Do You Forecast Your Sales? How Are Those Numbers Aligning With Your Goals?

Planning our vacations are fun! Set the date and then let the fun begin.

These fun trip planning sessions come far easier than committing to processing what it will take to get us to the goals for our art practice. Why is that? Why isn’t it fun to plan out how much money you anticipate making this year and then weekly or bi-monthly following up on those projections and goals.

Making money is fun! It’s a collection of energy. Money is energy exchanged. Money is good. The more you make, the more you can take care of yourself, family, and others in your community. Hopefully your art practice is profitable enough to be paying for that vacation!

Most artists I know have no idea what they’ve made so far this year. They go by their bank statement. What does that tell you?

It doesn’t tell you what you owe or what income you have coming in. It’s a snapshot of liquidity. They have no idea whether they are making a profit or what the future holds for them in the coming months.

What happens if, forbid, the Universe decides to send you a hiccup in your journey. Are you prepared? Do you even have a “profit” account in your business?

Businesses that are making a profit, are doing so by careful calculation and planning. Is it time that you become the CEO of your company?

What holds you back from taking hand-to-pen-to-paper and writing down your dreams, desires and expectations for your art practice? Is it self-doubt, fear, lack of confidence, or you just aren’t sure how to do it?

What would it feel like to you if you could have a plan for the rest of 2013?

3 Starter Questions to Ask Yourself About Forecasting the 2nd Half of 2013

1) How much do you want to make in your art practice for the 2nd half of 2013 sales?

Do the math and make a reasonable scenario…

If you want to make $15,000 gross over the next 3 months, you’ll want to figure out what your average sale is first. Let’s say your average sale is $45. That’s 334 pieces you’ll need to sell (give or take 20 or so).

Don’t forget you need to also add in inventory overage so that customers have something to choose from. So you’ll want to make 20-35% more. That adds about 85 more pieces. So about 420 pieces needed.

420 divided by 3 months = 140 per month
140 divided by 20 working days = 7 per day

Is this reasonable or do you need to re-evaluate how much you “can” make?

2) How can you best order materials to take advantage of lowering your costs of goods sold (COGS)?

If you can order in bulk, you can make deals with vendors for additional discounts, especially if you pay with cash or check.

You will save on shipping. Shipping a larger order is much more advantageous than shipping out several smaller orders. The first 3 pounds cost the most.

I can’t tell you how many artists order at the last minute and pay to rush shipping. This is a huge waste of profits!

Watch the metals market and take advantage of the fluctuations. If you have a good relationship with your vendor, that will help.

During my tenure as owner of Whole Lotta Whimsy, I had regulars that contacted me when they are ready to order 50+ packs of silver. I would watch the market and try to get them the best possible deal. I always saved them hundreds of dollars! If you don’t use it all, then sell it on Etsy!

Figure out roughly how much material you will need to make for at least half of items you need to make. If you have enough credit or liquidity, invest in the materials now and save. Metals always go up during November and December! So strategize now how you’ll buy over the course of the next 4 months to avoid increased costs for the bulk of your sales.

Can you alter the design to use less materials or incorporate another material into the design that lowers the cost of goods sold?

3) What’s your marketing plan to create sales?

Who will you promote to and how?
Will you sell at shows, shops/galleries and which online venues?
Are you already signed up for shows? Deposits paid and arrangements made for travel?
How many of the show attendees are on your list? When will you market to them?
Do you have marketing materials to send them prior to the show?
When will you order these materials and who will do the art/graphics?
Do you have your show schedule on your site?
Have you written a press release (s)?
Do you have plans in place to build your list and take advantage of new customers for future sales?

In marketing there are 3 key things to remember:

• consistency
• the fortune is in the follow up
• they must know, trust and like you in order to buy from you

Want to know more about forecasting your sales, marketing your art, pricing, and creating clarity in your art practice?

The Foundations for Artful Success program is available as a home-study course.  Several of the alumni are informally preparing to go through the program together as a group starting in June. Join them on our exclusive private forum as they begin this journey and you’ll have accountability buddies to bounce ideas off of, support you and help you understand the material.

Here’s what several of them have said:

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