Finding Financial Information

Preparing the Financial Statements

Cost Drivers
Pricing
Gross Profit Margin
Sales and Marketing
Operational Expenses

Step 4: Calculate Sales and Marketing Costs

This step depends heavily on the particular marketing and sales strategy you choose for your company, though one can think of this decision in much the same way one considers pricing. You can choose to:

·      Pin your marketing and sales expenses to another indicator within your business, such as revenue or number of customers

·      Set your marketing and sales expenses based on the spending levels and marketing techniques of your competitors

·      Pursue a marketing plan tailored to the needs of your business

Of these three methods, the first two are usually most appropriate for the VOSG II; without a detailed marketing plan or compelling primary information pointing in a particular direction, the first two methods are usually the ones that you can explain most convincingly through sound assumptions and data.

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