How to Create a Sales Forecast That Boosts Your Business
Are you working on a business plan for a new venture, making changes to an existing business, or looking to gain a deeper understanding of your enterprise so that you can make more informed decisions? At every stage of your business, a sales forecast is a powerful tool that can help you make better predictions about the future. It may seem daunting at first, but with many useful sales forecast templates available for free online, it is easier than ever to create your own sales forecast and take control of your future success.
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What is a sales forecast, exactly?
As the name suggests, a sales forecast is a document that outlines what a company’s forecasted future sales will be. There are many sales forecast methods that you can use to make informed predictions of your sales numbers.
A sales forecast isn’t something you only create once as part of your business plan when you launch, and then forget about. It’s a tool that you should return to regularly to measure how you’re performing against your predictions and to help guide your decision making. In most cases, your sales forecast will cover the 12 months ahead. You can also add annual forecasts for subsequent years, although you will probably revise these forecasts since it’s difficult to forecast accurately far into the future.