Objective:
- Understand the factors to consider when producing a sales forecast for their business
- Understand the implications of variations from forecasts, particularly in terms of receiving payments
Overview:
This activity is designed to provide an opportunity for the entrepreneur / small business owner to develop their forecasting skills and consider different scenarios of their business performance, specifically in terms of potential sales.
Activity:
To consider and collate information to produce informed sale forecasts, gather the relevant information:
The Sales Forecast Checklist
- Details of any orders secured
- List all customers you expect to sell to over the forecast period, and how much you expect to sell to each.
- Market research data to support or verify these forecasts. What information have you gathered from potential customers?
- Supporting information such as examples from other similar ventures started recently, and drawing from company accounts and other sources.
Using this information prepare a sales forecast by value and volume for each major product group (e.g. for a hotel: bedrooms, restaurant) throughout the period of the business plan – at least 12 months.
Month 1 | Month 2 | Month 3 | Total | Notes & Assumptions | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Product 1 | |||||
Unit price | |||||
No. of units sold | 0 | ||||
Sales income (a) | - | - | - | - | |
Product 1 | |||||
Unit price | |||||
No. of units sold | 0 | ||||
Sales income (b) | - | - | - | - | |
Product 1 | |||||
Unit price | |||||
No. of units sold | 0 | ||||
Sales income (c) | - | - | - | - | |
Total sales (a + b + c) | - | - | - | - |
Skill Development:
This breaks down some of the key thinking and skills of the entrepreneur and allows the students to work through their assumptions. This can be conducted in groups, or as individuals, allowing students to focus on start-up.