Understanding your sales data

Sales Data is the volume of dollars and units sold to the consumer in a specific time period. It also helps you understand your company’s performance and measure the success of your marketing efforts.

You should review your data:

• Weekly
• Monthly
• Quarterly
• And annually
• If you are selling online, sales data could also be reviewed daily and hourly.

Below is a list of common key sales metrics to follow:

• Sales dollars
• Sales Units
• Sales margin dollars = sales dollars – cost of goods sold
• Comparable (comp) sales= current sales dollars & units versus a pervious time period
• Sales dollars by region/state/et
• Sales dollars by consumer segment

Sales results data is important, however understanding how you got there and how they are relative to the market. It helps you understand the financial health of your business short and long term, see what’s working well and what areas need improvement. With this information, you can make decisions on where to invest resources.