If there is one mainstay in virtually every sales office, it 
would have to be funnels & forecasts.   Sales managers swear by 
them; however, I've found that they frequently do more harm than 
good.

Funnels seem like a good idea in theory.  The problem with 
funnels, however, is that they practically scream 
"micromanagement."  Funnel reviews strike terror in the hearts of 
salespeople.  They scream the words "probation" and "performance 
improvement plan."  Sales managers who wish to succeed need to 
learn some basic psychology, especially the principle of 
autosuggestion.  Doing so will make it very clear as to why the 
very sound of the word funnel instantly changes salespeople's 
attitudes from positive to negative and has very bad effects on 
sales performance.

Forecasts also make sense in theory.  After all, accurate 
forecasting is a necessity for good business planning.  The key 
word, however, is accurate.  If you believe that an accurate 
sales forecast has ever existed then I've got a nice bridge for 
sale just for you.  Salespeople simply do not submit accurate 
forecasts.  Most salespeople grossly overestimate their forecasts 
in order to appease their managers.  After all, would you, as a 
salesperson, want to face the wrath of submitting a forecast that 
falls short of expectations?  This is why dead deals and phony 
deals tend to outnumber the real ones on forecasts.  On the other 
side of the coin, some salespeople underestimate forecasts simply 
because they don't want a manager asking, "When is this one going 
to sign?  When is that one going to sign?"  An overbearing 
manager simply isn't worth dealing with so they leave good deals 
off the forecast.  

The other huge problem with funnels & forecasts is that they 
force salespeople to manage their activity on a month-to-month 
basis.  This results in the horrendous practice of slacking off 
at the beginning of every month, then working overtime at the end 
of the month trying to get enough deals signed to make quota.  It 
just doesn't work in the real world.  Successful top producers 
work in the present, not in terms of "it's the beginning of the 
month" or "it's the end of the month."  Top producers are 
consistent because today is neither the beginning nor the end of 
the month.  Today is today, and that means doing the same thing 
today that they do every day to get the results they achieve.

Forget about funnels & forecasts.  Manage with common sense 
instead and watch your sales results skyrocket. 

Frank Rumbauskas is the author of Cold Calling Is A Waste
Of Time: Sales Success In The Information Age. He is the 
founder of FJR Advisors, LLC, which publishes training 
materials that educate salespeople on how to generate 
business without cold calling. For more information, 
please visit http://www.nevercoldcall.com