Building Alliance with Clients: Key to Success in Forecasting

BUILDING ALLIANCE WITH CLIENTS: KEY TO SUCCESS IN FORECASTING By Hu Song and John Triantis About 10% of decisions are based on hard facts … to be an effective forecaster one has to learn not only how to prepare good forecasts but also how to deal with the emotions of forecast users … among other things, the forecaster should make every effort to learn about job responsibility, professional background and personal interest of his or her clients. Many of us have heard a forecaster making a statement concerning forecast users such as: “I feel like I’m dealing with a bunch of idiots. They don’t seem to grasp even the basic logic of what I’m trying to tell them. After running hundreds and hundreds of scenarios and thousands of simulations, I really want to tell them: “Shut up, you are stupid! If you don’t believe my forecast, why even ask me to be here?” This poor guy has failed to accomplish his goal of selling his forecast to his clients (forecast users). May be he did not incorporate into the forecast some crucial developments in the market place. Whatever the reason may be, his clients did not perceive any value in his work. The question then is not whether there ...