AE Workflows for Forecasting

Overview

As an AE, one of your primary focuses is forecasting, and with Outreach, you have access to the metrics, actionable insights, and features you need to achieve this goal. To do this, we’ve rounded up the key workflows every AE needs to plan, update, and submit a forecast confidently and accurately.

Workflows

Workflows for Forecasting

Review current period deals

1. Navigate to the Records tab in Outreach and select Opportunities.
2. Using saved views or filters, sort opportunities for those with a close date of this sales period.
3. Review deals using the following information to see:
   • Health: Deal health score, which calculates the probability of winning this deal compared to similar deals at similar stages. Use this to ensure that deals set to close are on track.
   • Plan: If there is a Success Plan associated with the opportunity. 
     • If tasks within the Success Plan are due, this column will call out the number of tasks due.
     • If the Success Plan is up to date, this column will say Up to date
     • If there is no Success Plan associated with this opportunity, there will be a + Success Plan icon for you to create one
   • Amount: The value of the deal amount
   • Stage: The sales stage associated with the opportunity
   • Emails: Hovering over the email bars displays the amount of outbound and inbound emails processed within the past 12 months. Each bar represents a month and is color-coded to indicate engagement.
   • Status: Purple (in progress) or gray (incomplete) icons with a high-level overview of:
     • Meetings: Hovering over the calendar icon displays the date of the last and upcoming meetings when either has been set
     • Tasks: Hovering over the tasks icon displays the number of due tasks associated with the Opportunity
     • Sequence: The sequence icon tells you if the Opportunity is active in a sequence. 
     • CRM sync: The cloud icon represents CRM synchronization (Salesforce or Dynamics). 
     • Last Kaia meeting: Hovering over the Kaia icon displays the date and time of the last Kaia meeting
   • Next steps: Displays the next steps and is color coordinated to identify if information for next steps is available.

Make in-line edits to critical fields to ensure information is up to date

1. After reviewing deals, you may see that certain information is outdated or at-risk deals may need updated forecast categories. You can make in-line edits to opportunity fields from directly within the deal grid. Note that which fields you are able to edit will depend on what your admins set up during configuration. 
2. If you make in-line edits to deals in your forecast, make sure you note any changes in your forecast when submitting.

Submit a forecast

1. Navigate to the Records tab in Outreach and select Opportunities.
2. Review the forecasts and make any in-line edits to deals if necessary (for example, adjustments to close dates/forecast categories as needed).
3. Apply your judgment to any manually editable forecast category, if applicable.
4. Navigate to the upper right-hand corner of the Your Forecast section and hit the Submit button.
5. If you made any adjustments, explain your changes clearly in the Submit Forecast comments section. Include details about why you believe the modified forecast is appropriate.

Review next period coverage to ensure you have the pipeline in place to hit quota

1. Navigate to the Records tab in Outreach and select Opportunities.
2. Using saved views or filters, sort opportunities for those with a close date of the next sales period.
3. Make any necessary adjustments to deal details such as close date, next steps, etc. as needed
4. Find the forecasting upward arrow icon on the upper right-hand side of the Opportunities page and click Show Forecast.
5. From the “Sales Period” drop-down in the upper right, select “Next Month” or “Next Quarter” depending on your default sales period.
6. Apply your judgment to any manually editable forecast category, if applicable.
7. Review these metrics to see if you have enough in your pipeline for the upcoming sales period. Flag any opportunities that you feel are at risk to ensure you can get them back on track for next period, and review opportunities associated with those deals in your pipeline. 

Submit a future period’s forecast 

1. Navigate to the Records tab in Outreach and select Opportunities.
2. Using saved views or filters, sort opportunities for those with a close date in the desired sales period.
3. Find the forecasting upward arrow icon on the upper right-hand side of the Opportunities page and click Show Forecast.
4. From the “Sales Period” drop-down in the upper right, select the desired time frame i.e., “Next Month” or “Next Quarter,” depending on your default sales period.
5. Review your forecast and make any edits if necessary.
6. Navigate to the upper right hand corner of the Your Forecast section and hit the Submit button.
7. If you made any adjustments, explain your changes clearly in the Submit Forecast comments section. Include details about why you believe the modified forecast is appropriate.
8. Once you've reviewed and adjusted the forecast, submit it with the changes. The updated forecast will reflect your modifications. Review the confirmation to ensure your adjustments and comments are recorded accurately.