How to Write a Sales Report

HOW TO WRITE A SALES REPORT

Management keeps a careful

eye on the activities and

productivity of its salespeople

through sales reporting.

Writing a sales report is a way

for management to gauge how well the company and

the salespeople are

progressing toward the

achievement of its sales goal.

A sales report should provide

this information as well as alert management of any

problems that might interfere

with attainment of the sales

goal. Difficulty: Moderately Challenging Instructions 1. Begin this internal review

document using a

memorandum-style

document format. Address

the memo to your sales

director or sales manager. Copy other individuals on

the document, such as the

director of marketing, if

appropriate. 2. Be succinct when describing

the subject of the memo.

For example, name it “First

Quarter 2010 Sales for

Southern Region.” Start the

document using very direct, explanatory language of

what will follow such as

“This provides April

through May 2010 sales for

the Southern Region, which

includes Texas, Missouri and Oklahoma.” If there are any

qualifications you need to

disclose about the data and

information included,

identify those caveats in

the first paragraph. If, for instance, the information is

incomplete because some

data hasn’t been received,

declare it bold, underlined

type. 3. Provide a high-level recap in

a chart of the current

period’s sales numbers and

the year-to-date cumulative

sales. Perform a number of

comparative analyses to put those numbers in

context such as percentage

or plus/minus versus the

goal and versus the

previous year. Let the

numbers do the talking, but provide a brief, written

summary of the status of

the sales effort. Report sales

results in a number of

different ways to give

management a complete overview of where sales

stand in terms of product

units distributed (or other

appropriate measures for

your business) and dollar

volume. 4. Repeat the reporting of

sales...