Master the Art of Sales Forecasting

The article discusses the importance of data in building a sales forecast for a shop. It provides a simple example of a one-technician shop to explain the concept. The article emphasizes the need to track and maintain metrics such as available hours, technician productivity, and efficiency to accurately and reliably forecast monthly sales and gross profit. The article also highlights the importance of considering planned absences and history while calculating available hours. It explains the difference between productivity and efficiency, and how they are both essential for evaluating technician performance. The article provides formulas for calculating available hours, technician productivity, and efficiency.The difference between productivity and efficiency formulas lies in the number that is divided by the billable hours. Productivity divides it by the total number of hours the technician is at work, while efficiency divides it by the number of hours the technician is assigned to particular jobs. Efficiency helps identify unassigned time, which can be due to shop factors such as inadequate work or inefficient distribution of work. Both productivity and efficiency should be recorded and tracked, as comparing the results can help identify the cause of overall low shop performance. If efficiency is high and productivity is low, it may indicate that the technician's performance is not the primary cause of poor shop performance.

Test your knowledge on sales forecasting with this informative quiz! Learn about the importance of tracking metrics such as available hours, technician productivity, and efficiency to accurately forecast monthly sales and gross profit. Discover the difference between productivity and efficiency, and how to calculate them. Challenge yourself to identify the causes of low shop performance and improve your forecasting skills. Take this quiz now and become a sales forecasting expert!