One of the most important functions a company requires of its business development organization is the pipeline forecast. Accurately forecasting sales is the challenge of most sales executives. Everyone understands that effective management requires accurate information but few business development executives are satisfied with the processes employed. Sales forecasting seems to be more alchemy than science.

Inaccurate forecasts are unnecessary. In most organizations, inaccurate sales forecasting can be attributed to failing to incorporate the customer’s point of view in the development and implementation of sales strategy. If an organization can develop sales strategies on the basis of buyer behavior, creating a forecasting model of exceptional accuracy is relatively simple.

The WinFedBiz forecasting model is based on “customer-centricity” in both focus and execution. Movement through the pipeline is driven by the actions taken by the buyer as they move closer to a buying decision, and change dramatically as they move from step to step through the decision process.