If you were to survey sales professionals—from reps to managers to operations folks—you’d find that a majority admit to using spreadsheets for forecasting and analysis. This is true even when they have access to other tools and are required to use them! Teams often rely on spreadsheets to build their forecasts, then paste the information into whatever tool their organization mandates. But why the continued reliance on Excel?

Excel and Google Sheets are incredibly intuitive tools, and nearly everyone is comfortable and familiar with their functionality for data manipulation. However, spreadsheets come with significant limitations.

1. Data Integrity

When all your sales information is contained within your CRM, exporting it to a different tool means it is inherently out of date from the moment of export. Additionally, there’s always the risk of data corruption, which can send everyone running in circles. The likelihood of spotting a mistake decreases as the size of your dataset increases—the larger the dataset you export, the less chance you have of catching an error.

2. Merging and Formatting

If everyone is creating and editing spreadsheets, you’ll need to spend considerable time manipulating them to merge the data and ensure all calculations and formulas are structured correctly. This process is not only time-consuming but also prone to human error, which can further compromise data accuracy.

3. Metrics and Visualizations

If multiple sales professionals in your organization are working on forecasts, you’ll need to standardize the metrics and visualizations presented to leadership. It’s easy for everyone to create graphs according to their own preferences, resulting in a hodgepodge of colors, fonts, and chart types. This inconsistency makes it harder for higher-ups to consume the information effectively when presented.

The Solution: Moving Beyond Spreadsheets

If you’re a Salesforce user, what would convince you to move away from spreadsheets? We’ve built a tool that is as easy and intuitive as Excel but offers the accuracy and power of a native Salesforce application. It’s Akoonu Forecasting, and it allows you to:

• Stay within Salesforce, eliminating the need to export data.
• Have your forecast ready in minutes, not hours, with adjustments by deal, rep, or team.
• View clear, comprehensive trends, charts, and drill-downs.

Akoonu Forecasting means you never have to leave Salesforce to get accurate and powerful forecasting. Why settle for the limitations of spreadsheets when you can streamline your process and enhance data integrity with a tool designed for your needs?