Forecasting assists businesses through the use of AI by automating data analysis, identifying trends and factors, and creating accurate forecasts. Artificial Intelligence assists and learns through every part of the sales pipeline. AI algorithms identify factors that lead to a good close in sales.

With data-driven insights, actionable suggestions can be made and successful strategies promoted. This feedback loop enables revenue teams to continuously learn, adapt, and refine their sales approaches to achieve better outcomes.
 

Empower Sales by Embracing AI

The purpose of using Artificial Intelligence in sales isn't to remove the salespeople; it is used to enhance the sales capabilities of already-existing professionals. AI offers far more than just automation; it offers structure, stability, and adaptability in the market.
 

Xactly Forecasting strengthens business operations both internally and externally. Internally, it centralizes data to one platform, which optimizes cross-functional departments and improves collaboration.

Intelligent sales forecasting removes the need to labor over data for long hours by automating data analysis in a fast and meticulous process. AI algorithms can complete tasks efficiently, effectively, and accurately. With its ease of analyzing large volumes of data, it can identify various factors for insights and help create strategies for your business.

Xactly can help your business achieve its full potential through Intelligent Sales Forecasting. Learn more or take a product tour today.