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First of all, why do we even care about sales forecasts? In one word: planning. If you can accurately predict how many sales you can close every month or every quarter, you can plan ahead to make sure you have the budget, the supply, and the wherewithal you need to close and service those new sales. On the flipside it should give you insight into if and when it’s time to investigate new sources of lead generation for your sales efforts. If your forecasts look low, it’s time to make a change. Business decisions are made by looking at previous results and upcoming projections based on that history. If you have wholly inaccurate projections, it will hinder your ability to make good decisions moving forward. Let’s start by taking a look at the simple definition of sales forecasting: *Predicting how future sales activities will result.* A prediction of how many deals will close in a given time period. Makes sense, right? Any marketer or business owner should be able to tell you why...

We have discussed a number of times in our blog that Systematic Investment Plans is the ideal way of investing for your long term goals. An important factor in wealth creation is investment tenure due to power of compounding over time. Longer your investment tenure, greater is the effect of compounding. Mutual fund SIPs enable you to start investing small amounts from your regular savings. Over long investment tenures, SIPs can help you accumulate wealth needed for your different life-stage goals. Mutual fund SIPs have become one of the most popular investment vehicles for retail investors. As per AMFI data more than Rs 1 lakh Crores was invested through SIP is FY 2019-20; total SIP investments in the first three quarters of this fiscal year stood Rs 71,349 Crores. Most of the SIPs in India are made in actively managed equity mutual fund schemes. Over the last few years, passive funds like Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) and Index Funds have been slowly gaining traction in India. The C...

ELSS or equity-linked savings schemes are equity funds which are designed to offer tax benefits under section 80C of the Income Tax Act. ELSS provides you with high returns compared to fixed deposits and public provident funds because they primarily invest in equity. They come with a low lock-in period of 3 years compared to other tax-saver investments. The three-year lock-in period qualifies for a tax exemption under section 80C of the Income Tax Act which allows maximum tax exemption of ₹. 1,50,000. ELSS offers returns between 12-18% compared to other tax saver investments, however, the returns are subject to long-term capital gains tax at 10%. When investing in ELSS it is important one begins investing early so that the right investments are picked. If one picks wrong investments he would get stuck to his investments for the next three years. ELSS comes with the lowest-lock in period and you can reduce your taxes by investing in these schemes. If you have a high-risk appetite the...

The standard retirement advice is save as much as you can, right from the start. But there is another aspect that you must look into – your lifestyle. Here’s a brief run down on both these aspects. Always look to increase the quantum of your savings. We talk of compounding, but there is an unfortunate reality which is the mathematics of it. If you had a couple of thousand rupees and you earn an extra 1% of returns, it may sound great, but the extra 1% of return on a few thousand rupees won’t get you far. It doesn't have a big impact because the account balance just isn't as big yet. But that extra 1% return on Rs 10 lakh is much more impressive. As you get closer and closer to retirement, that equation starts to flip around. Even a thousand or so every month towards getting a big nest egg doesn't really actually move the needle very much anymore. But if you've got crore in savings already, a 1% change in your returns could be a year or two worth of savings, all at...