What Is a Sales Summary Report?

A sales summary report is a business document that contains information about associated sales of a store or business within a selected date range. The entirety of the sales summary report consists of subcategories or subreports within the particular dates. Sales summary reports are one of the most commonly used reports in business and store operations because it details daily activities and showcase the financial capacities of the organization. It breaks down various factors that affect the sales of a particular store in an organized manner. The reports also help the business to visualize future trends surrounding the industry, including consumer preferences, to increase sales capacity and growth. Sales summary reports contain various visual elements that help find potential market opportunities. Sales teams utilize the information available to assess situations, determining possible countermeasures or actions to undertake to prevent loss.

According to data presented on Statista by the Statista Research Team published in October of 2021, by the end of 2020, total retail sales in the United States reached an estimate of 5.6 trillion US dollars, and the figures show an increase from the year before by approximately 180 billion US dollars. The graph indicates that retail sales indicate a steady growth over the years, showing the importance of tracking sales trends and patterns to increase sales growth.

Types of Sales Reports

There are multiple types of sales reports that supply information about different facts and data into the result of sales processes for a period. Each report emphasizes various attributes relating to business sales. Below are different types of sales reports within an organization, and it is essential to know about them.

Revenue by salesperson: This type of sales report contains information about generated revenue of each person in the sales department. Produce this sales report as a monthly report as a performance indicator to acknowledge success strategies and formulate better methods to increase sales. The report contains essential information, including personnel quotas, sales goals, percent contribution in revenue, closed deals, and lost deals. Regular assessment of this type of report specifies the individuals having difficulties requiring further coaching and showing appreciation to those succeeding. The information also helps determine current marketing trends to influence sales performance and marketing strategies accordingly.Conversion rate: Conversion rate translates to made deals against lost deals within a given timeframe. This type of report can be a monthly, quarterly, or annual report. It determines the sales percentage of individuals, teams, departments, and the entire organization. Conversation rate reports supply direct information of generated revenue according to the exerted effort by sales team members, providing additional information on the causes of sales increases and decreases.Loss rate based on sales phase: This sales report focuses on the lost sales and deals within sales cycles and phases. It determines specific periods when losses are prevalent and adjust sales strategies to prevent further losses. Specifying the exact moments that sales decreases throughout selling cycles aids in developing more efficient processes for improvement.The average length of a sales cycle: This sales report classification is a necessary document that determines the beginning and end of a sale. Average sales cycle length helps sales teams and members to understand sales processes to make more informed decisions and the courses of action to take. The report also enables decision-making procedures through different phases in the sales cycle. If leads develop longer, surpassing the average sales cycle length, sales members must apply the necessary adjustments to strategies and approaches.Average deal size: The report provides critical information regarding the sales revenue for each successful deal or sale. Create the average deal size as a monthly or yearly report to track profits and monitor sales consistency or fluctuations. The document also supports the preparation of individual sales objectives and quota accomplishments for the team. Through the information present in the report, companies set significant timelines and milestones through a single sale cycle.Marketing collateral usage: Marketing collateral refers to the materials, items, and other resources the marketing teams use when assisting the sales teams in closing deals. The report determines the resources that are advantageous in securing sales deals with consumers and how often the marketing team uses them. The marketing collateral usage document indicates crucial information for specifying adequate marketing processes worth company investments. It also identifies resources in need of replacement or improvement.Sales call: The sales call report reflects information about the visitor numbers coming in touch with call sales representatives to potential customers within a specific timeframe. Companies run this type of report as a monthly, yearly, or weekly report to determine the number of successful prospects resulting in a sale. The data also helps to identify the sales team members eagerly fulfilling quotas and objectives and those requiring more coaching techniques.Lead aging: Lead aging reports supply information about communication of the sales team with prospects, including the last call date and description of past call logs. Running the report guarantees that the sales team provides sufficient attention to leads throughout different phases of the sales cycle. If team members fail to update or contact prospect clients from their client list for extended periods, there is a high probability pointing to the loss of sales. Lead aging reports prevent these instances by organizing and prioritizing customer interaction.

Components of a Sales Summary Report

Despite different industries and organizations having various schematics in creating sales summary reports, there are standard components that must be present to have a successful and comprehensive sales summary report. Below are the sales summary report elements with accompanying descriptions the company must include in its next document. Continue reading the following section.

Outline and Sales Report Objective: The first element to include when drafting a sales summary report is the report objective and outline. The specific section guarantees the readers of the document have an idea and understanding of its existence and contents. It also serves as the document introduction.Report Summary: The following element of the report focuses on the report summary. The summary is presented as a high-level overview that the managers and directors can browse before reading the entirety of the report. Guarantee that the section provides only the most crucial information and indicates insights and recommendations from gathered data. The report summary is at most a single page.Section-by-section Breakdown: For a reader to easily understand and digest the information present in the sales summary report, it is necessary to group the information into sections. Separating the data and findings enables audiences to focus on different aspects effectively. Section divisions include overall revenue and client segmentation. The element also contains sales key performance indicators (KPI), like sales ratios, client value, profit comparisons, and others, supporting the narrative.Result Interpretation: Result interpretation illustrates all relevant data with a brief description of its relevance to the report. In this section, the sales team can pinpoint specific elements of the report, including revenue increase. It also explains the origin of the additional revenue and what the company plans to do about these gains.Conclusions and Recommendations: As the final part of the sales summary report, provide an informative conclusion and plausible recommendations. Supply a viewpoint and emphasize the necessary actions that directly impact organizational growth. Indicate problem-solving ideas for future endeavors through a comprehensive description of difficulties and learnings stemming from the event.

How To Create a Sales Summary Report

After determining the essential elements in a sales summary report, the next step is to understand the step-by-step method in creating the document. Anyone can indicate numbers into a sales summary and add various types of information. The goal is to make people understand what these numbers and descriptions mean. Follow the guidelines below and guarantee that your report is easy to read and understand, supplying the reader with ample and factual information.

  • Step 1: Identify the Purpose of the Report

    It is near impossible to include all the information in a sales summary report. The idea is to focus on incorporating relevant data that helps the company in achieving its Business Goals. It is critical to know the purpose of creating the report. Knowing the main objective of the sales summary assists in data gathering and data analysis of the relevant information for the report. It also helps identify the scope of the summary, resulting in a successful sales presentation.

  • Step 2: Familiarize Yourself with the Audience

    The next step of creating a sales summary report is to identify the audience of your description to help you tailor the information effectively and understandably. The goal of identifying your readers is to hold their attention and interest throughout the length of the report. Guarantee that the data present in the report shows relevance to what the audience wants to know, supplying them with the knowledge to make necessary decisions.

  • Step 3: Collect the Relevant Data

    After knowing the purpose and the audience of the report, it is time to gather and analyze the appropriate data. During the data collection process, ensure that you remain goal-oriented. Begin with outlining the metrics and key performance indicators you need to include in the report. The content ranges from made sales, net sales, profits, tax deductions, sales growth, new opportunities, and Team Performances. It is also essential to indicate the time frame of the information, including past and present comparisons, to stress necessary changes.

  • Step 4: Utilize Visualization Elements in the Report

    The way data is present in the report is equally important to the contents. Ensure that your data is understandable by using visualization elements in your presentation. Aside from tabular data full of numbers, utilize graphs and charts for the report, including Gantt Charts or line graphs. Visualizing your data makes the report easier to understand and digest. It also allows you to emphasize the relevant trends and address the issues affecting sales. Additionally, utilizing visual elements makes for an attractive presentation that captures the attention of audiences.

  • Step 5: Put the Numbers in Context

    Ensure that all numbers present in the report have context, or else it will be misleading and cause misinterpretations. For example, a negative shift in sales over a month without context can cause alarm to managers. However, adding an explanation to the occurrence, for example, bad weather conditions, to prevent any hasty decisions. It is best to know the context behind the information present in the report.

FAQs

What is a daily sales summary report?

A daily sales summary report supplies information about daily financial transactions. It contains information like daily closed deals, clients conversations, created opportunities, and other relevant information. The report focuses on process metrics rather than outcome metrics.

What are the most important sales reports?

  • Sales funnel analysis report – contains the numbers or leads and conversion rates during each stage of the pipeline. It strengthens lead generation and increases deals.
  • Incoming deals volume report – the purpose of using the report is for sales teams to reach their respective goals. It reveals the actual number of made deals coming from marketing.
  • Forecasting sales report – the report shows the number of predicted sales, comparing it to actual sales.
  • Sales goals report – the sales goals report represents the set revenue goals of sales teams from previous reports.
  • Won deals report – the report details closed deals by sales representatives and sales teams.

What are KPIs in sales?

Sales key performance indicators (KPIs) are metrics that support sales teams in measuring the effectiveness and accuracy of reaching goals, including improving methodologies to increase sales.

Companies that focus on marketing and sales write up sales summary reports more often than not. Having these documents ensure that they are on right track with their goals, especially with closing sales and increasing revenue. For many organizations, utilizing summary reports using online dashboards is convenient, as it is easy to track and access. Sales teams must set goals for their department as they have a target to follow and achieve. In the words of Laurence J. Peter, “If you don’t know where you are going, you will probably end up somewhere else.”. Start creating a sales summary report by downloading the samples available above in PDF format to achieve company goals.