To forecast upside, you generally only account for a small percentage of upside opportunities actually closing, or use your upside sales forecast along your commit and a worst-case forecast to give your team multiple data points on where you might land. In some cases, upside sales are also deals that are projected to close in the next quarter, but your rep has a credible plan to pull them in and close early. So, while there is some realistic possibility of closing the deal, it’s not yet a sure thing. Upside sales are sometimes called longshot or deals with a possibility of closing within the quarter, but not yet committed. For instance, committed deals and upside deals (see below) are two different classifications for sales opportunities. Sales opportunities are usually broken down into categories based on how likely they are to close, which are updated as reps learn more about them and move them down the funnel. In other words, your sales reps have begun to vet the potential customer and believe there is a realistic possibility to close a deal, without relying on a miracle.

Sales opportunities are potential deals they are also sometimes referred to as SQLs (Sales Qualified Leads).

Here are some additional terms you’ll want to define: To ensure all members of your sales team are on the same page and your sales forecasts are as accurate as possible, you’ll want to give other important sales terms the same treatment that you gave to the term “commit” - that is, crystal-clear definitions. If all of these criteria are met, a “commit” is likely a safe bet. Ultimately, the key to more consistently hitting your commits as a sales organization is ensuring that your sales reps are doing the critical upfront discovery work to gain confidence that their prospects not only want to buy from them but also that they have the budget and the authority to make a buying decision, as well as have a compelling reason to close the deal within the quarter. Does the prospect organization have a compelling reason to act now?.Does the contact understand the purchase process?.Has the contact confirmed a timeline for getting started?.If not, has your contact already gotten sign-off from that person?.Does your primary contact or champion have the authority to make the purchase decision?.Here are a few questions you should be asking about existing pipeline deals before moving them to a “commit” stage: Even the 10% that aren’t closing as predicted should only be experiencing a short delay, not a loss of a sale, if they were committed. And the only thing stopping that from occurring is unpredictable and exceptional events. The commit definition dictates that truly committed sales should be closing as expected 90% of the time. In other words, your sales rep is highly confident that not only will their targeted opportunity close when they expect, but also it will close at the targeted value. The generally agreed-on definition of a sales commit is that a deal can be safely expected to close in the expected quarter.

In order to get all your reps on the same page, you’ll need to clearly define what a “commit” means to you. Define Your “Commit” Criteria for Your Entire Sales Organization On the flip side, you may notice that a sales rep has a habit of sandbagging a bit on their commits, then heroically winning deals in the final hours of the quarter that weren’t on your radar a few weeks ago. Does one rep have a habit of categorizing their deals in pipe as “hard commit” three weeks into the quarter, when everyone else is holding on making that call until the 6 week mark? In order to see why your numbers may be going off the rails, drill down at a granular level to view how each individual sales rep is categorizing their opportunities, particularly when viewed in relation to other reps’ sales forecasts. You’ll find that by identifying the problem spots, you’ll be able to better define what you’re looking for in a “commit” - and can teach your sales reps to speak your language. In order to build more confidence in your team’s ability to deliver against its commits, take a look at the variance between where your sales teams expect to end up and where their numbers actually are at the end of the quarter. According to research from SiriusDecisions, just 21% of companies come within 10% of their sales forecasts, which is an indicator that end-of-quarter surprises are the norm vs. And, if you’re not speaking the same language, it can lead to end-of-quarter surprises. The problem is, not all reps use the same criteria when forecasting what will make it across the finish line this quarter. Typically, assigning a sales opportunity to a “commit” stage means that your sales rep has verbal confirmation that a deal will close. Your sales rep thinks that a prospect is committed to buy.

Define commits