From Guesswork to Growth: How CROs Build a Forecast That’s Visible, Predictable, and Efficient

We’ve heard how important forecasting is for driving real momentum and accountability time and time again. We know it should be one of the most data-driven motions in revenue. And yet, for many CROs, it still feels more like educated guesswork than an operational advantage. 

I’ve lived this firsthand. When forecasts lack visibility or consistency, end-of-quarter pressure rises quickly and accountability drops. You see leaders start to scramble for updates. Reps protect themselves with conservative close dates. Forecast calls turn into rehearsals instead of strategy sessions. And by the time risk becomes obvious, it’s often too late to change the outcome. 

That’s exactly why we hosted our on-demand webinar, From Guesswork to Growth. I joined Jeremy Moskowitz (Director of Portfolio Product Marketing at Outreach) and Matt Hunt (GM of Forecasting and Deal Management) to break down what separates reactive forecasting from confident, predictable revenue execution. We also identified what CROs can do to build systems that support both accuracy and culture. 

Below, I'll share the core lessons from that conversation, along with real examples of how modern revenue teams are moving from chaos to clarity today.

Why Forecasting Breaks Down at the End of the Quarter 

When teams fall behind late in the quarter, the issue is usually not effort. It’s really just about visibility, which can negatively impact accountability and accuracy if it’s lacking. 

As a CRO, you are accountable for delivering the number and explaining it. That means having a clear, unified view across segments, SKUs, regions, renewals, and expansion. Not just for yourself, but for the CEO, board, finance, and operations teams as well. 

When data lives across spreadsheets, CRM fields, side decks, and Slack threads, alignment becomes friction. Leaders spend more time reconciling numbers than improving outcomes. Sellers spend more time reporting the news than making it. 

The result? Forecasting turns into inspection theater instead of a strategic operating rhythm. Plus, you no longer have to worry about missing a number you’ve committed to the business. 

Visibility Is the Foundation of Forecast Confidence 

High-performing revenue teams operate from a single source of truth. When everyone, from reps to managers, RevOps to finance, are looking at the same data, visibility improves more than reporting accuracy. 

Real-time insight into deal momentum, engagement, and risk gives leaders the visibility to know exactly where to focus. Plus, your sales reps now are armed for battle with the knowledge of what matters most. 

Instead of asking, “Where did this number come from?” leaders can ask strategy-based questions that actually move deals forward: 

That level of visibility creates accountability without micromanagement and trust without guesswork. 

Predictability Means Replacing Gut Feel with Ground Truth 

Forecasting has long relied on intuition. We’ve all heard a sales rep say “I feel good about this deal.” And while that is an indicator that is exciting and makes the team feel positive, it is not a forecast. 

Predictability comes from consistency. When every deal is evaluated against the same criteria, patterns emerge that humans alone cannot reliably detect: 

• Missing stakeholders 
• Weak engagement 
• Slipping momentum 
• Over- or under-confidence in close dates 

AI-powered forecasting helps create an objective baseline. One that keeps sandbagging and optimism in check while still leaving room for human judgment. 

What Predictability Looks Like in Practice 

In our webinar, we talked at length about what this could actually look like in practice. Here’s what we aligned on. Predictably in practice means leaders can see: 

Over time, this builds trust not just in the number, but in the process behind it. 

Efficiency Lets Teams Focus on Selling, Not Admin 

Even with visibility and predictability, forecasting can fail if it's inefficient. When reps are burdened with manual updates, hygiene tasks, and duplicate reporting, productivity drops, moral wavers, and data quality is the first thing out the door. Sellers should spend their time engaging customers and progressing deals, not maintaining spreadsheets or preparing decks. 

Modern forecasting workflows remove friction by: 

• Automatically capturing deal insights from conversations 
• Surfacing recommended updates for next steps and methodologies 
• Enabling leaders and RevOps teams to self-serve reporting and configuration 

The payoff is meaningful if: 

• Forecast calls become faster and more focused 
• RevOps teams reclaim weeks of time each quarter 
• Sellers stay aligned without being slowed down 

What Happens When Visibility, Predictability, and Efficiency Come Together 

When visibility, predictability, and efficiency come together, it’s harmony. Forecasting stops being a quarterly fire drill and becomes a strategic advantage. 

So for fellow CROs, this means knowing exactly where to invest time and resources, planning pipeline and capacity multiple quarters ahead, aligning cross-functional teams around one shared view of the business, and making confident decisions faster with fewer surprises. And it’s not just the sales leaders with better visibility. CMOs, finance leaders, and other functional support teams will all feel more empowered and confident in the company’s sales business. 

We see this across organizations of all sizes. Global enterprises like Siemens have standardized forecasting across thousands of sellers in hundreds of countries. Smaller teams have achieved forecast accuracy within five percent while operating lean. 

The difference is not company size. It is having a system that supports how modern revenue teams actually operate. 

Final Takeaway for Revenue Leaders 

Forecasting does not need to feel like guesswork. With the right foundation, CROs can replace reactive reporting with proactive execution. That gives teams the clarity, confidence, and focus they need to win consistently. 

If you are evaluating how to evolve your forecasting process, take a few minutes to watch the full on-demand session to see these concepts in action.