Estimating Demand and Forecasting Sales and Sales Force Size Simulation

Essay by janetdufourUniversity, Bachelor'sA, September 2008

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In summary, the simulation titled Estimating Demand and Forecasting Sales and Sales Force Size takes the student (as a role of National Sales Manager) through exercises on forecasting the events of exploring new overseas markets for Honey Month, Inc., a manufacturer of beer and wine. This paper will summarize the simulation with outcomes, including why the Jury of Executive Opinion technique of forecasting is popular, why it is a good idea to use various sales forecasting techniques when entering a new market, how to forecast sales force size in a specialized industry, how to use market research to estimate sales potential.

The sales manager's first task is to estimate the demand for beer based on several forecasts and recommend which market is best. After a preliminary study of the two international countries, Lamarco and Seravo has been completed, the National Sales Manager decides to choose the Consultant Survey Forecast for Lamarco and the Jury of Executive Opinion Forecast for Seravo and decides to enter into Lamarco based on the results.

The Consultant Survey Forecast combines both qualitative and quantitative factors.

The Jury of Executive Opinion technique is so popular because it "harnesses the vast experience of seasoned managers within an organization". It starts with a select panel of experts in relation to the problem at hand. Questionnaires are sent to these experts. Responses are compiled and presented to the group, leaving the identities of the individual responses out of the equation. They can subjectively work to solve the problem because they do not know who's responses are whose.

The next task is to forecast the demand for each region of Lamarco. The National Sales Manager decides to choose the Intention to Buy Forecast for the North, The Industry Average Forecast for the South, and the Seasonal Forecast for both the...