I wasn't supposed to be in the weekly forecasting call.
The attendees were always the same: CRO, VP Sales, VP RevOps, regional sales directors, and occasionally the CFO. They'd review pipeline, discuss deal risk, and debate whether the quarter forecast was realistic.
Product marketing was never invited. We weren't in the revenue chain. We created positioning and enablement materials, sure, but forecasting? That was sales and finance territory.
Then I accidentally discovered something that changed my entire perspective on PMM's role.
I was sitting in a coffee shop working when I heard our VP Sales on a call at the next table. He was doing the weekly forecast review—I recognized the cadence of deal-by-deal breakdown, revenue projections, and risk assessment.
I heard him say, "The $800K healthcare deal is at risk. Prospect went dark two weeks ago. We're forecasting it at 40% probability."
I knew that deal. I'd interviewed a customer in the same vertical last week who'd almost chosen our competitor before switching to us. The reason they switched: the competitor couldn't handle a specific compliance requirement that healthcare buyers need.
If our VP Sales knew that insight, he could re-engage the prospect with a message about compliance. But he didn't know it because PMM insights lived in my win/loss docs, not in sales forecasting discussions.
I sent him a Slack message: "Heard you mention the healthcare deal is at risk. I have competitive intel that might help re-engage them—competitor can't handle [specific compliance requirement]. Worth trying that angle?"
He called me two minutes later. "How did you know about that deal?"
"I was working next to you at the coffee shop. Couldn't help but overhear."
"Do you have other insights like this for deals in the forecast?"
"Probably. I run win/loss interviews every week and track competitive patterns. But I don't usually know which specific deals are at risk."
There was a pause. Then he said, "Would you want to join our weekly forecasting call? I think you'd have useful context for the deals we're reviewing."
That's how I started joining forecasting calls as a product marketer. Three years later, I haven't missed one. And I've learned that PMM has insights that can make revenue forecasts significantly more accurate—if you know what to listen for.
What PMMs Actually Contribute to Forecasting
When I first joined forecasting calls, I didn't know what I was supposed to do. I listened to sales leaders run through deal-by-deal pipeline reviews, and I stayed quiet.
After three weeks of just listening, the CRO said, "You've been silent for three calls. Are you getting value from this, or are we wasting your time?"
"I'm learning how you think about forecast risk. But I'm not sure when to jump in."
"Jump in whenever you have information that would change how we assess a deal's likelihood to close."
That clarified my role. I wasn't there to comment on every deal—sales knew those deals better than I did. I was there to surface patterns and insights that sales might not see from their deal-level perspective.
Over time, I learned PMM contributes to forecasting in three specific ways:
Competitive Displacement Risk
Sales sees: "This deal is at 70% probability—we're the lead vendor, contract negotiation is underway."
PMM sees: "That competitor just launched a feature that directly addresses the prospect's biggest pain point, and we don't have parity. This deal just got riskier."
Example: We had a $1.2M deal forecasted at 80% probability—late stage, budget approved, procurement underway. I'd seen in my competitive monitoring that the competitor had just launched exactly the integration the prospect had asked us about three weeks prior.
I flagged it in the forecast call: "I know we're forecasted at 80%, but our competitor launched the integration this prospect asked for. That's a displacement risk."
The sales director pushed back. "The prospect is happy with our workaround. I don't think it's a risk."
"How recently have you checked in with them?"
"Two weeks ago."
"Their competitor probably reached out the day they launched that integration. Worth a proactive call to get ahead of it."
The sales director called the prospect that afternoon. Turned out the competitor's sales rep had indeed reached out and scheduled a demo. The prospect hadn't mentioned it because they felt committed to us, but they were curious.
Our AE repositioned the conversation, got ahead of the competitive threat, and closed the deal. But if PMM hadn't flagged the competitive risk, we might have been blindsided during contract signing.
Deal Size Pattern Recognition
Sales sees: "This mid-market deal is forecasted at $400K—standard size for this segment."
PMM sees: "We've closed three other deals in this vertical in the past quarter, and they all started at $300-400K but expanded to $600K+ once they understood the full use case. We should be forecasting expansion potential."
Example: We had a cluster of manufacturing deals forecasted at $350-450K each. Sales was treating them as standard mid-market deals.
But I'd recently interviewed three manufacturing customers who'd all expanded their contracts within 90 days of launch. The pattern: they bought for one use case (quality control), then discovered a second use case (supply chain visibility) that became even more valuable.
In the forecast call, I mentioned this: "Our last three manufacturing deals expanded by 60-80% within 90 days. These deals might be forecasted too low if the pattern holds."
The CRO asked, "Is there a play we should be running to accelerate that expansion?"
"Yeah—sales should introduce the supply chain use case during onboarding instead of waiting for customers to discover it themselves. That probably pulls expansion forward and increases attach rate."
We built that into the manufacturing sales play. Average deal size in manufacturing increased from $380K to $520K over the next two quarters.
PMM's pattern recognition across multiple deals revealed revenue potential that individual sales reps didn't see from their single-deal perspective.
Feature Request Signals from Pipeline
Sales sees: "We've lost three enterprise deals this quarter—tough competitive quarter."
PMM sees: "All three prospects asked about the same missing feature. This isn't random competitive loss—there's a specific product gap causing enterprise deal risk."
Example: In a forecast call, the enterprise sales director mentioned we'd lost two large deals and had three more at risk—total $4.8M in pipeline.
I'd done win/loss interviews on the two losses. Both prospects had explicitly mentioned they needed a feature we didn't have: multi-region data residency for compliance reasons.
"Those two losses—both asked about data residency, right?"
The sales director pulled up his notes. "Yeah, both mentioned it. But it was just one of several objections."
"It wasn't just an objection—it was a disqualifier. Both prospects said they legally couldn't choose us without it. And I'm guessing the three at-risk deals are also enterprise, also in regulated industries?"
He checked. Two of the three were healthcare companies, one was financial services. All three had compliance requirements.
"Those three deals are at higher risk than forecasted. Without data residency, we probably can't close regulated-industry enterprise deals."
The CRO asked product when data residency could be delivered. Six months minimum.
We adjusted the forecast—de-risked the enterprise deals in regulated industries, reallocated sales capacity to segments where we could win, and commissioned the data residency feature as a top priority.
If PMM hadn't connected the pattern across multiple lost deals, we would've kept forecasting enterprise regulated-industry deals at high probability and missing forecast quarter after quarter.
The Forecasting Call Rhythm I Follow
I've now joined over 150 forecasting calls. Here's the rhythm I follow to add value without wasting everyone's time:
I listen for 80% of the call.
Sales leaders know their deals. I'm not going to second-guess their pipeline assessment for every opportunity. I listen, take notes, and stay quiet unless I have information that changes deal risk.
I speak up when I hear patterns.
If I hear three different sales directors mention the same competitor in at-risk deals, I'll flag it: "I'm hearing Competitor X in multiple deal risk conversations today—is that a trend, or coincidence?"
If it's a trend, I have competitive intelligence that can help. If it's coincidence, I stay quiet.
I offer context, not predictions.
I don't tell sales whether I think a deal will close. They know the prospect relationship better than I do.
But I do offer context they might not have: "That competitor just changed their pricing model—here's how it affects positioning in deals like this," or "I interviewed a customer in the same vertical last week—here's what mattered to them in the buying decision."
Sales leaders use that context to adjust their deal strategies.
I take notes on what to investigate further.
If I hear a pattern I don't understand—like multiple deals stalling at the same stage, or a particular objection coming up repeatedly—I make a note to investigate through win/loss interviews or sales call analysis.
Then I bring insights back to the next forecasting call.
What I Learned About Revenue from Forecasting Calls
Joining forecasting calls changed how I think about PMM's role entirely.
Before, I thought PMM's job was to create positioning and enablement materials. Success meant sales used our stuff.
After sitting in 150 forecast calls, I realized PMM's real job is to reduce revenue risk and increase revenue predictability.
Forecasting isn't about prediction—it's about risk management.
Sales leaders aren't trying to predict the future with perfect accuracy. They're trying to identify risks early enough to mitigate them.
PMM has insights that reveal risks sales might not see:
- Competitive threats emerging in deals sales thinks are safe
- Product gaps creating systematic loss patterns
- Market shifts changing buyer priorities mid-quarter
When PMM surfaces those risks in forecast calls, sales can adjust strategies before deals are lost.
Pipeline patterns matter more than individual deals.
Sales reps focus on individual deals. That's their job—win this specific opportunity.
But PMM sees across all deals. We notice patterns: "We're losing all deals where Competitor A is involved," or "Enterprise deals are taking 40% longer to close than mid-market," or "Prospects in this vertical keep asking about the same feature."
Those patterns inform strategic decisions—where to invest in competitive content, which product gaps to prioritize, which segments to focus on—that impact future quarters, not just current deals.
The best forecasts incorporate market intelligence, not just pipeline data.
Sales forecasts based on pipeline data: "We have $10M in stage 3 opportunities, historically that converts at 40%, so we'll forecast $4M."
But what if a major competitor just launched a product that threatens half those deals? What if a regulatory change is about to accelerate buying in one segment? What if a key feature your prospects are waiting for just shipped?
PMM brings market intelligence that adjusts forecast probability up or down based on external factors sales might not have visibility into.
The Uncomfortable Insights Forecasting Calls Revealed
Sitting in forecasting calls also exposed some uncomfortable truths I wouldn't have discovered otherwise.
PMM's positioning wasn't working in the deals that actually mattered.
I'd created messaging for enterprise buyers based on what I thought they cared about. Then I heard sales leaders in forecast calls struggle to explain our value prop to enterprise prospects.
The positioning I'd built worked great for mid-market deals, but fell flat in enterprise conversations because I'd misunderstood what enterprise buyers actually cared about.
I only discovered this because I heard sales talk about real enterprise deals, not because they complained about my positioning.
Competitive battle cards weren't being used in competitive deals.
We had comprehensive battle cards for our top three competitors. I'd assumed sales was using them.
Then I listened to sales leaders assess competitive deals in forecast calls. They'd say things like, "We're up against Competitor A, not sure how to position," and no one mentioned the battle card.
After the call, I'd ask, "Did you see the battle card for Competitor A?"
"Oh yeah, I think I saw that in an email once."
The battle cards existed, but they weren't in the sales workflow. Sales couldn't access them when they needed them. I had to completely rebuild how we distributed competitive intel to make it actually useful.
Product gaps were causing more revenue risk than I'd realized.
I knew prospects asked for features we didn't have. But I didn't realize how much pipeline was at risk because of specific product gaps until I heard sales leaders de-risk deals in forecast calls because "we don't have [feature] yet."
Across one quarter, I heard $6.2M in pipeline de-risked because of the same missing feature. I took that analysis to the product team, and it completely changed their roadmap prioritization.
Without joining forecast calls, I would've known "prospects want this feature" but not "we're losing $6M+ per quarter because we don't have it."
How to Start Joining Forecasting Calls
If you're a PMM who's never been in a forecasting call, here's how to get invited:
Don't ask to join—offer value that makes them invite you.
Asking "Can I join forecasting calls?" sounds like you want to observe. No one wants extra people observing their calls.
Instead, find a way to offer insights that change deal outcomes. When you do, sales leaders will invite you to contribute those insights more regularly.
Start with one insight that changes one deal outcome.
I got invited to forecasting calls because I helped re-engage one at-risk deal with competitive intelligence. That single example proved I could add value.
Find one deal where you have context that matters—competitive intel, customer research, market insights—and offer it proactively. If it helps, you'll get invited back.
Prove you can speak the language of revenue.
Don't talk about messaging frameworks or positioning documents. Talk about deal risk, close probability, pipeline coverage, and competitive win rates.
If you can discuss deals in the same language sales and finance use, they'll trust your judgment.
Accept that you won't understand everything at first.
The first five forecast calls I attended, I understood maybe 50% of the conversation. Sales leaders used shorthand I didn't know, referenced deals I hadn't heard of, and discussed metrics I had to look up later.
I took notes on what I didn't understand and googled it after the call. By call ten, I could follow everything. By call twenty, I was contributing useful insights.
Don't let initial confusion discourage you. You're learning a new discipline.
What This Changed About PMM's Strategic Role
Joining forecasting calls fundamentally shifted how the company viewed product marketing.
Before, PMM was seen as a marketing function—we created content, managed launches, and supported sales with materials.
After I started joining forecasting calls, PMM became seen as a revenue function.
The CRO started asking me:
- "What's your forecast for pipeline from next quarter's launch?"
- "How much deal risk do you see from Competitor X's new product?"
- "What market intelligence should we factor into our annual revenue plan?"
Those aren't marketing questions. They're revenue strategy questions.
And PMM can answer them—if we're in the room where revenue decisions are made.
Forecasting calls are that room.
If you're a product marketer and you're not in your company's forecasting calls, find a way to get invited. It'll change how you think about PMM's impact and how the company values your function.
You'll stop being the team that makes marketing materials and become the team that reduces revenue risk.
That's a much more valuable place to be.