Sales forecast – 6 great questions to assess your market opportunities

Sales forecast – do you know how to assess your chances on the market? You want to start your own business, but you do not know if this type of business can bring any profit. Do you know how to check your chances before starting a business activity? You have to evaluate your chances and create a sales forecast. How to do it efficiently – read the article to find out more.

Sales forecast – table of contents:

1. Sales forecast and market chances
2. Sales forecast – what do you need to know?
3. Summary

Sales forecast and market chances

The ideas for business come to us unexpectedly. Usually, creative individuals wish to benefit from having an interest and turn their hobbies into a business. Some people wish to become entrepreneurs while they live and search for ideas in vain, but others need to have only one good-enough idea to make a decision and start a company.

How to assess, if your business ideas are good and have a chance to succeed? Are there any good ways to check ahead if the idea has potential and you are not doomed to failure? The assessment of market potential is necessary for all business owners and there are ways to make this process work for you. To assess your market potential you will have to ask yourself a few vital questions.

The product

It may seem trivial, but the information about the product is one of the most crucial for the business. Other issues come next. The product is the key before all other considerations.

The client

The second important issue is concerned with your clients and target audience. Who will buy your product? What are his needs? You have to recognize your target group because the interest of your clients will shape the opportunity for you. You have to be aware of their needs, requirements, and dreams from the very beginning. You have to know what triggers your clients when they make their shopping decisions. It is better to find out before it is too late.

The competition

You need to find your place among others. Don’t expect to become the only kid on the block – there are plenty of others who were equally creative and offer the same product as you. Check the offer of the competition – their prices, quality, and marketing activities. After all, it is all about being able to stand out from the crowd.

Sales methods

Think about this aspect before offering anything anywhere. Decide what sales methods you wish to offer. Is it going to be stationary sales? Will you provide access to the client? What about internet sales? All of the above options? It is all up to you. You have to establish your sales market – would it be your close neighborhood, your town, region, or the whole country or will you try cross-border trade?

The price

The price policy of your company has fundamental importance for you and your clients. The price is everything, but the price is not everything, not always low price wins. You need to find your balance between quality and price. Still, you may decide to offer luxury products for your clients at a price that reflects the value.

The advertisement

Marketing activities cannot be neglected. Without good marketing strategies, it will be difficult to gain new customers and keep the regular ones. One of your aims is to create a strategy that is informative and promotes your product among the specified audience.

Sales forecast – what do you need to know?

Sales are the main source of all financial resources of the company. This allows the company to grow, expand, and function. Sales forecasts and cost planning are two key elements of company management.

A sales forecast allows you to establish the anticipated volume of sales of products or services. The forecast is usually related to the selected marketing plan and external factors (competition, trends in the market).

Analysis of the sales should take into account the expected behavior of clients, as well as the future state of the market, and the relationship between supply and demand. The preparation of a sales forecast should involve a team of individuals that possess broad knowledge in sales, marketing, and finance. You do not have to possess all the needed expertise – try to employ a specialist.

How to create a good sales forecast? There are several methods of sales forecast creation. Those methods have to be adjusted to the business model of the company and the available data. The most important sales forecast methods include lengthy sales cycle forecasting, lead-driven forecasting, opportunity stage forecasting, intuitive forecasting, and test-market analysis forecasting.

Generally, there are two types of sales forecasting methods: bottom-up forecasts and top-down forecasts. A top-down forecast uses the total size of the market value and estimates the percentage that is there to take by the product. The bottom-up sales forecast uses small values and components and expands the analysis based on those simple variables.

Summary

There are several sales forecast methods and they have to be used by the company before introducing a new product to the market. The main two groups of forecasting methods are bottom-up sales forecast and top-down sales forecast. Both methods have to be used when forecasting the sales of the product.

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