BOSTON, MA--(Marketwire - July 8, 2010) -  Companies are turning to sales analytics solutions that provide an organization-wide data flow into the forecasting process, thus creating a more refined snapshot of future revenue and enabling more efficient, margin-driven sales activity, as well as more pure selling time by the sales team itself, according to a new research study published by Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks Company (NYSE: HHS).

Sales Forecasting: Analytics to the Rescue!, which examined 422 organizations' sales effectiveness, found that sales teams in top-performing companies currently achieve 83% average accuracy in their sales forecasts compared to 67% for sales teams in other companies.

"Limitations on internal visibility into predictive business results are compounded by the changing dynamics of many business environments, and thus affect both forecasting accuracy and, ultimately, an organization's actual revenue flow," says Peter Ostrow, Research Director, Sales Effectiveness, Aberdeen Group, the report's author. "The selection of sales forecasting and analytics solutions and their integration within the daily lifecycle of selling play a crucial role in the ability to turn these strategies into profit."

The report reveals what leading companies have been able to achieve through deployment of sales analytics tools, such as:

-12.6% average annual increase in overall team attainment of quota; compared to a 2.3% decrease for other companies

-9.1% average year-over-year increase in annual gross revenue per sales rep; compared to a 1.5% decrease for other companies

A complimentary copy of this report is made available due in part by the following underwriters: Birst, Dealmaker Partner Network, Visual Insight. To obtain a complimentary copy of the report, visit: http://www.aberdeen.com/link/sponsor.asp?spid=30410182&cid=6362&camp=2.

Visit Research.Aberdeen.com for additional access to complimentary Customer Management Research.

About Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks Company

Aberdeen provides fact-based research and market intelligence that delivers demonstrable results. Having queried more than 30,000 companies in the past two years, Aberdeen is positioned to educate users to action: driving market awareness, creating demand, enabling sales, and delivering meaningful return-on-investment analysis. As the trusted advisor to the global technology markets, corporations turn to Aberdeen for insights that drive decisions.

As a Harte-Hanks Company, Aberdeen plays a key role of putting content in context for the global direct and targeted marketing company. Aberdeen's analytical and independent view of the "customer optimization" process of Harte-Hanks (Information - Opportunity - Insight - Engagement - Interaction) extends the client value and accentuates the strategic role Harte-Hanks brings to the market. For additional information, visit Aberdeen or call (617) 854-5200, or to learn more about Harte-Hanks, call (800) 456-9748.

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