Keeping in mind what the income and revenue will be for stores that work with sales is a very recurrent and accurate practice to have an overview of what the forecast is like, whether sales will be higher or lower. This way, the entrepreneur can prepare for whatever comes.
The name of this projection is sales forecast, which, in general, is a type of management that guarantees realistic data regarding the current scenario and that of the company. Do you want to understand more about it and how to implement it in your company? Continue reading and understand!
What is a sales forecast?
It is a projection of what the company’s sales will be like in the future, generally analyzed in the next full semester. But there is also the option of month, two months, quarter or year. It is not recommended to make a forecast that is longer than one year.
Thus, it is possible to have an average of what sales will be like, having parameters on the institution’s revenue and financial health. This way, the organization will have more assertiveness in its decision-making and will know when to act.
To calculate it, the numbers from the previous period that you want to analyze going forward are collected, that is, if it is a six-month forecast, you must collect all of the last six months to have more precision. Such as considering the customer profile, the business team, period opportunities and other factors, such as seasonality.
Why is the sales forecast important?
Having a well-defined forecast for the period ensures that the company has more assertive financial management, with real numbers of how its cash flow will be , a correct schedule of what will be invested and how much will be invested, among other aspects aimed at administration and company’s finances.
In this sense, it is a practice that guarantees more security for the location and for managers during decision-making, so there is no risk of planning or making a wrong decision, compromising the budget for the period.
How to make a sales forecast correctly?
As mentioned, in the forecast, it is necessary to carry out a survey of the previous period, such as external and internal aspects of the enterprise. Therefore, to make an effective forecast, you must follow the following steps:
1. Make a sales history
Carry out an analysis and have access to all sales figures from the previous period, with the results and purchase histories of all sellers. With it, you will be able to analyze how each month went, whether they were similar or had very different peaks and indices.
2. Mapping the sales funnel
It is also worth making an index of what your business’s leads are like, how many people come at the beginning of the month, and whether this number increases or decreases at the end of it. Such as identifying how many of these leads saw actual conversions for the month in question.
3. Assess the seasonality of the enterprise
As there are several branches in the sales department and each one has a more advantageous period, check what your sales are like in these months and whether the month in question is included in your forecast. After all , with an increase in sales, your entire schedule must be different, and you may have different decision-making.
4. Consider how the sales team is doing
It is pertinent to evaluate how and how many salespeople are part of your team. In other words, if you have younger employees in the enterprise, it can make a difference in sales, reducing them.
Or, if salespeople are not able to supply sales and serve all customers, the ideal is to increase the team and hire more people. After all, you shouldn’t go without serving your customers and lose your conversions, nor can you tell salespeople to make faster sales, as full attention must be given to the person served, without rushing the process.
5. Check and study market trends
Finally, you must analyze the current market scenario, as a crisis, for example, can affect the numbers in your forecast, negatively impacting and, consequently, not following the numbers planned for conversion.
Therefore, the forecast is a great way to prepare yourself financially, with a more complete and realistic analysis of what sales could be like in the next period.
To make this easier, there are several programs on the market that allow you to enter all these numbers and it does the calculations and indicates sales values and risks, even analyzing the months you enter that are seasonal , creating a very assertive forecast.