Bookshelf v7.5: The Dealer Creates Sales Budgets and Forecasts

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The Dealer Creates Sales Budgets and Forecasts

Siebel eDealer allows dealerships to create their yearly sales budgets and monthly sales forecasts. Currently, most dealerships do using paper and whiteboards. Siebel eDealer automates these processes.

The Dealer Creates the Yearly Budget

At the end of the year, the dealership's general manager usually consults with sales managers to create the store budget for the next year.

Siebel eDealer automates this consultation process. The sales managers enter their budgets in Siebel eDealer, and the general manager uses these to create the store budget. After the budget has been created, all employees can view it on their Siebel eDealer home page.

To create the yearly budget, the dealer goes through the following steps:

The dealer general manager creates the framework for the budget and forecasts

Dealer sales managers create their Budgets

The dealer general manager creates the store budget

Dealer employees view the store budget

The Dealer General Manager Creates the Framework for the Budget and Forecasts

First, the general manager of the dealership specifies which months and which employees will be included in the yearly budget and the monthly forecasts for the next year.

The general manager uses the two views of the Budgets and Forecasts Administration screen for the two steps of creating the framework for budget and forecasts:

Specify which months are included in the budget and forecasts. Done using the Store Budget and Forecast Administration view of the Budgets and Forecasts Administration screen.

Specify which employees are included in the budget and forecasts. Done using the Employee Budget and Forecast Administration view of the Budgets and Forecasts Administration screen.

The general manager can create the frameworks for the budget and forecast at different times, but it is most common to create both at the same time, at the end of the year when the general manager is planning for the next year. This most common practice is described here.

NOTE: When new employees are added during the year, the general manager must go back to the Budget screen and Forecast screen to select them and add months for them, if the general manager wants to include them in the budget and forecasts.

To specify which months are included in the budget and forecasts

The dealer navigates to the Budget and Forecasts Administration screen.

From the Show drop-down list, the dealer chooses Store Budget and Forecast Administration.

In the Store list, the organization for the dealership appears and is selected.

In the Budget and Forecast Administration list, the dealer clicks New.

In the Month field of the new record, the dealer clicks the select button.

In the Pick Period dialog box, the dealer selects the first month of the year or forecasting period and clicks OK.

The selected month appears in the new record.

The dealer continues to add new months in the same way until all the months of the forecasting period have been added.

NOTE: The dealer only enters the months here. The numbers in the budget and forecast fields will be calculated based on what the sales managers and sales consultants enter as their budget and forecast estimates for each month.

To specify which employees are included in the budget and forecasts

The dealer navigates to the Budget and Forecasts Administration screen.

From the Show drop-down list, the dealer chooses Employee Budget and Forecast Administration.

The Employee Forecast and Budget - Store list includes all the store's employees.

In the Employee Forecast and Budget - Store list, the dealer selects the Part of Store (Budget) field and the Part of Store (Forecast) field for the first employee who will be included in the budget and forecasts, to add check marks to these fields.

The dealer can also select just one of these fields, to include an employee in just the budget or just the forecasts.

In the Budget and Forecast Information list, the dealer specifies the months when this employee will be included in the budget and forecasts:

In the Budget and Forecast Information list, the dealer clicks New.

In the Month field of the new record, the dealer clicks the select button.

In the Pick Period dialog box, the dealer selects the first month when this employee will be included in the budget and forecasts and clicks OK.

The selected month appears in the new record.

The dealer continues to add new months in the same way until all the months of the forecasting period have been added.

The dealer repeats Step 3 and Step 4 for all the employees who will be included in the budget and forecasts.

All employees who will be included in the budget and forecast must have check marks in the Part of Store (Budget) field and the Part of Store (Forecast) fields and must have all the months when they will be included added in the Budget and Forecast information list.

NOTE: The dealer only enters the employees names and their months here. The numbers in the budget and forecast fields will be calculated based on what the sales managers and sales consultants enter as their budget and forecast estimates for each month.

Dealer Sales Managers Create their Budgets

Now that the general manager has created the framework for the budgeting process, the general sales manager tells the sales managers to add their estimated figures for the next year's sales budget.

The sales managers or the employees that they choose to enter the budget go to the Budget screen, Manager's Budget view. The months that the general manager entered are listed there. The sales managers add the figures for each month.

To create the sales manager's budget

The dealer sales manager navigates to the Budget screen.

From the Show drop-down list, the sales manager chooses Manager's Budget.

In the Monthly Budget list, there are records for all the months that the general manager entered in the previous step.

The sales manager selects a record in the Monthly Budget list and clicks Edit.

In the New and Used fields of that record, the sales manager enters an estimate of the sales of the sales manager's reports for that month.

The sales manager repeats Step 3 and Step 4 to add an estimate of sales for every month in the budget.

The Dealer General Manager Creates the Store Budget

After all the sales managers have entered their budgets, the dealership's general manager can create the store budget on the basis of the sales manager's budgets.

The Budget screen, Store Budget view allows the general manager to look at the total budget for the store for each month, which is the sum of all the sales managers' budgets. The general manager can also use this screen to look at each sales managers' budget for each month.

The general manager may want to adjust the budget for each month. For example, the sales managers may have been too optimistic, and given economic conditions, the general manager may think it is more realistic to set a lower store budget than the store budget based on the sales managers' budgets.

To create the store budget

The dealer general manager navigates to the Budget screen.

From the Show drop-down list, the general manager chooses Store Budget.

In the Monthly Budget list, there are records for all the months in the budget, with new and used sales figures that are the sum of all the sales managers' budgets for that month.

The general manager selects a record in the Monthly Budget list and scrolls down to view the Sales Managers Budget list, which includes all the sales managers' budgets for that month.

If the general manager thinks the sales managers' estimates are not accurate, the general manager adjusts the monthly budget for the store:

In the Monthly Budget list, the record for that month should already be selected.

In the Monthly Budget list, the general manager clicks Edit.

The general manager changes the values in the New and Used fields.

The sales manager repeats Step 3 and Step 4 to create a store budget for every month in the budget.

Dealer Employees View the Store Budget

After the process of creating the store budget is complete, all employees automatically see the store budget on their home page when they log in to Siebel eDealer during the budget year. The home page automatically displays the budget information for the current month of the current year.

The Dealer Creates the Monthly Forecast

At the end of the each month, the dealership's general manager usually consults with sales managers and sales managers consult with sales consultants to create the sales forecast for the next month. These forecasts are the sales goals for the store and the sales goal for each consultant for the month.

Siebel eDealer automates this consultation process. The sales consultants enter their forecasts in Siebel eDealer, and the sales managers use these to create their forecasts. Then the general manager uses the sales managers' forecasts to create the store forecast.

The process of creating forecasts is similar to the process of creating budgets, except that:

Forecasts are done once a month, and budgets are done once a year.

Forecasts begin with sales consultant forecasts, which are used as the basis of the sales managers' forecasts and the store forecasts. Budgets begin with sales managers' forecasts, which are used as the basis of the store forecast.

To create the monthly forecast, the dealer goes through the following steps:

The dealer general manager creates the framework for the budget and forecasts

Dealer sales consultants create their forecasts

Dealer sales managers create their forecasts

The dealer general manager creates the store forecast

Dealer employees view the forecasts

The Dealer General Manager Creates the Framework for the Budget and Forecasts

First, the general manager of the dealership specifies which months and which employees will be included in the yearly budget and the monthly forecasts for the next year.

This is usually done at the beginning of each year for both budgets and forecasts. It is described in detail in the discussion of creating budgets in The Dealer General Manager Creates the Framework for the Budget and Forecasts.

Dealer Sales Consultants Create their Forecasts

At the end of each month, when it is time for forecasting for the next month to begin, the first step is for the sales consultants to create their forecasts. They enter their goal for projected sales for the coming month.

To create a sales consultant's forecast

The dealer sales consultant navigates to the Forecast screen.

From the Show drop-down list, the sales manager chooses My Forecast.

In the Monthly Forecast list, there are records for all the months that the general manager entered for that employee when the general manager created the framework for budgeting and forecasting.

The sales consultant selects the record for the coming month in the Monthly Forecast list and clicks Edit.

In the New and Used fields of that record, the sales consultant enters an estimate of sales for that month.

Dealer Sales Managers Create their Forecasts

After all the sales consultants who report to a sales managers have entered their forecasts, the sales manager can create a forecast on the basis of the sales consultant's forecasts.

The Forecast screen, Manager's Forecast view allows sales managers to look at their reports' forecasts. The default forecast for the sales manager is the sum of all the reports forecasts. The sales manager can adjust this forecast to set a more realistic forecast for the month.

To create a sales manager's forecast

The dealer general manager navigates to the Forecast screen.

From the Show drop-down list, the general manager chooses Manager's Forecast.

The sales manager selects the record for the coming month in the Monthly Sales Goals list and scrolls down to view the Sales Consultants Forecast list, which includes all the forecasts for that month of all the sales consultants who report to that sales manager.

If the sales manager thinks the sales consultants' estimates are not accurate, the sales manager adjusts the monthly forecast:

In the Monthly Forecast list, the record for that month should already be selected.

In the Monthly Forecast list, the general manager clicks Edit.

The sales manager changes the values in the New and Used fields.

The Dealer General Manager Creates the Store Forecast

After all the sales managers have entered their forecasts, the dealership's general manager can create the store forecast on the basis of the sales manager's forecasts.

The Forecast screen, Store Forecast view allows the general manager to look at the total forecast for the store for each month, which is the sum of all the sales managers' forecasts. The sales manager can adjust this forecast to set a more realistic forecast for the month.

To create the store forecast

The dealer general manager navigates to the Forecast screen.

From the Show drop-down list, the general manager chooses Store Forecast.

The sales manager selects the record for the coming month in the Monthly Sales Goals list and scrolls down to view the Sales Managers Forecast list, which includes the forecasts for the month of all the sales managers.

If the general manager thinks the sales managers' estimates are not accurate, the general manager adjusts the monthly forecast for the store:

In the Monthly Forecast list, the record for that month should already be selected.

In the Monthly Forecast list, the general manager clicks Edit.

The general manager changes the values in the New and Used fields.

Dealer Employees View the Forecast

Sales consultants can view their own forecasts on the Siebel eDealer home page, in the applet My Monthly Sales Goals.

Sales Managers can view the store forecast on the Siebel eDealer home page, in the applet My Monthly Sales Goals.

The home page automatically displays the forecast information for the current month of the current year.

Siebel eDealer Administration Guide
Published: 18 April 2003