IN THIS EDITION
A forecast shouldn't be a relay. Every hand it passes through should add a judgment.
This edition: why forecasting is a context problem, not a data problem, and how to make the roll-up a real call at every level. Plus the forecasting updates we just shipped, from rep to CRO, and where to find us over the next few weeks.
🎃 Nightmares of GTM: five GTM horrors, a treat on us
Dead forecasts, zombie renewals, CRM notes that never existed. Every revenue team has a horror story. Tell us yours and pick your treat: a box of fresh-baked brownies or a movie night kit.
Claim your treat → Nightmares of GTM
New qualifying teams, one gift per person. T&Cs apply.
01 · Deep dive
Your forecast is a context problem, not a data problem
It's week six. The roll-up lands in your inbox and the number looks fine. Then you open a deal and find a close date that's been pushed three times, a quote that expires on Friday, and a buying committee nobody has spoken to. The forecast wasn't wrong because someone lacked data. Your CRM is full of data. It was wrong because the context behind each deal got lost somewhere between the rep, their manager and you.
Most forecasts are a relay. A first-line manager forwards what their reps said, a regional lead forwards that, and by the time the number reaches the CRO nobody has really looked at the deals. Devang Agrawal, our co-founder, argues the roll-up should be the opposite: a judgment made fresh at every level, not a number passed hand to hand.
That starts at the deal. Airspeed reads the calls, emails, stakeholders and history around each one and turns them into a close probability for the quarter, with the reasoning attached. A deal at 45% in negotiation might show a strong champion, a solid proposal and pricing alignment on one side, and long review gaps, no committee sign-off and an expiring quote on the other. A number on its own invites an argument; a number with reasons invites a conversation. The score history matters too: a line that climbs steadily is healthy, one that swings up and down tells you the deal's direction is genuinely uncertain.
Then the manager roll-up puts each rep's submitted number next to what their deals actually add up to. Call $280k in best case on $118k of deals and the gap is right there, alongside when the rep last submitted. If a manager sees a deal differently they can recategorize it, change the stage or amount, or exclude it from the roll-up, and those changes touch the Airspeed forecast only, never the rep's CRM record. Every layer, first-line manager to CRO, makes a considered call and leaves the evidence for the level above. That's a forecast you can defend in a board meeting, not just report.
Read the full piece → Why Airspeed is the best sales forecasting software
02 · From the data
A rep calls $280k in best case. The deals behind it add up to $118k. That gap, right next to when they last submitted, is the forecast conversation.
Revenue Decoded · on the new manager roll-up
03 · New in Airspeed
Forecasting, rebuilt from rep to CRO
Over the last couple of months the product team rebuilt how a forecast moves through an org, so the context survives every step up the hierarchy. Here's what shipped.
Manager roll-ups A dedicated table per team: each rep's submitted forecast by category, what their deals actually total, and when they last submitted.
A review drawer for every rep Open any deal for its stage and amount history, how the close-probability score has moved, and the reasoning behind the latest number.
Adjustments that don't touch the CRM Recategorize, restage, adjust the amount or exclude a deal. It changes the Airspeed forecast only, and the level above can see exactly what you changed and why.
Forecast analysis · early access Four views, so you know how far to trust the number: forecast tracking, accuracy over time, the same point last quarter, and a pipeline waterfall.
Watch: what's new in forecasting Alex, one of our product engineers, walks through the roll-ups, the review drawer and forecast analysis in a few minutes.
See everything that shipped → What's new in Airspeed forecasting
04 · What's coming up
Featured · 18 NOV: GTMfund Happy Hour · New York A happy hour with the GTMfund network in NYC. Founders and revenue leaders, drinks, and the warm introductions that move deals. Register → GTMfund Happy Hour
26 NOV: GTM Leaders Dinner · London With My Sales Assembly, a small table of revenue leaders in the Kyoto Room at The Ivy Asia St Paul's, 6:00 PM GMT. No agenda and no pitch, just what's working and what's not. Register → GTM Leaders Dinner
15 DEC: Holiday Party · New York An end-of-year get-together for customers, prospects and the wider Airspeed network in NYC. A relationship event, not a pitch. Register → Holiday Party
See all events → Airspeed events
