Forecasting Rules & Commit Criteria

Category Definitions

Forecast Hierarchy

Forecasts roll up through the management hierarchy:

1. Rep Forecast: Individual AE's opportunities
2. Team Forecast: Manager's team aggregate
3. Area Forecast: Director's area aggregate
4. Region Forecast: VP's region aggregate
5. Company Forecast: CRO's global aggregate

What Qualifies as a Commit?

An opportunity should be in Commit (Stage 5) only when ALL of the following are true:

Commit Validation Questions

Before moving to Commit, answer these questions:

1. Has the customer explicitly said "we're going with NICE"?
2. Is the contract in the customer's hands for signature?
3. Do we have a specific date when signature is expected?
4. Are there any outstanding redlines or negotiations?
5. Has legal/procurement given timeline commitment?
6. What could prevent this from closing on time?

Commit Accuracy Expectations

Weekly Forecast Cadence

Forecast Submission in Salesforce

1. Navigate to Forecasts tab
2. Select current forecast period
3. Review opportunity roll-up by category
4. Adjust individual opportunity forecasts if needed
5. Enter any judgment adjustments
6. Add forecast notes explaining changes
7. Click "Submit Forecast"

Judgment Adjustments

Managers may apply judgment adjustments when:

• Rep is consistently over/under forecasting
• Market conditions warrant adjustment
• Large deal timing is uncertain
• Historical patterns suggest different outcome

Rules for adjustments:

• Must document reason for adjustment
• Should not exceed ±20% of roll-up without VP approval
• Tracked separately from opportunity-level forecast

What Qualifies as Best Case?

An opportunity is Best Case (Stage 4) when:

• Proposal has been submitted and reviewed with customer
• Customer has provided feedback on proposal
• We are in final vendor consideration (shortlisted)
• Budget is confirmed and project is funded
• Decision timeline is within the forecast period
• No major technical or business blockers remain

Best Case vs. Commit

Pipeline Coverage Requirements

Pipeline Health Metrics

Monitor these metrics weekly:

• Coverage Ratio: Pipeline ÷ Quota (target: 3.5x)
• Stage Distribution: Healthy mix across stages 1-5
• Velocity: Average days in each stage
• Conversion Rates: Stage-to-stage progression
• Average Deal Size: Trending vs. historical
• Win Rate: Closed Won ÷ (Closed Won + Closed Lost)

How Accuracy is Measured

Forecast Accuracy = Actual Results ÷ Forecast Submitted

Measured at:

• Week 1 of quarter (for full quarter)
• Beginning of each month (for that month)
• Beginning of final week (for that week)

Accuracy Reporting

Monthly accuracy reports show:

• Individual rep accuracy
• Team accuracy
• Region accuracy
• Accuracy trends over time
• Common reasons for variance

Accuracy Improvement

If accuracy is consistently below target:

1. Review commit criteria application
2. Analyse deals that slipped or were lost
3. Identify patterns in forecast misses
4. Adjust forecasting behaviour accordingly
5. Manager coaching on pipeline management

Large Deals (>$500K ARR)

• Require additional scrutiny before Commit
• Weekly review with VP during Month 3
• Document specific close plan with milestones
• Identify backup deals if large deal slips

Multi-Quarter Deals

• Forecast in expected close quarter only
• Do not split across quarters unless phased contract
• Update quarterly as close date becomes clearer

Renewal Forecasting

• Renewals forecast separately from new business
• Auto-populate 90 days before contract end
• Assume renewal unless churn indicators present
• Expansion component forecast as new business