Salesforce Forecasting:
Evolution, Implementation and Best Practices
#CD2023 @CzechDreami
n
Courses Director at Salesforce Ben
4 x Salesforce MVP
10 x Certified
Bristol Salesforce Admin Community Group Leader
Supermums Mentor
Christine Marshall
#CD2023 @CzechDreami
n
● The What
● The Why
● The Features
● The How
● The Best Practices
Agenda
The What & The Why
#CD2023 @CzechDreamin
The process of making predictions of future
sales based on past and present data.
Predicts different values such as revenue or
volume of products.
Forecasting impacts business critical
decisions:
● Company outlay
● Defining budgets and targets
● How much stock to order or build
● Identify gaps in the sales pipeline
What is Forecasting?
#CD2023 @CzechDreami
n
● It comes out-of-the-box
● Increase ROI on your Salesforce
implementation
● Reduce the need for spreadsheets
● Your CRM is where you typically store your
real-time sales data
● A powerful, dynamic, consolidated view
● Single source of truth
● Flexible to the needs of any business
● Easily customizable using clicks not code
Why use Salesforce for
Forecasting?
#CD2023 @CzechDreamin
The History of Salesforce Forecasting
2021 - Now
Collaborative Forecasting
gets a ton of cool new
features
2020
Customizable Forecasting
retired in Summer ‘20
2012
“Forecasts” released (will
become Collaborative
Forecasting)
A long time ago…
Customizable Forecasting
The Features
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Salesforce Forecasting Overview
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Forecast Hierarchy
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View As
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Forecasting Date Range
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Forecast Types
What are Forecast Types?
Why do we need Forecast Types?
Forecast Types determine what is being forecast.
Forecast Types determine:
● The specific measure (revenue, quantity, or custom)
● Date type (close, product, schedule, or custom date)
● Hierarchy (user role or territory)
Additionally, you can add a custom filter to include or exclude certain opportunity data from your
forecast.
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Forecast
Types
Custom Opp Amount
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Forecast
Types
Opportunity Line Item
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Forecast Categories
Salesforce Forecast Categories are used to predict the likelihood of winning an Opportunity, with each
sales stage mapped to a forecast category.
● Pipeline
● Best Case
● Most Likely (new Winter ‘22)
● Commit
● Closed
● Omitted
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Forecast Categories
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Single & Cumulative Forecasts
Forecasts can be either single or cumulative. Single forecasts will display the value from a single forecast
category.
Cumulative forecasts can be enabled and will display the value from multiple categories:
● Closed – Closed only
● Commit – Closed + Commit
● Most Likely – Closed + Commit + Most Likely
● Best Case – Closed + Commit + Most Likely + Best Case
● Open Pipeline – Commit + Most Likely + Best Case + Pipeline
New! From Summer ‘22, you can now customize cumulative forecast names, as well as single-category
rollup names.
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Adjustments
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Show Changes
Select Show Changes in Last 7 Days in
View Options to enable a popup that
contains information about the change
and any adjustments.
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Quotas & Quota Attainment
By adding Quotas you can view your quota attainment as a progress bar!
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Custom Calculated Columns
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Custom
Calculated
Columns
Add up to 5 custom
calculated columns per
Forecast Type
The How
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Setup
Go to Setup > Feature Settings > Sales > Forecast > Forecast Settings (or search “Forecasting” in the quick
find box!).
1. The first step is to enable forecasting by toggling “Enable Forecast” to “Active”.
#CD2023 @CzechDreamin
2. Create and activate at least one Forecast Type
using the setup flow. You can have up to four
active Forecast Types.
Setup
#CD2023 @CzechDreamin
3. Enable adjustments.
4. Choose cumulative or single-category forecast
rollups.
5. Choose a default date range.
6. Select a default currency.
7. Show Quotas + Quota Attainment Percentages.
8. Enable forecast users.
9. Create your forecast hierarchy.
10. Customize forecast categories names.
11. Configure Forecast Pages.
12. Add a Forecasts tab and make it visible.
Setup
The Best Practices
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Best Practices
1. Go back to basics and evaluate your company’s maturity and data quality. Artificial intelligence (and
humans) can’t work with bad data. So, first things first, how are you enforcing good data hygiene, and
should you consider a data cleansing project prior to your forecasting setup?
2. Review and document existing processes and simplify where possible. This means asking “why” and
streamlining.
3. Try to standardize your processes across the business.
4. Collaborate with stakeholders and define what needs to be measured, for example, are you measuring
revenue, products, or both?
5. Decide if single or cumulative forecasts suit your business best.
6. Use Quotas in addition to Forecasts.
#CD2023 @CzechDreamin
Best Practices
7. Don’t wait until the end of the month or quarter to check your forecast. Get into the habit of checking
your forecast early in the month or quarter for insight into future issues such as insufficient pipeline
coverage.
8. If this is your first time implementing forecasting, consider starting with a small pilot group, and iterating
frequently. Going live with a minimum viable product (MVP) to a small group will enable you to identify
issues early and reduce onboarding efforts.
9. Don’t aim for perfection! As with all projects, there will be learnings and adjustments as you go along.
Keep the business and key stakeholders engaged throughout the implementation to create and maintain
trust and positivity.
10. Don’t fail at the final hurdle - no matter how fantastic your implementation of Salesforce Forecasting is,
you need user buy-in and adoption for a successful project. Run training sessions for different types of
users and provide documentation.
#CD2023 @CzechDreamin
Salesforce Help: Collaborative
Forecasts
The Complete Guide to Building a
Sales Forecast
Questions?

Salesforce Forecasting: Evolution, Implementation and Best Practices, Christine Marshall

  • 1.
  • 2.
    #CD2023 @CzechDreami n Courses Directorat Salesforce Ben 4 x Salesforce MVP 10 x Certified Bristol Salesforce Admin Community Group Leader Supermums Mentor Christine Marshall
  • 3.
    #CD2023 @CzechDreami n ● TheWhat ● The Why ● The Features ● The How ● The Best Practices Agenda
  • 4.
    The What &The Why
  • 5.
    #CD2023 @CzechDreamin The processof making predictions of future sales based on past and present data. Predicts different values such as revenue or volume of products. Forecasting impacts business critical decisions: ● Company outlay ● Defining budgets and targets ● How much stock to order or build ● Identify gaps in the sales pipeline What is Forecasting?
  • 6.
    #CD2023 @CzechDreami n ● Itcomes out-of-the-box ● Increase ROI on your Salesforce implementation ● Reduce the need for spreadsheets ● Your CRM is where you typically store your real-time sales data ● A powerful, dynamic, consolidated view ● Single source of truth ● Flexible to the needs of any business ● Easily customizable using clicks not code Why use Salesforce for Forecasting?
  • 7.
    #CD2023 @CzechDreamin The Historyof Salesforce Forecasting 2021 - Now Collaborative Forecasting gets a ton of cool new features 2020 Customizable Forecasting retired in Summer ‘20 2012 “Forecasts” released (will become Collaborative Forecasting) A long time ago… Customizable Forecasting
  • 8.
  • 9.
  • 10.
  • 11.
  • 12.
  • 13.
    #CD2023 @CzechDreamin Forecast Types Whatare Forecast Types? Why do we need Forecast Types? Forecast Types determine what is being forecast. Forecast Types determine: ● The specific measure (revenue, quantity, or custom) ● Date type (close, product, schedule, or custom date) ● Hierarchy (user role or territory) Additionally, you can add a custom filter to include or exclude certain opportunity data from your forecast.
  • 14.
  • 15.
  • 16.
    #CD2023 @CzechDreamin Forecast Categories SalesforceForecast Categories are used to predict the likelihood of winning an Opportunity, with each sales stage mapped to a forecast category. ● Pipeline ● Best Case ● Most Likely (new Winter ‘22) ● Commit ● Closed ● Omitted
  • 17.
  • 18.
    #CD2023 @CzechDreamin Single &Cumulative Forecasts Forecasts can be either single or cumulative. Single forecasts will display the value from a single forecast category. Cumulative forecasts can be enabled and will display the value from multiple categories: ● Closed – Closed only ● Commit – Closed + Commit ● Most Likely – Closed + Commit + Most Likely ● Best Case – Closed + Commit + Most Likely + Best Case ● Open Pipeline – Commit + Most Likely + Best Case + Pipeline New! From Summer ‘22, you can now customize cumulative forecast names, as well as single-category rollup names.
  • 19.
  • 20.
    #CD2023 @CzechDreamin Show Changes SelectShow Changes in Last 7 Days in View Options to enable a popup that contains information about the change and any adjustments.
  • 21.
    #CD2023 @CzechDreamin Quotas &Quota Attainment By adding Quotas you can view your quota attainment as a progress bar!
  • 22.
  • 23.
    #CD2023 @CzechDreamin Custom Calculated Columns Add upto 5 custom calculated columns per Forecast Type
  • 24.
  • 25.
    #CD2023 @CzechDreamin Setup Go toSetup > Feature Settings > Sales > Forecast > Forecast Settings (or search “Forecasting” in the quick find box!). 1. The first step is to enable forecasting by toggling “Enable Forecast” to “Active”.
  • 26.
    #CD2023 @CzechDreamin 2. Createand activate at least one Forecast Type using the setup flow. You can have up to four active Forecast Types. Setup
  • 27.
    #CD2023 @CzechDreamin 3. Enableadjustments. 4. Choose cumulative or single-category forecast rollups. 5. Choose a default date range. 6. Select a default currency. 7. Show Quotas + Quota Attainment Percentages. 8. Enable forecast users. 9. Create your forecast hierarchy. 10. Customize forecast categories names. 11. Configure Forecast Pages. 12. Add a Forecasts tab and make it visible. Setup
  • 28.
  • 29.
    #CD2023 @CzechDreamin Best Practices 1.Go back to basics and evaluate your company’s maturity and data quality. Artificial intelligence (and humans) can’t work with bad data. So, first things first, how are you enforcing good data hygiene, and should you consider a data cleansing project prior to your forecasting setup? 2. Review and document existing processes and simplify where possible. This means asking “why” and streamlining. 3. Try to standardize your processes across the business. 4. Collaborate with stakeholders and define what needs to be measured, for example, are you measuring revenue, products, or both? 5. Decide if single or cumulative forecasts suit your business best. 6. Use Quotas in addition to Forecasts.
  • 30.
    #CD2023 @CzechDreamin Best Practices 7.Don’t wait until the end of the month or quarter to check your forecast. Get into the habit of checking your forecast early in the month or quarter for insight into future issues such as insufficient pipeline coverage. 8. If this is your first time implementing forecasting, consider starting with a small pilot group, and iterating frequently. Going live with a minimum viable product (MVP) to a small group will enable you to identify issues early and reduce onboarding efforts. 9. Don’t aim for perfection! As with all projects, there will be learnings and adjustments as you go along. Keep the business and key stakeholders engaged throughout the implementation to create and maintain trust and positivity. 10. Don’t fail at the final hurdle - no matter how fantastic your implementation of Salesforce Forecasting is, you need user buy-in and adoption for a successful project. Run training sessions for different types of users and provide documentation.
  • 31.
    #CD2023 @CzechDreamin Salesforce Help:Collaborative Forecasts The Complete Guide to Building a Sales Forecast
  • 32.