It is near impossible to accurately predict what the annual revenue of a business will be. But either way, revenue projections and sales forecasting are a must in order to plan better and measure productivity and success levels. Here are a few tips to help you draw up projections which are more in line with your results.

SEPARATE PROJECTIONS

How to Create Better Revenue ProjectionsInstead of arriving at one magical number, break down your revenue projections into different categories and groups, based on existing customers, new leads/prospects, and big-ticket sales (this could be a bulk order or the purchase of a highly-priced product or service.)

ESTIMATE THE NUMBER OF LEADS AND CUSTOMERS

Now that you have your categories, look at the number of customers and prospects in the pipeline for each category. By doing this, you get a clear picture of what you have on board, which tells you how much revenue is coming in from those sources. It also helps identify how many new leads you have in the pipeline. Lead qualification will further give you an idea of how many of those leads will turn into prospects, and from there you can determine how much time you will have to spend to land that account.

CALCULATE THE VALUE

Now that you have a fair idea of how many leads and customers you have in each of your segments, you can do some simple math and arrive at a projected sales number. If you have existing customers, analyzing their past purchasing history would help you come up with a fairly accurate projection for this year. You also need to look at the value addition from your end, how much time and money are you presently investing on these leads/customers? Have you organized your resources well? Do you have your best sales reps and ample inputs aimed at the high-yield prospects and customers? You need to spend the right amount of time and effort on each category of revenue, nor more and no less. In order to give better revenue projections, you need to understand how your sales cycles work and when prospects become customers. Salesvue can help you do just that. SalesVue doesn't just log calls and save contact information; Salesvue captures data as it happens, recording not only the interactions between sales reps and prospects but also the outcomes of those interactions. By browsing through the reports that Salesvue creates, you can identify which strategy worked and which didn't, how often leads are being contacted and what helps in convincing the prospects to buy. Automated follow-ups and customizable campaigns help control how and when leads are contacted and engaged, giving you the ability to recreate the steps that led you to close a sale. Request a demo of Salesvue today.