Where does this leave broadcast television? It depends. The advantage right now for broadcasters is that the streaming landscape is a confusing mess (to put it mildly). Sports fans must piece together different apps to find the event or league they enjoy watching. For example, MLB airs on the Fox Sports app, Apple+, and even has its own MLB app for the hardcore baseball fan. Are you a fan of the NFL? If you want to watch Thursday Night Football, you need an Amazon Prime subscription to do so.

Are you poised to lead in the ever-evolving media landscape? If you haven't already, it's time to circle April 14-17, 2024, on your calendar. ShareBuilders is eagerly anticipating your presence at the NAB Show in Las Vegas, the preeminent convergence of pioneers and innovators in the content industry.

One of the biggest trends we see at ShareBuilders is the strong demand for local news in the early morning and early news. On the flipside, there has been a lack of demand in late news over the past several quarters. Some of it is understandable, given how primetime viewing habits have evolved. More streaming and less primetime viewing means the lead-in for local news isn’t as strong as they were five or ten years ago.

Current polling suggests American voters are not excited about a presidential election rematch between Joe Biden and Donald Trump, except maybe for broadcast television stations and cable news outlets.

In the age of endless streaming options, social media platforms, and digital advertising routes, it’s become trendy to pick on broadcast television. Actually, it has been for years. The talk of TV’s decline has been a hot topic for those in media, and the truth is, it has been affected to some degree by all of the above fragmentation.

For over two decades, ShareBuilders has been at the forefront of helping broadcasters understand their data. Today, we're excited to introduce Smart Forecast, a bespoke machine-learning model that predicts revenue forecasts with unprecedented accuracy. Alongside the recently releasedPrecision Pending, Smart Forecast joins a suite of new ShareBuilder AI tools dedicated to providing the broadcast industry with the most powerful analytics available. Smart Forecast was developed completely in-house and does not rely on third-party AI tools, ensuring client data always remains secure and private. For more about our commitment to privacy, see ourOur Approach to AI.

At ShareBuilders, our commitment to innovation is driven by the needs of our customers. In the realm of CRM functionalities, one topic has consistently emerged at the forefront of our discussions with you - the need for a more efficient, intuitive activity syncing process. After extensive research, planning, and development, we're thrilled to unveil a breakthrough in our CRM product's capabilities. Today marks the end of whispers and the start of a new chapter as we announce a game-changing solution. Moving beyond the constraints of Activity Sync, we're excited to present a new era of streamlined CRM integration with our latest innovation. Join us as we embark on this transformative journey, reshaping how activities are synchronized and managed.

Out-of-home (OOH) advertising has long been a staple of the marketing landscape, dominating city skylines and highways with eye-catching billboards. However, a seismic shift is underway as more and more OOH inventory is being sold programmatically. This transformation is not just changing how ad space is bought and sold but is reshaping the entire industry landscape.

Welcome to the next episode of Heads Together - your go-to source for insights and information on the latest trends in the media sales industry. Our video series explores the most pressing topics and challenges facing media sales professionals today. We pair our consultants and clients to share their perspectives and advice on issues like pricing strategies and building solid client relationships.

The Problem We Are Solving

In the ever-changing world of media sales, forecasting accuracy is crucial. However, we've observed a persistent gap between pending dollars and related booked revenue. Our data analysis has revealed that pending dollars can be consistently off by as much as 160% compared to what sales teams actually close at the end of each month.

This discrepancy is a consequence of various factors. Sales reps have different ways of approaching their pending dollars: some are constantly overconfident, or projecting higher closing rates; others may procrastinate in entering their pending deals into the system; and still, others might have an inflated expectation from certain accounts.

These factors and others culminate in an inflated pending amount, leading to a substantial divergence between the forecasted and actual revenue. Such inaccuracies can affect the strategic planning and decision-making process at various levels, ultimately impacting our customer’s bottom line. It is this very problem that we aim to help solve.

Our Understanding

With over 20 years of experience in creating CRM solutions specifically for the media sales industry, our expertise at ShareBuilders is informed by an extensive understanding of the unique challenges and needs of this sector. Throughout these years, we've engaged in comprehensive competitor analysis, direct interaction with our customers, and meticulous study of sales rep behaviors.

We've observed that the human element can add unpredictability to forecasting. After trawling through vast datasets of pending deals and sales team performances, we've gained a profound understanding of how pending dollars are managed, and more importantly, how they could be estimated better. This insight into the intricacies of the sales process and the industry's unique needs has become the springboard for the development of our groundbreaking feature, Precision Pending.

 

Precision Pending

This is just a preview of the decisions and understanding that led us to develop Precision Pending, a revolutionary feature of ShareBuilder AI. This tool is powered by machine learning, custom data modeling, and our proprietary algorithms. Unlike traditional methods, Precision Pending takes into account diverse factors, such as the sales rep's pending precision, pending trends, and the account's history, among others. By integrating these factors into the pending process, Precision Pending offers a more reliable and accurate view of pending dollars. This AI-driven solution brings more predictability to the process, mitigating the uncertainties associated with human predictions. With Precision Pending, we're taking a significant stride toward empowering our customers with the ability to predict revenue more accurately and consistently.

 

A Commitment to Continual Improvement

At ShareBuilders, we believe in constantly pushing the boundaries to empower our customers. That's why we're proud to announce that we're releasing Precision Pending to all of our customers at no additional cost. We see this as a collaborative journey where we learn, grow, and innovate together.

Our initial models project that Precision Pending can help reduce uncertainty between 30-50% from raw pending dollars. This is a significant stride towards helping sales teams to more reliably forecast revenue, but we do not intend to stop there.

As we continue to roll out this feature, we'll carefully monitor its performance and listen to our customers' feedback. Our aim is not only to improve Precision Pending but also to ensure that it continually adapts to the changing realities of media sales.

This is a significant milestone in our journey toward helping companies with confident revenue predictions. We believe that through persistent efforts and close collaboration with our customers, we can continually narrow the gap of uncertainty and revolutionize the media sales landscape. We are excited about the road ahead and hope you are too.

Welcome to the future of forecasting with Precision Pending.