Sales Forecasting:

(a) Market Potential (S.L)This is an estimate of the maximum possible sales opportunities in a particular segment and open to all sellers of a good or service during a stated future period. A market potential indicates how much of a particular product can be sold to a particular market segment over some future period, assuming the application of appropriate marketing methods.

(b) Sales Potential A sales potential is an estimate of the maximum possible sales opportunities present in a particular market.Segment open to specified company selling a good or service during a stated future period. A sales potential represents sales opportunities available to a particular manufacturer.

(c) Sales Forecast A sales forecast is an estimate of sales, in monetary terms or physical units for a specified future period under a proposed marketing plan or programme and under assumed set of economic and other forces outside the unit for which the forecast is made. The forecast could be for a single product, or for an entire product-line. It could also be for a manufacturer's entire marketing area, or for any sub-division of it. Such forecasts are short-term (operating) sales forecast. Long-range forecasts are used for planning production capacity and for long-run financial planning. It is the short-term (operating) sales forecasts that are of importance to the sales executive.

Note

The purpose of an operating sales forecast is to predict how much of a company's particular product can be sold during a specified future period in certain markets under a given marketing plan or programme and under an assumed set of economic and other outside forces.