Instructions:

Please respond to the questions below.  Each response should take no more than ½ page, single spaced.  It is important that your responses are concise, thorough, and well-supported.

Sales forecasting is often viewed as one of the most difficult challenges for sales executives, marketing managers, and others responsible for making them.  One of the reasons for this is that those responsible for making sales forecasts recognize the major implications incorrect forecasts can have on all functional areas of the firm.

• What forecasting guidelines should be followed to improve the predictions?

It is a common practice for firms to reorganize to better serve their markets and most important customers.  It's interesting how different companies and selling organizations define "most important customers". 

• Assuming the role of a senior sales management executive, how would you define "most important" customers (by current sales, potential sales, other criteria)?  Please be sure to include support for your response.

In general, salespeople used to have access to far more information than their buyers.  However, in the past 10 to 15 years, access to "real-time" information has given the edge to buyers changing how they view their jobs.  Buyers are better equipped to understand their costs, enhance their understanding of which items to purchase and from whom.

• How has this dramatic increase of information affected the relationship, both interpersonally and professionally, between purchasing agents and the sales reps calling on them?