Managing Sales Funnel Changes at Northern Trail Outfitters

B

To analyze how the sales funnel is changing throughout the month and meet the requirements of storing open opportunities weekly and forecasting and closing business monthly for Northern Trail Outfitters (NTO), the recommended approach would be to use a reporting snapshot to capture the necessary data.

Option B is the correct answer: Create a reporting snapshot to run weekly and store the results in a custom object.

Here's a detailed explanation for this recommendation:

1. Reporting Snapshot: A reporting snapshot is a Salesforce feature that allows you to capture data from a report and store it in a custom object. It enables you to take a "snapshot" of data at a specific point in time and reference it for analysis or reporting purposes.

2. Weekly Snapshot: Since NTO wants to store the details of open opportunities weekly, it makes sense to schedule the reporting snapshot to run on a weekly basis. This will ensure that the captured data reflects the state of the sales funnel at the desired frequency.

3. Custom Object: The reporting snapshot should store the results in a custom object. Custom objects allow you to create and store data specific to your organization's unique requirements. In this case, the custom object can be designed to hold the relevant information about open opportunities, such as opportunity name, stage, amount, close date, etc.

4. Analysis Frequency: The reporting snapshot should align with the analysis needs of NTO. Since NTO wants to analyze the sales funnel changes monthly, a weekly snapshot is appropriate. It provides a more granular view of the data, allowing for more accurate monthly analysis.

Option A (Schedule a custom forecast report to run weekly and store the results in a custom report folder) and Option D (Schedule a custom forecast report to run daily and store the results in a custom report folder) are not the best choices because custom forecast reports are primarily used for forecasting purposes and may not capture the required information about open opportunities. Additionally, storing the results in a custom report folder may not provide the necessary flexibility for data analysis.

Option C (Create a reporting snapshot to run daily and store the results in a custom object) is not the most efficient choice. Since the analysis requirement is monthly, capturing data on a daily basis might result in unnecessary data storage and complexity without providing significant value.

In summary, to meet NTO's requirements, it is recommended to create a reporting snapshot to run weekly and store the results in a custom object. This approach ensures the capture of accurate and relevant data for analysis while maintaining an appropriate frequency and storage structure.