Imagine going on a sailing expedition without any knowledge of the sea conditions or a map to guide you. Sounds scary, right?
Just as a skilled sailor carefully studies the currents, weather patterns, and landmarks to plan a successful course, salespeople in today’s ever-evolving sales landscape must harness the power of data, market insights, and strategic foresight to sail their businesses toward success.
But wait, let us give you a shocker.
By 2025, over 90% of B2B enterprise sales organizations will continue to rely on intuition instead of advanced data analytics.
The consequences of using intuition are pretty obvious – inaccurate forecasts, broken sales pipeline, and unfulfilled quotas.
Now, if you want to become a part of the 10%, having the right sales forecast tools in your tech stack is important.
And we know how hard it is to add tools to your business’ tech stacks without extensive research which is why in this article, we have put together the top 10 sales forecast tools you can choose from.
What is Sales Forecasting?
Sales forecasting is the process of estimating future sales of a business based on historical data, market trends, and other relevant factors.
It involves analyzing past sales performance, considering market conditions, and making predictions about future customer demand and purchasing patterns.
The goal of sales forecasting is to help businesses with:
- Anticipating customer demand, allowing them to align their production, inventory, and resources accordingly
- Aiding in budgeting, financial planning, and setting realistic sales targets
- Strategic decision-making, including product development, marketing campaigns, pricing strategies, and expansion plans
- Evaluating performance, identifying gaps, and making adjustments to achieve sales targets
- Identifying emerging trends, market opportunities, and potential threats, enabling them to make proactive strategic moves
- Providing a basis for setting sales targets, incentivizing sales teams, and monitoring individual and team performance
- Enhancing investor confidence by demonstrating a clear understanding of market dynamics, growth potential, and the ability to generate future revenue
What are Sales Forecasting Tools?
While we just learned what sales forecasting is. And there are tools available in the market to do just that.
Sales forecasting tools are platforms that assist businesses in predicting and analyzing future sales performance. These tools utilize advanced data analysis techniques, algorithms, and statistical models to provide accurate and actionable sales forecasts.
Common features found in good sales forecasting tools are:
- Pre-built or customizable forecasting models
- Interactive dashboards and visual representations of forecasts
- Scenario analysis and historical analysis
- Collaborative features and performance tracking
- Real-time updates and integration capabilities
- Reporting and analytics
Top 10 Best Sales Forecasting Tools to Consider in 2023
Now, we will get straight to the point. After screening through the zillions of sales forecasting tools in the market, we have curated the top 10 out of them.
Time to sit back with a notepad and a pen in your hand.
1. Nektar
Nektar is an AI for RevOps platform that helps revenue teams get a true view of their CRM data, allowing them to make data-driven decisions and optimize their sales process. Nektar can integrate with any existing GTM (Go-to-Market) tools, so sales teams can use it in conjunction with their current sales stack.
By leveraging AI-powered analytics, Nektar provides real-time insights into the sales pipeline, enabling sales teams to identify bottlenecks, opportunities for improvement and forecast their sales accordingly.
Key features of the platform are:
- Automated tracking of leads, deals, and pipeline metrics
- Collaborative forecasting & scenario planning
- Rules configuration
- Real-time notifications and alerts
- Historical data analysis and trend forecasting
2. InsightSquared
InsightSquared is a powerful sales analytics platform that provides comprehensive reporting and dashboards. It enables accurate forecasting and pipeline management, empowering businesses with revenue intelligence and data-driven insights.
With its robust tracking and benchmarking capabilities, sales performance can be optimized and strategic future decisions can be made based on actionable analytics.
Key features of the platform are:
- Powerful sales analytics
- Robust reporting and dashboards
- Forecasting and pipeline management
- Revenue intelligence and data-driven insights
- Sales performance tracking and benchmarking
3. Gong
Gong is a conversation analytics platform that revolutionizes sales effectiveness. By recording and transcribing sales calls, it offers valuable insights for coaching, training, and improving sales performance.
Gong’s AI-powered technology provides deal, market, and customer intelligence, helping teams make data-backed decisions and drive revenue growth.
Key features of the platform are:
- Conversation analytics and insights
- Call recording and transcription
- Sales coaching and training
- Deal, market, and customer intelligence
- AI-powered insights and recommendations
4. Nutshell
Nutshell is a user-friendly CRM platform that offers robust contact and lead management. Its intuitive interface simplifies sales pipeline tracking, enabling teams to manage deals effectively.
With seamless email integration and automation, businesses can streamline their communication. Nutshell’s sales analytics and reporting features provide valuable insights for informed decision making.
Key features of the platform are:
- Contact and lead management
- Sales pipeline tracking
- Email integration and automation
- Sales analytics and reporting
5. Anaplan
Anaplan is an integrated business planning platform helps businesses with scenario modeling, forecasting, and budgeting capabilities.
It facilitates sales and operations planning, allowing businesses to align strategies with financial goals. Real-time data analysis and visualization drive informed decision-making, enhancing performance and enabling agile business planning.
Key features of the platform are:
- Integrated business planning
- Scenario modeling and forecasting
- Budgeting and financial planning
- Sales and operations planning
- Real-time data analysis and visualization
6. HubSpot Sales Hub
HubSpot Sales Hub is a comprehensive platform that combines contact and lead management with email tracking and automation. It provides a visual sales pipeline, assisting teams in tracking deals and managing their progress effectively.
With sales analytics and reporting, businesses gain valuable insights to make data-driven sales forecasts. It also offers task and activity management for streamlined sales processes.
Key features of the platform are:
- Contact and lead management
- Email tracking and automation
- Deal and pipeline tracking
- Sales analytics and reporting
- Sales task and activity management
7. Pipedrive
Pipedrive is a visual sales pipeline management tool that helps teams track deals and monitor progress.
It offers contact and lead management, sales reporting, and analytics. With email integration and automation capabilities, Pipedrive simplifies communication, empowering sales teams to stay organized, close deals efficiently and predict accurate sales data.
Key features of the platform are:
- Visual sales pipeline management
- Deal tracking and progress monitoring
- Contact and lead management
- Sales reporting and analytics
- Email integration and automation
8. Spotio
Spotio is a field sales management platform that optimizes territory planning and tracking. It enables lead management and prospecting, with route planning and mapping features for efficient sales operations and accurate forecasting.
Real-time location and activity tracking facilitate sales team management and enhance productivity in the field.
Key features of the platform are:
- Field sales management and tracking
- Territory planning and optimization
- Lead management and prospecting
- Route planning and mapping
- Real-time location and activity tracking
9. Aviso AI
Aviso AI is an AI-powered sales platform that delivers advanced forecasting and insights. It offers analytics for deal and pipeline management, enabling data-backed decision-making.
The tool also provides predictive analytics for revenue optimization and offers data-driven sales coaching and recommendations, helping sales teams increase their performance.
Key features of the platform are:
- AI-powered sales forecasting and insights
- Deal and pipeline analytics
- Sales performance tracking and benchmarking
- Predictive analytics for revenue optimization
- Data-driven sales coaching and recommendations
10. Salesmate.io
Salesmate.io is a user-friendly CRM platform that provides contact and lead management. It offers sales pipeline tracking and visualization, along with email automation and tracking features.
With team collaboration and task management capabilities, Salesmate.io helps teams stay organized, improve communication, and drive efficient sales forecasting.
Key features of the platform are:
- Contact and lead management
- Sales pipeline tracking and visualization
- Email automation and tracking
- Task management
- Sales reporting and analytics
And, it’s a wrap! Evaluate the above tools and choose the one that fits your business needs.
Building Block of an Accurate Sales Forecast
Imagine making your sales predictions on the basis of incomplete and incorrect data in your CRM. We know just the thought of this is dreadful which is why you need a sales forecasting tool that can capture the full funnel sales data as well.
Solution? Nektar.
Nektar addresses your CRM data leakage, you can have complete data and intelligence to have better visibility into your pipeline. And with this clean and complete data, you have better insights that can be used to make timely and data-driven decisions.
To know more, Book a call with one of our experts here.
