Is Your Forecast Off? Let's Talk About Stage Skips

Forecasting can feel like more art than science.  And if you’ve ever sat on a forecast call thinking, “That deal is definitely not in Commit,”—you’re not alone.

The Pressure to Perform

Sales is high-stakes and reps feel the pressure.  Sometimes, to show progress, a deal gets bumped up a stage or forecast category before it’s really ready. It might be a genuine progression, or it might be a way to keep momentum and meet expectations. But the problem? These premature stage progressions have the potential to throw off the forecast.

Inflated Pipelines = Missed Targets

When stages are jumped, your pipeline looks stronger than it is, which can lead to overconfidence. Executives and finance make plans based on that inflated data. And when a prematurely advanced deal slips, trust takes a hit. And not just in the numbers but potentially in the entire process.

You Can’t Fix What You Can’t See

The trouble is, you usually don’t catch this in time. Unless you’re doing a lot of manual combing through records, it’s hard to tell if stages are being skipped. It can be difficult to surface this easily, so potentially off-process behavior might continue unchecked.

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Enter Processity

This is where Processity can help - it shows you the actual path opportunities take, and how much time elapses between those stage progressions.
Not just where it is now—but every step it took, and where this varies with your other opportunities. You’ll see which deals skipped critical stages, or leapt from “Qualification” to “Proposal” in seconds or minutes, and these visual insights make identifying and investigating these behaviours much more straightforward.

Why It Matters

When you see the patterns, you can act. Maybe the stage progression was genuine, maybe reps need clearer guidelines, maybe the stages themselves are too vague or not aligned with real sales motions.  Maybe it’s a training issue.
Whatever it is—you’ll see the patterns. And that’s the first step to fixing it.

Real Forecast Integrity

With Processity, you’re not guessing. You’re identifying real anomalies and getting to the bottom of them. Your forecast becomes grounded in how deals actually progress. And when you say “we’ll close $X this month,” everyone can trust that number.

Move from Guesswork to Accuracy

Let’s be real—forecasting is tough enough without stage jumps or spurious progressions muddying the waters. Processity brings clarity. It brings accountability. And it helps your sales org build a forecast that leadership can believe in.