Sales Management Training: Forecasting Your Sales Revenue

People on the go, in and out, trying to keep in touch by voice mail, email and notes hastily scribbled and left in your in-box – is this any way to handle the flow of vital information about important assignments and events? Of course not. Your sales team can’t afford the confusion and misunderstanding – the “but I thought you said,” and “no, this is what I clearly meant” that spell communication disasters. In our Sales Management Training seminars we devote a lot of time to helping you build sales management communication skills and designing an effective communication system to make sure everyone understands and gets it right the first time. 

Creating reasonable sales forecasts for your company is easier than you might think.

Q: How do I forecast annual retail sales revenue for my small business?

A: Think of your sales forecast as an educated guess. Forecasting takes good working knowledge of your business, not advanced degrees or complex mathematics. It's much more art than science.

The research for a good forecast is almost always harder than the final process of actually making the educated guesses. Your business size can determine whether your forecast may be simple or detailed. When the research is already done, the mechanics of sales forecasting are relatively simple.

Forecasting is usually easier when you break your sales down into manageable parts and then forecast the parts. Estimate your sales by product line, month by month, and then add the product lines for all months. Typically you'll need to project monthly sales for the next 12 months and annual sales for the following three years.

Consider a forecast that projects $1,000 in sales for the month, compared to one that projects 100 units at $10 each for the month. In the second case, when the forecast is price times units, as soon as you know the price is going up, you know the resulting sales should also increase.

A narrative contained in your business plan or similar document should summarize and highlight the numbers you've entered in the sales forecast table. Make sure you discuss important assumptions in enough detail and that you explain the background sufficiently. Try to anticipate the questions your readers will ask.

Somewhere near the sales forecast, you should describe your sales strategy—how and when to close sales; how to compensate salespeople; how to optimize order processing and database management; and how to maneuver price, delivery and conditions. Explain the details of how you'll achieve these numbers you've forecasted.

By Steven K. Baker

Sales Management Training - Know What the Numbers Mean

Sales Training Quote
"The most interesting thing about a postage stamp is the persistence with which it sticks to its job."
Napoleon Hill

Suggested Reading:

The Management of Sales Training
by National Society of Sales Training Executives.

Proactive Sales Management: How to Lead, Motivate, and Stay Ahead of the Game
by William Skip Miller

A case study of sales management training programs
by David A Erickson

Development and management of sales training for microcomputer distributors
by Susan F Shapiro

Study of the educational and formal management training of chief sales executives of large industrial goods firms
by Robert F Vizza

Secrets of Great Sales Management, The: Advanced Strategies for Maximizing Performance
by Robert A. Simpkins

The Greatest Sales Training In The World
by Robert Nelson

Selling and management in appliance retailing, (Appliance sales training)
by Pauline W Burbrink

Sales Training Basics (Kogan Page Better Management Skills)
by Elwood N. Chapman

Sales Training Seminars

If you need to train a larger sales team or want to discuss a more comprehensive sales training program, we also provide on-site private, fully customizable sales training. These workshops can be tailored to your particular needs and delivered in your offices or at off-site locations. 

For free, no obligation information on how we can help you please contact us today.