Forecasting Sales, you don't need history you need insight!
To forecast business revenue and sales you must consider the performance of your business and the environment in which it operates. Historical data can help but in a constantly changing world may actually be a hindrance restricting the range of options considered.
The best way to forecast is to break business performance into defined actions. For each action estimate the outcome. By doing this each action has a value and the best actions can be selected for implementation. If you use the build up from actions approach then the summation of actions undertaken provide the revenue/sales. This method of business planning and forecasting allows you to test and quantify your actions providing a means to forecast and monitor performance.
Bizpep (www.bizpeponline.com) provide a range of models to guide the planning and forecasting process including a Decision Assistant model that values your actions and provides a chart of possible outcomes. By applying this methodology you can actually build an operational plan including forecasts and contributing actions with limited historical data.
The author David Morcom is the founder of Bizpep, providers of innovative software and practical business solutions. If you would like to learn more visit www.bizpeponline.com where an extensive range of software is available for free download and evaluation.
