Grading Opportunities

With the season of stuffing now past, I’ve read a slew of articles recently on the battles people have with over-indulgence. It is eye watering that one in four people in my homeland are currently considered obese.

One such article quoted celebrity high-protein diet creator, Frenchman Pierre Dukan, as saying that students should be awarded extra marks for watching their weight (specifically, when maintaining an acceptable BMI).

As is often the way with these pieces, the headline was slightly misleading. It read that “students should be graded on their weight”.

The issue of grading stuck in my subconscious for some time.

On forecasts, I often see a percentage applied to a possible deal. It typically represents the likelihood of closing. Yet I cannot recall seeing a grade applied on such like.

The more I thought about this, the more it puzzled me. Yes, I fully understand the simplicity of a percentage weighting, yet the immediacy of an A to E mark ascribed seems so powerful.

Imagine applying this to a qualification routine for instance. Whether you go for such formulisation as Miller-Heiman’s ideal customer profile or not, everyone has a pretty clear idea of when a deal excites them. I’m referring to when you feel the wind is right behind you. Everything seems to gel. The ‘fit’, the relationships, the desire, the strategic marriage.

So why not take a moment to assess your funnel in this way. The beauty is it doesn’t even need to be scientific. If you sense a perfect deal in play, it’s an A. If unease prevails at almost every turn, then you’ve snagged an E.

My suspicion is that this may indeed add a level of clarity to your forecasting.