To see an example for the current topic, click the Examples tab in the Instructions and Examples window:

Click Next Example to see more.

Click Paste Into Topic to paste the current example into your topic as a starting point for your own text.

Then you might want to consider forecasting your sales (or part of your sales) with a subscription, or churn-rate, model. This kind of sales forecast allows you to make projections that take into account ongoing revenue, new customers, and cancellations.

Both Business Plan Pro and Marketing Plan Pro have a special add-in sales forecast for handling subscription sales. To access this feature:

First, download it from our website

1. Make sure you have a working Internet connection open
2. Open your business or marketing plan in your Palo Alto software program
3. On the Tools menu, click Add-ins
4. (Note: your serial number should automatically load in the web page. If it doesn’t, you can find it by clicking About in the Help menu)
5. Scroll down the list until you find Sales Forecast-Subscription (Churn Rate) Model
6. Click Download Component
7. If prompted to Find a program or Save the file, click Save. Then browse to a location where you want to save it, such as your Desktop.

Then, import it into your plan

1. Return to your plan software
2. On the File menu, click Import
3. Choose Import an Add-In, and click Next
4. Browse to the location where you saved the downloaded file
5. Highlight the downloaded file name and click Open, then click Next
6. Click Finish

The new subscription model sales forecast will open for you to see and work with. Instructions above the spreadsheet get you started. You can also click Search on the Help menu, and search for “subscription” to find more information.

Finally, link it to your tables
The Subscription forecast currently exists in your plan as a stand-alone table. It doesn’t replace your regular Sales Forecast table, and doesn’t feed into your plan’s financial data. To make your subscription forecast part of your financial plan, you can build a link in the main Sales Forecast table to the “Total Sales” row of the Subscription Model sales forecast.

Click here for detailed instructions on linking your Subscription Model to your main Sales Forecast.

While the wizards are designed for users who aren’t used to doing their own financial projections, the spreadsheets still offer a great deal of help in understanding what kind of data belongs where.

Row Help
In addition to the general Instructions above each table, spreadsheets contain definitions for every row, which depend on your Table Settings. To see Row-by-row help in your Spreadsheet, simply click on a cell in the row you wish to learn more about, and read the definition which displays along the bottom of your program window.

Can’t See Row-by-Row Help?
If you do not see the Row definition window below your spreadsheet, make sure there is a checkmark next to Row by Row Help on the View menu.

Example
The top line of your Row-by Row help lists the row number and label, to make sure you are reading the right definition. In the example below, all three row names have been filled in; note how the new row labels appear as part of the row definitions (”University Students“).

To change the colors in all your charts:

• On the Tools menu, point to Options and click Charts.
• Click on the Colors tab.
• Click the pull-down arrow and scroll through the list to see different palette options.
• Highlight the new color palette name and click OK.

To change the colors in a single chart:

• On the Chart formatting toolbar, click Custom Format.
  • Use the Palette button to change the entire chart.
  • OR, right-click on the data series (line, bar, or area) you would like to change and select one of the options that appears.
• For more detailed changes to background, gridline, or chart box colors, click the custom format Properties button, and change the settings on the General and Y Axis tabs.

1. Click the Plan Setup button on the toolbar
2. Click Next
3. In Step 2: Customize your document, select Standard plan
4. Click Next
5. Close the Plan Setup
6. On the View menu, click Tables

The table list now includes a number of additional marketing planning tables, including Channel Analysis, Customer Lifetime Value, Market Demographics, ROI Calculator, and more. Click the name of any table to open and use it.

Example: Customer Lifetime Value

This table allows you to compare the costs of acquiring a new customer to the overall Customer Lifetime Value (revenue from that customer).

In most businesses, you hope to sell your products or services to a customer not just once, but several times over the course of several years. Adding up these sales over the entire customer lifetime and then subtracting what it costs to acquire the customer gives you the total customer lifetime value. The final rows calculate an adjusted value to take into account the present-day value of future income. 

The example below shows a plan for selling high-end services to other businesses.

Your row definitions will walk you through the specifics of this table, but here are a few notes:

Customer Lifetime refers to the number of years from initial purchase to final purchase. While some major brands or stores are lucky enough to have a customer lifetime of over 30 years, most of us are looking at significantly less, from 1/2 to 5 years.

Costs of Marketing to a Potential Customer means just that – potential customers, not actual customers. If you spend $5,000 on marketing aimed at 1,000 potential customers, this figure would be $5, even if only 1 person out of 1,000 responded.

This table is not part of the standard Marketing Plan Pro Outline. You can use it behind the scenes, or insert it into your Outline to include it in printed output.

Each task in the Tasks list includes a progress status button, next to the Previous Task and Next Task buttons at the bottom of the screen.

By default, each task is listed as “Not Started.” As you work on each table and topic, the status becomes “In Progress.” You can track your progress through the Tasks list by marking items as “Complete” when you are finished with them. Task icons in the Tasks list will reflect each item’s status – a pencil shows the task is in progress, while a checkmark indicates the task is complete.

Marking tasks as “Complete” will also change the progress report bar at the bottom of the Tasks list:

However, if your business is seasonal, and your marketing promotions include seasonal events, you may want to use the option for planning your second year of sales and expenses in monthly detail, as well.

To check or change your settings:

1. Click the Plan Setup button on the toolbar
2. Click Next until you reach the “2nd year of monthly data” question
3. Click the radio button to select “Yes, include a 2nd year of monthly data in my financials“
4. Click Next
5. Close the Plan Setup

Your Sales Forecast and Marketing Expense Budget table spreadsheets will now include a tab to toggle between 1st Year Planned and 2nd Year Planned forecasts. If you are using the table wizards to fill in your numbers, the wizard will automatically prompt you to fill in the second year of monthly data as you go through it.

Right-click on any topic in the Outline, and you’ll see options for renaming, deleting, and moving topics. You can also insert new, custom topics, totally defined by you, or insert charts or tables in new locations.

In addition, when you’re printing, you can choose to print only selected items from the plan. The Table of Contents will automatically adjust on the fly to list only the items you’ve selected.

1. Click on a data-entry row in the table
2. On the Edit menu, click Insert row
3. Label your new row, and then fill in your projections

Market Analysis table
Marketing Plan Pro contains a number of tools to help you forecast your market’s growth (or lack of it) in concrete terms you can translate into action. The Market Analysis table is a great place to start, letting you list the different types of potential customers your marketing efforts are aimed at. Project change in these populations for the next five years for a good medium-range outlook.

Sources for your data
Getting your strategy right depends on getting sound data about your market. Look to industry publications and associations for trends and supporting data. One of the critical parts of the market forecast is not just how many potential customers you have, but their overall purchasing power. U.S. Census data has some great information on industry spending, and if any of your competitors are publicly traded you can compare your numbers with theirs fairly easily.

Reconsider your focus
Sure, the overall market may have one trend, but are you sure that reflects your Ideal Customer? In a shrinking market, you may be able to maximize your outreach efforts by better qualifying your leads, rather than expanding the pool of potential customers. If your Market Analysis table shows far more potential customers than you realistically expect to reach, consider returning to your Ideal Customer description and making sure you have focused in on the best possible opportunities.