Dealing With Truth In The Interviewing Process
If you’re a sales professional and have had at least on career misstep, how do you deal with that when you’re interviewing for your next great job? This is an important question because we interview top sales candidates all the time and while there are many people who have ha

Small Business Customer Recycling
Moving your current customers back through the sales cycle again has value. Just like any recycling process where an item is turned into something else, the same can be done with your current customers. All too often we use a sales cycle to acquire a small business customer a

How to Survive a Job Loss
Fired, canned, laid off, let go. Whatever you want to call it, it could happen. Sometimes, people see it coming. Other times, they're caught completely off guard. Either way, the process of surviving the loss of a job is the same, and it takes hard work and resolve to do so.ly on the accuracy of the Sales forecast.

Although the financial manager may participate in the process of developing the Sales forecast, the primary responsibility for it typically rests with the marketing department or the planning group. Sales forecasts may be prepared for varying planning horizons to serve different purposes. A Sales forecast for a period of 3-5 years, or for even longer durations, may be developed mainly to aid investment planning. A Sales forecast for a period of one year (and in some case two years) is the primary basis for the financial forecasting exercise. Sales forecasts for shorter durations (six months, three months, one month) may be prepared for facilitating working capital planning and cash budgeting.

A wide range of Sales forecasting techniques and methods are available. They may be divided into three broad categories: qualitative techniques, time series projection methods and casual models. Qualitative techniques rely essentially on the judgment of experts to translate qualitative information into quantitative estimates. Time series projection methods generate forecasts on the basis of an analysis of the past

nning horizons to serve different purposes. A Sales forecast for a period of 3-5 years, or for even longer durations, may be developed mainly to aid investment planning. A Sales forecast for a period of one year (and in some case two years) is the primary basis for the financial forecasting exercise. Sales forecasts for shorter durations (six months, three months, one month) may be prepared for facilitating working capital planning and cash budgeting.

A wide range of Sales forecasting techniques and methods are available. They may be divided into three broad categories: qualitative techniques, time series projection methods and casual models. Qualitative techniques rely essentially on the judgment of experts to translate qualitative information into quantitative estimates. Time series projection methods generate forecasts on the basis of an analysis of the past

xercise. Sales forecasts for shorter durations (six months, three months, one month) may be prepared for facilitating working capital planning and cash budgeting.

A wide range of Sales forecasting techniques and methods are available. They may be divided into three broad categories: qualitative techniques, time series projection methods and casual models. Qualitative techniques rely essentially on the judgment of experts to translate qualitative information into quantitative estimates. Time series projection methods generate forecasts on the basis of an analysis of the past

itative techniques, time series projection methods and casual models. Qualitative techniques rely essentially on the judgment of experts to translate qualitative information into quantitative estimates. Time series projection methods generate forecasts on the basis of an analysis of the past behavior of time series. Casual model techniques seek to develop forecasts based on cause-effect relationships expressed in explicit, quantitative manners.

Each technique has its advantages and limitations. Often, exclusive reliance on a single technique is somewhat dangerous, and practical wisdom suggests that at least two techniques, which seem to make sense in the specific circumstances of the firm, may be employed to hammer out the Sales forecast. While a system of master budgeting is required for comprehensive financial planning and control, a broad-brush kind of analysis suffices when the primary objective is to project the future financial performance, condition and requirements in relatively aggregative and approximate terms.