How to Write a Weekly Sales Report

The sales function is critical to all successful businesses. In some businesses, sales are tracked on a weekly basis so management has the most up-to-date picture of the how sales are trending and how individual salespeople are doing in their quest to meet a sales goal. Even if the sales goal has been quantified as an annual number, management will often want to keep a handle on the selling progress to make changes or identify potential problems by reviewing a weekly sales report.

Instructions

Writing a Weekly Sales Report

1. Do approach the task of writing a weekly sales report knowing that the document should be as brief as possible. Use a memorandum format to present your weekly sales information. Know that the individuals who will receive your document, receives a similar one every week, so develop a format for presenting this information that is standardized for quick review of the important parts of the document.

2. Start the document by detailing what sales information is included. Use language such as "This provides sales for the Northeast Region for the week of January 7, 2010." Provide the actual sales figures in a table with column headers for both actual units and dollar volume.

3. Provide context for the sales information provided by having a cumulative column (year to date) for both units and dollar sales. You will also want to analyze how the weekly sales results compare to the same period "last year," or versus "last week," or "versus sales forecasted goal." Use percentages or plus or minus to make these comparisons. The goal is to demonstrate how the week's sales fared in units moved and dollars made.

4. Provide a summary section in your weekly sales report that details sales by both units and dollars for the current quarter and cumulative sales. The quarterly cumulative number should be the same number as the weekly cumulative number. Again, put these numbers into context by comparing them to the same quarter last year, the prior three months, forecast quarterly sales, or whatever is appropriate for your company or industry.

5. Use the weekly sales report to chronicle the salesperson's activities for that week. Include a list of the major sales calls or visits made to customers. Identify any problems or opportunities that have surfaced which might affect the sales forecast in your report. Use action words to discuss your plan of action to deal with potential sales problems and timing.

Resources

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