Creating a Simple Sales Model with the Planner’s Lab

To get started using the Planner’s Lab (PL), you will create a very simple advertising and sales model. In this model we will have columns for the years 2005 through 2009. Advertising budget starts at $1000 in 2005 and increases by $100 each year. You will create a node for the Advertising. Sales each year is 5 times Advertising Budget, and Profit is 0.5 times Sales – Advertising Budget. You will create a separate node for Sales and Profit. Just follow these instructions. Your model will look like the screens on the next page.

1. Click on the Planner’s Lab (PL) icon to launch the software.

2. Click on New.

3. Click on Save As and name your model “Sales Model by My Name” where “My Name” is your name, not mine!

4. Create your columns, click in the field below the Column Statement title at the top of the screen, and enter 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 (this creates 5 columns, 1 for each of those years).

5. To create a node named Advertising, double click on the node named New Node 1 at the top left of the screen and enter the new node name: Advertising. See a video for steps 1-5.

6. To enter your advertising budget for each year, click next to the 1 in the Equations window in the middle of the screen, and enter (the line number 1 is created for you):

1 Advertising Budget = 1000, 1100, 1200, 1300, 1400

Alternatively, you can enter Advertising Budget = 1000, PREVIOUS + 100

7. To add a node for Sales and Profit, click on the “structure” node at the top of the screen, then click on the + icon at the bottom left of the screen and press enter. Then double click new node 1 again at the upper left and rename the node “Sales and Profit.” See a video for steps 6 & & 7.

8. To enter the equations for Sales and Advertising, click next to the 1 in the Equations window in the middle of the screen and enter (be sure to capitalize IN):

1 Sales = 5 * Advertising Budget IN Advertising

2 Profit = 0.5 * Sales - Advertising Budget IN Advertising

9. Click “Validate Model” at the bottom left of the screen. Correct any errors and validate again all errors are fixed.

10. Begin “playing” with the model by clicking on Playground at the bottom right of the screen. You will automatically enter Table View.

11. To populate the table, click on the Advertising node and click and drag Advertising Budget to the first row of the table. Click on the Sales and Profit node and click and drag Sales to the table, then do the same for the Profit variable. See a video for steps 9-11.

12. To create a screen with charts, click the + sign at the upper right corner of the window. Grab the Target Variable icon at the far left of the Chart Toolbar and drag it to the stage. Click on the Sales and Profit node and click and drag Sales and Profit onto the blank chart. Click on the What If chart icon (with the ? on it) and drag it onto the stage. Click on the Advertising node and click and drag Advertising Budget to the What If chart. To play with the model, click on the Advertising Budget trend line and drag it or one of its nodes around to play with the model. See a video for step 12.