In this article we are going to look at the development of a sales forecast for a company's products or services.
For the wheel to turn in a company, the sales department must generate enough money to provide the financial-accounting department so that in turn it has the resources to provide the production department with the raw material so that it can produce in a timely manner. what the sales department sells (it is the same for a service provider company, although raw materials are replaced by labor or technological resources or others).
Something like that, Look at the chart at the bottom of this article.
The question is, who starts turning the wheel? Or where should you stop when projecting forward?
The correct answer is in the sales department, because if the company forecasts the future in relation to the stock or the economic financial resource that it can obtain, growth is impossible or very slow. If sales are looking at what there is to sell and they go out to sell that, we will always be behind the stock and if production does not improve, sales will not grow more than there is to sell and if production is waiting for finances to put limits or provide a given a certain amount of economic resources, growth will always be conservative because what is usually lacking are economic-financial resources.
On the other hand, if we propose that from sales the objectives are put forward with a sales forecast where they must strive to achieve it yes or yes, because if they will not be facing problems of overstocking or difficulties to cover assumed economic obligations.
The way to make a good sales forecast is to take into account 4 factors:
a) historical sales
b) expected sales
c) sales based on the growth target
d) external market
a) Historical sales, this step is the simplest, the history of the same period in the previous year is taken and a reflection is made.
b) Expected sales, this step is very important in large clients, to get them to send us a program of purchase orders in advance. It is achieved by generating a culture in the client, but it can never be delivered in a timely manner, it is necessary to ensure the stock to supply the largest clients but it is also important not to neglect the rest.
c) Sales based on the growth objective, the company's management establishes an expected growth for the following year and the commercial objectives must take into account the business goals.
d) External market, this is the most difficult and the one that can play us the most against because it is very difficult to predict the economic crises of the country and the world, and it is more difficult to predict how it will affect each company in its field and activity.
Once the billing number that is needed for the next period is reached, which I recommend to be monthly and quarterly, then the sales department will stop moving looking towards the stock and will look forward running behind the carrot of the established sales target in the forecast.
