The Manual Sales Estimation Method is a way to double check the estimated monthly sales for a product.
This tactic can keep you from making a mistake that will cost you thousands of dollars because sales estimator tools are not always accurate.
You should always use both Sales Estimator tools (ex. Jungle Scout) and the Manual Sales Estimation Method when researching a product.
Sales estimator tools use the product's Best Sellers Rank (BSR) to estimate monthly sales. Many different things can influence the Best Sellers Rank, such as variations, the time of the year, holidays, and other events.
These tools do not take into account if the product has multiple variations and will clump every variation into that Best Sellers Rank.
For example, the Jungle Scout tool estimates the Graco 4Ever Car Seat with a BSR of #144 in the Baby category will have 10,000 monthly sales. However, that product has seven different variations. This means those 10,000 monthly sales are split between the seven variations. The variations are things like different colors and trim options.
The Manual Sales Estimation Method uses product reviews to estimate monthly sales.
To perform the manual method, you need to count the number of product reviews within the last 30 days (month), then multiple the number of reviews by 30.
The 30 by 30 rule!
For example, the Black & Grey Variation of the Graco 4Ever Car Seat product had 17 reviews in the past 30 days. So, you multiple 17 x 30, which is 510.
Look at the difference!
The estimator tool suggested we could buy thousands of units, but the manual method estimated 510 units.
The Manual Sales Estimation Method is a more conservative approach.
It helps you purchase the appropriate amount of units when adding a product to your inventory.
After using a Sales Estimator Tool, you should always perform the Manual Sales Estimation Method when conducting a product analysis to make sure the tool is accurate for the product you are looking at.
Click here to watch our step by step process of the Manual Sales Estimation Method!
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