Understanding Sales Data

To be successful, a sales organization must have a comprehensive understanding of the outside forces that contribute to a customer's decision to do business with you. One of the strongest outside forces that can affect a sale is direct competition. If you understand what competitors can deliver, when they can deliver it, and for what price, you can compete effectively.

In addition to understanding the competition, you must also have a complete understating of your own organization, the amount of potential revenue that can be realized in the future, and the amount of demand that exists for your products in the marketplace. Using sales forecasts and sales pipelines, you can determine, with reasonable certainty, the amount of revenue that the organization will generate in the near future. You can also use this information to assist in demand forecasting for products, which enables you to better plan materials and inventory.