Predicting the probabilities that leads and projected opportunities will actually become sales, and produce revenues, is an essential tool for virtually every business. Yet, all too often, achieving accurate sales forecasts is limited by poor data sources which require prognosticators to be not just skillful, but artful as well. As a result, instead of forecasts delivering the needed accuracy, detail, and resolution of a professional digital photograph, they often appear more like fuzzy 19th century impressionistic paintings.

The good news is that since a sale is really a metaphor for a closed contract, objective sales forecasting data can be obtained by tracking contract lifecycles. Although this may represent a change in focus, the change is not operationally significant; contracts are, after all, a key part of the sales process. With a robust contract lifecycle management (CLM) solution that can be seamlessly integrated with an SFA solution, companies can have it all—effective sales tools and accurate sales forecasting capabilities.