{"id":44639,"date":"2023-11-09T06:30:00","date_gmt":"2023-11-09T14:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gong.io\/?post_type=patterns-case-study&p=44639"},"modified":"2025-02-05T10:41:00","modified_gmt":"2025-02-05T18:41:00","slug":"upworks-revops-team-rockets-to-95-sales-forecast-accuracy-using-gong","status":"publish","type":"patterns-case-study","link":"https:\/\/www.gong.io\/case-studies\/upworks-revops-team-rockets-to-95-sales-forecast-accuracy-using-gong\/","title":{"rendered":"Upwork\u2019s RevOps team rockets to 95% sales forecast accuracy using Gong"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
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95%<\/div>\n
Sales Forecasting accuracy<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/block-factoid>\n\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/block-factoids>\n\n\n\n
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The Challenge<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/block-title>\n\n

\n\nBefore Gong, Upwork recognized the potential for enhancing the accuracy of its internal sales forecasts, especially in an unpredictable market. They also needed better (and earlier) visibility into whether their new GTM initiatives worked at an enterprise level.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Outcome<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/block-title>\n\n

\n\nUpwork’s sales teams now forecast with 95% accuracy with highly reliable deal execution. Its RevOps team uses Gong to power well-informed decision making from day one for every GTM initiative.\n<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/block-case-study-hero-content>\n\n\n\n

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headquarters<\/p>\n

San Francisco, California<\/p><\/div>\n

founded<\/p>\n

2015<\/p><\/div>\n

company size<\/p>\n

100,000+<\/p><\/div>\n

industry<\/p>\n

Technology, Information and Internet<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/block-case-study-hero-facts>\n\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/block-case-study-hero>\n\n\n\n\n\n

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\n\nUpwork is the world\u2019s leading work marketplace, connecting businesses with independent talent from around the globe. Their talent community earned more than $3.8 billion on Upwork in 2022 across more than 10,000 skills, with over 800k clients turning to Upwork to innovate their workforce, accelerate the velocity of their work, and achieve their growth objectives.\n<\/p>\n\n

\n\nTheir sales team navigated massive growth and scaled successfully using Gong data. Today, they rely on Gong Forecast \u2014 the perfect pairing of data and AI \u2014 to achieve incredible sales forecast accuracy while they continue to scale. \n<\/p>\n\n

\n\nThe company began using Gong in 2017 and it was well-received from day one. Gong is now the RevOps team\u2019s go-to for forecasting its sales accurately.<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n\n

\n\nDrew Korab, Director of Revenue Operations at Upwork, says his main challenge was being able to provide an accurate forecast to the business while scaling and implementing GTM initiatives that focus on enterprise sales. \u201cUsing Gong Forecast, we were able to call accurate sales numbers, even in the middle of major organizational change and an uncertain economy. Our old forecast process and data just didn\u2019t cut it anymore. Gong Forecast gave us the new data, process, and insights we needed to project how our new business line would perform,\u201d says Korab. \u201cWe\u2019ve used Forecast for three solid quarters and our accuracy has only grown, to the point that we\u2019re now at 95%. That\u2019s invaluable for a company that\u2019s moving into new sales territory in an uncertain economy.\u201d\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Upwork runs a predictable revenue org, even while scaling<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/block-title>\n\n

\n\nThe RevOps team uses Gong\u2019s real-time insights to assess its pipeline health and uncover risks that would otherwise lead to a missed number. For a publicly traded company, that type of predictability and accuracy are critical. \n<\/p>\n\n

\n\nBefore Gong, Upwork recognized there was an opportunity to provide a more accurate quarterly sales forecast. A new upmarket sales motion and a growing team meant that forecasting based on historical data didn\u2019t work any more. Last year\u2019s data \u2014 even last quarter\u2019s data \u2014 was no longer a good baseline for comparison, and the data coming via the CRM just didn\u2019t provide an accurate picture of the pipeline.

The shifting economy magnified these challenges and made everything harder. The result was an unpredictable forecast that made double-digit swings in accuracy from quarter to quarter.

Upwork needed real-time data for every deal in their pipeline so the sales team could forecast consistently and reliably. With the help of Gong Forecast, Korab got everyone working in one application where they had access to deal health data and AI that highlighted risks and told them where they were going off track.  \n<\/p>\n\n

\n\nHere\u2019s how Upwork\u2019s GTM team now uses Gong to run their weekly forecasting process:\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. Daily<\/strong>: Reps and managers use the Deal Board<\/em> for pipeline inspection, and to update their opportunity progress and forecast categories (all syncing back to CRM). Gong\u2019s deal warnings proactively alert the team to red flags and risk in their pipeline, pressure testing the quality of their commit. <\/li>\n<\/div>\n<\/block-list-item>\n\n\n\n
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  2. Wednesday<\/strong>: Gong automatically reminds sales managers to submit their forecast, and gives them a simple submission panel to update their forecast. <\/li>\n<\/div>\n<\/block-list-item>\n\n\n\n
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  3. Thursday<\/strong>: Directors, managers, and Ops review the current month and 90-day forecast in Gong. Using Trends<\/em> and Gong Projection<\/em>, the team quickly checks if they\u2019re on track. Changes<\/em> help the team understand which deals moved each week and why. And Deal Boards<\/em> allow the senior managers and Ops to verify the quality of every deal in the forecast, with AI highlighting risk, helping validate the integrity of the team forecast.  <\/li>\n<\/div>\n<\/block-list-item>\n\n\n\n
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  4. Friday<\/strong>: The team supplements the bottom-up forecast with top-down pacing and WoW analysis, reviewed by senior management. <\/li>\n<\/div>\n<\/block-list-item>\n\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n<\/block-list>\n\n

    \n\n\u201cWith Gong,\u201d Korab said, \u201cwe see every step of the sales process.\u201d This advanced visibility means the GTM team can make better business decisions about which opportunities to prioritize and whether or not to include certain deals in their forecast. Integrated data immediately<\/em> tells the team if their approach is effective, so they\u2019re never waiting on results. 
    Korab says, \u201cWorking with Gong lets us run a predictable revenue organization, reduce the number of tools in our tech stack, and save tons of time on forecasting.\u201d<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    Sales forecasts take 50% less time, with 100% of reps reporting<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/block-title>\n\n

    \n\nAccording to Gong\u2019s Reality of Forecasting Report 2022<\/em><\/a>, only 22% of sales professionals say their forecasting process is efficient. That\u2019s a problem for companies that are scaling. It prevents them from making quick business decisions about resource allocations, strategic directions, etc.\n<\/p>\n\n

    \n\nBefore using Gong Forecast, Upwork\u2019s forecasting process was archaic and time-consuming. It involved Google spreadsheets, Salesforce reports, and \u201ca ton of rep sentiment,\u201d and ate up a minimum<\/em> of six hours per week across five meetings involving multiple people. Managers were constantly wasting hours chasing reps over data entry. \n<\/p>\n\n

    \n\nForecast halved<\/em> that time. \u201cIt got us into a routine. Now we focus on achieving our forecast instead of agonizing over whether we included the right numbers.\u201d <\/strong>\n<\/p>\n\n

    \n\nGong reminds reps to fill in their forecast, which may seem trivial, but it creates a clockwork routine that everyone understands. <\/strong>Korab says that, \u201cToday, 100% of reps submit their forecast on time. <\/strong>It used to be that 75% was a good week. Now the platform does the chasing for us,\u201d says Korab.  That\u2019s part of how<\/strong> Upwork increased their sales forecasting accuracy to 95%. <\/strong>\n<\/p>\n\n

    \n\nThe team can call numbers confidently and accurately because they\u2019re based on integrated and accurate data. \u201cWe give every C-suite member access to Gong because we trust the numbers,\u201d says Korab. Mike Schaffer, the VP of Revenue Operations at Upwork says, \u201cInstead of attending endless meetings, I\u2019ve delegated inspections to my team. It\u2019s one less thing I have to worry about. I trust the numbers I get from them.\u201d\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    Gong provides priceless accuracy in any economy<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/block-title>\n\n

    \n\nGong Forecast has changed how the RevOps team feels about the numbers they put forward. \u201cI jump into the Trends<\/em> tab every day,\u201d says Korab. \u201c It helps me make reliable business decisions in real time, on a daily basis. I assess my sales forecast accuracy against 90-day historical wins, which I\u2019ve found to be reliable in this economic environment. In Gong, I see those numbers at a glance.\u201d\n<\/p>\n\n

    \n\nNot only are the company\u2019s sales forecasts 95% accurate while they scale, the RevOps team has the real-time feedback it needs about GTM initiatives. They can take their initiatives forward with confidence, knowing they have the means to ensure each initiative\u2019s success.\n<\/p>\n\n

    \n\nAs Schaffer put it, \u201cI can\u2019t tell you how these economically uncertain times will turn out, but I know that we\u2019ll be in a better position to face them because of the partnership we\u2019ve built with Gong.\u201d\n<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>

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