As a CFO I have struggled with sales forecasts and budgets. Either I am presented with a list of sales initiatives that add up to a multiple of the sales plan (I call it the “whatever sticks” method) or I get a sales plan that lacks any detail at all besides a growth rate which is similar to previous years rates (the same as last year method). Both outcomes leave me unsatisfied.
The “whatever sticks” method usually is a brainstormed list of ideas that haven’t been resourced or have an effective plan of action. Because the total ideas add up to a big number everyone goes into the new year excited for results, only to be surprised by the end of the first quarter when the numbers don’t turn out. The estimates for sales were often the “seven sunny days” types, which counted on a lot of luck.
I used to call this the church potluck dinner problem. Every one brings a wonderful dish to the potluck. When you begin loading up the cheap paper plate, the salad gets mushed in with the beans and the jello ends up leaking into your chicken. As the line goes on, you realize you’ve run out of room for other attractive dishes and you build a second level of food. And the plate bends as it gets wet creating more unattractive mashups and nothing tastes right.
The “same as last year” method does a better job of focusing on the current business but it generated few new ideas. Projects that needed resources weren’t identified and budgeting was based on history. If any portion of the current business was changing the plan wouldn’t be accurate and we’d be playing catch up. The sales plan should include a list of action items that are assigned, have deadlines and are likely to increase sales. Otherwise the “same as last year” plan is based on hope and not action.
I used to teach a class where we’d use a linear regression equation to forecast sales of public companies. It works. The CFO/CEO should have a separate statistical model for sales. Sometimes it is more accurate than budgeting and it always provides insights when reviewing the plans.
Sales and profits are a function of taking a chance. Risk-less profits don’t exist and all sales efforts entail investment with an expectation of a return. I’ve written before about Frank Knight’s comments about risk and uncertainty (see here). Sales efforts are generally uncertain – we don’t know what will work and what won’t, but we need a method to organize and prioritize actions. If we develop a list of sales initiatives, how are we to sort through and assign probabilities or guesstimates of effectiveness? When will we know we have enough quality, resourced initiatives? I’ve found a simple insight by Igor Ansoff that can provide some help overcoming this problem. Igor Ansoff was a management theorist who laid out a simple 2×2 matrix, on one axis markets on the other products. 
I usually draw this using the axis: Same/New Customers and Same/New Products. The list of sales initiatives are assigned to one of the four boxes. For example, opening new units for a retailer is New Customers : Same Products and is shown as “Market Development” on the chart. Obtaining more of a key customers business is Current Customers/Current Products or Market Penetration as titled on the chart. Line extension or Product Development is adding additional product or services to the offering to our current customers. In the chart the Diversification strategy is in red, and that’s a good color for this approach. New Products/New Customer strategies are startups.
Using the Ansoff Matrix helps identify the uncertainties and the holes in your plans. The holes are identified as you assort the strategies into the boxes. The uncertainties can be estimated by box. Market Penetration strategies will tend to be cheaper, more numerous with small payoffs and high chance of success. Market and Product Development will have worse chance of success then Market Penetration but will have a high payoff. Diversification will have the lowest chance of success. As a CFO, I rarely include in a sales budget a diversification strategy, mostly because I’ve been burned. Many (most) diversification strategies fail and all should be tested thoroughly before counting on them for sales.
With the Ansoff Matrix you can assign a standard deviation and mean result to success for each of the initiatives and then simulate a 1000 trials of the expected strategies. Many strategies are one-tailed or are options, which can result in a positive payoff, but only if certain conditions occur. Summing the range of results for the strategies selected gives a more accurate representation of potential sales and can set expectations realistically.
Taking these extra steps focuses the management team on strategies that generate a difference, while still staying within the level of resources the company possesses. Realistically if you are a star and finish your sales objectives by mid-year, you can just generate a new set and begin again (or get back in line for seconds!)
The way to solve the church potluck problem is to focus on a few things to eat and to leave some room on your plate for later in the line. The way to solve sales budgeting conundrum is similar. Being picky is good for management teams and good for a potluck.
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Dr. John Zott is the CFO for Carlson Wireless Technologies, and Principal consultant at Bates Creek Consulting. John is the chair of the Careers Committee at FEI Silicon Valley, a senior adjunct professor at Golden Gate University and comments regularly on issues that affect consumer businesses. If you are a former student, colleague or would just like to connect – reach out.