By Gertrude Van Horn, SVP & CIO, Cien.ai

“The legacy model of Revenue Operations was about alignment and visibility. But we are entering a phase where the expectation is prescription, prediction, and orchestration.”

– Bruno Beranger, RevOps Leader

The Problem: The Persistence of the “Gut-First” Guesswork

For most enterprises, the sales forecast is the most important—yet least accurate—number in the building. Traditional forecasting relies on “hopeful” CRM data and subjective rep intuition. Research shows that less than 20% of sales teams achieve a forecast accuracy of 75% or higher using manual methods.

This creates “friction“—wasted time in pipeline reviews, missed targets, and inefficient hiring. When Sales Leaders spend 60% of their time questioning data rather than elevating performance and improving the pipeline, the enterprise loses its competitive edge. Furthermore, lead assignment often remains an arbitrary process where the most favored, not the most qualified rep, or the newest lead (not the highest quality lead) — gets the attention, leaving revenue on the table.

The Solution: Building a Thinking GTM Enterprise

The promise of RevOps has often been hampered by the “GIGO” (Garbage In, Garbage Out) reality of CRM data. However, AI is shifting the goalposts from simple visibility to true precision. Today, the dilemma of building the “thinking enterprise” from scratch is resolved, especially with AI-Powered platforms like Cien.ai’s GTM Suite.

Cien moves organizations from subjective “gut feel” to clear, evidence-based decision-making, securely by:

• Solving the “Dirty Data” Dilemma: Cien’s Data Cleansing and Enhancement solution tackles data remediation, duplicates, and missing fields. Our “Capture Level” metric uses AI to infer intent and progress by leveraging deep GTM expertise, analyzing metadata footprints and reading engagement signals (email frequency, sentiment, and meeting length), to capture the “missing” effort that reps forget to type into the CRM.
• Surfacing “Hidden” Rep DNA: Cien’s Rep Analysis goes beyond surface-level activity. It measures the “Hidden Qualities” of your team—such as closing power vs. prospecting discipline—by comparing digital footprints against top-performer benchmarks. This allows leaders to move from generic activity targets to targeted, behavior-based enablement.
• Dual Propensity Matching: Instead of arbitrary routing, Cien matches the “Propensity to Buy” with a rep’s unique “Propensity to Win.” Cien identifies the highest quality leads and matches them with reps with the highest statistical likelihood of closing a specific deal type, reducing “cherry-picking” and optimizing win rates by 3-7 points.
• Forecast Accuracy & Reliability: Cien leverages data-driven insights so you spend less time questioning the data, and move to confidently valuing the pipeline, optimizing resource allocation, strengthening cash flow and reducing risk.
• Privacy and Security: In the AI era, insights are only as valuable as the trust we place in the underlying data. At Cien.ai, we treat data security not as a hurdle, but as the foundation of intelligence. Being SOC 2 and ISO 27001 certified isn’t just a checklist—it’s our commitment to ensuring that while our AI ‘thinks,’ your enterprise data remains an impenetrable asset.

Comparing the GTM Impact: Traditional vs. AI-Powered “Thinking Enterprise:”

What Does Success Look Like: Removing the Friction

In an AI-Powered “Thinking Enterprise,” GTM insights stop lying dormant in dashboards. Instead, insights and recommendations are ready for action and are data-backed. Success is a state where resource allocation is optimized by analysis of performance, propensity, and productivity. Forecasts are trustworthy. High Quality Leads are intentionally matched to Reps with a Propensity to Win.  

Organizations leveraging Cien see a reduction in the “noise” and a measurable increase in operational velocity, allowing leaders to focus on growth rather than data reconciliation.

With Cien, your GTM engine moves to The New GIGO – no longer clogged by the “Garbage In” of chaotic CRM data, but revving with the production of “Gold Out”, transforming the guesswork into insight and intel that helps you see around corners.

About The Data Exec Series

This article is part of our Data Exec Series, inspired by our work with B2B business leaders, transformation consultants, and PE operating partners. These articles focus on the strategic and operational realities of becoming a truly data-driven executive—ready for the AI revolution. If you’re interested in improving GTM performance and data, check out our Growth Essentials Series and Practical RevOps Analysis Series as well.