Forecast Call Script & Cadence Guide
A structured weekly forecast call format, tied to methodology milestones instead of stage-in-CRM guesswork, with a word-for-word opening script and a per-deal template every rep fills in and states out loud.
What's inside
- Word-for-word manager opening script for the weekly forecast call
- A per-deal rep script covering account, amount, date, EB contact, decision criteria, paper process, risk, and ask
- Forecast category definitions (Commit / Best Case / Pipeline / Omit) tied to methodology criteria, not CRM stage
- A closing accountability script that locks the rep to their own number
- A 'no-surprises' rule for the final week of the quarter
- A monthly roll-up variant for skip-level and leadership reporting
A forecast call built on CRM stage tells you where a deal sits. A forecast call built on methodology milestones tells you whether it's actually going to close. Use this format weekly.
Cadence
- Weekly, same day and time, 30–45 minutes
- Cover every deal in Commit and Best Case every week; Pipeline deals every two weeks
- Forecast categories are earned by methodology criteria below — never assigned by gut feel or CRM stage alone
Forecast category definitions
| Category | Criteria |
|---|---|
| Commit | Economic Buyer confirmed directly + mutual close plan signed off by buyer + Paper Process started + no red-flag MEDDPICC letter |
| Best Case | 2 of the 3 Commit criteria above are true |
| Pipeline | Active next step scheduled, but fewer than 2 Commit criteria met |
| Omit/Push | No activity in 14+ days, or no next step scheduled |
Manager opening script (verbatim)
"We're going deal by deal. For each one I want three things only: what's changed since last week, what number you're committing to, and what could break it. If you can't answer with a name, a date, or a number, it's not Commit — it's Best Case. Let's go."
Per-deal rep script (rep fills in and states out loud, no reading off the CRM)
[Account Name], $[Amount], closing [Date]. Since last week: [one factual sentence — a thing that happened, not a feeling] Economic buyer: [Name/Title] — last direct contact [Date] Decision criteria confirmed: [Yes/No — if No, explain why it's still in this category] Paper process status: [Not started / In legal / In security / Signed] Risk this week: [Named risk, not "none"] What I need from you: [Specific ask, or "nothing"]
Manager follow-up probes (use as needed, don't run all of them every time)
- "You said you spoke to the EB — was that a call, or an email they replied to?"
- "What's the actual next calendar event on this deal, and who's it with?"
- "If I called your champion right now, what would they say is holding this up?"
Closing accountability script (verbatim)
"Before we move to the next one — [Rep name], say the close date and the dollar number back to me."
This single line is the highest-leverage part of the whole cadence: hearing themselves commit to a specific date and number out loud, every single week, changes how reps forecast far more than any spreadsheet review does.
The no-surprises rule
Nothing enters Commit for the first time in the final week of the quarter. Any deal reaching Commit status in week 12 or 13 (of a standard 13-week quarter) that wasn't in Best Case the week before gets flagged and reviewed by the manager directly with the rep before it's allowed into the number.
Monthly roll-up variant (for skip-level/leadership)
Roll up by category and by the specific criterion most commonly missing:
| Category | # Deals | $ Value | Most Common Missing Criterion |
|---|---|---|---|
| Commit | |||
| Best Case | |||
| Pipeline |
This last column is the most useful line in the whole report — it tells leadership whether the team's systemic gap is EB access, paper process, or something else, instead of just a dollar total.
How to use it
Run the manager script to open every weekly forecast call, have each rep read their per-deal script out loud from memory (not from the CRM), reassign the forecast category strictly by the methodology criteria table, and close every deal with the accountability line before moving to the next one.