<ul data-eligibleForWebStory="true">Data-driven forecasting is essential for CMOs to secure CFO support by demonstrating accurate pipeline and revenue predictions.CMOs need to move towards data-driven forecasting rather than relying on gut feelings or optimistic assumptions.Less than 20% of sales organizations have a forecast accuracy of 75% or greater, making it crucial for CMOs to adopt a reliable forecasting method.Sales velocity, which measures how quickly opportunities turn into revenue, is a key metric that CMOs can influence directly.Factors that marketing can impact include the number of opportunities, win rate, deal size, and sales cycle length.Analyzing these factors helps CMOs predict revenue outcomes based on marketing strategy tweaks.Using a Pipeline Velocity Calculator can help CMOs convert marketing inputs into revenue predictions that the CFO can trust.Reliable forecasting is crucial for CMOs to gain CFO confidence and budget approval.The next post will delve into additional forecasting tools, conversion benchmarks, and methods to present marketing performance in CFO-friendly terms.The key to securing CFO support is through accurate data-driven forecasting that ties marketing activities to financial outcomes.