The Benefits of Sales Forecasting For Dealerships

Sales forecasting essentially involves predicting your future profits, based on the sales that your dealership has on order. The purpose of this is to give you an insight into your margins so that you are able to manage your business more efficiently. There are several ways in which sales forecasting does this.

Plan Ahead

Although a sales forecast isn’t a crystal ball, it is a fairly accurate representation of future events. With a strong indication of your upcoming sales and profits, you should be able to develop an effective sales plan.

With this foresight, you may also be able to prevent problems. If you are able to see cash flow difficulties coming, you may be able to take measures to stop them from happening.

Allocate Budgets

Knowing whether or not your margins are looking positive will help you make decisions about spending or conserving with confidence that you will have enough to support your dealership. A sales forecast report can help you make sensible investments and avoid purchasing too much or too little stock.

Assess Sales Performance

Another benefit of sales forecasting is that it provides you with an idea of how your sales team are performing both individually and as a whole. From your prediction, you should be able to identify any employees who do not have any upcoming sales and you may then want to raise this matter with them.

In this scenario, sales forecasting may lead to an increase in sales, because sharing your concerns with a member of your sales team who is struggling can encourage them to push themselves.

Set Goals

With a firm indication of your expected sales, you can set your team goals that you are confident are achievable because they are based on statistical data. More attainable goals will create fair competition.

A sales forecast report can be produced manually, by identifying all of your vehicles which are on order at the time and calculating your sales margins should these transactions be successful. Alternatively, if you use Click Dealer’s DMS, you will have the option of having regular sales forecast reports produced systematically, which can give you a more accurate prediction and save you time.

For more information on how to run sales forecasts through Click Dealer’s DMS get in touch today via marketing@clickdealer.co.uk, 01782 478220 or through our contact page.