What is one of the final tasks in creating a sales forecast?

Distributing annual sales by month and classification is indeed one of the final tasks in creating a sales forecast because it involves breaking down total projected sales into manageable, actionable segments. This step helps in understanding how sales are expected to vary over the course of the year, which is crucial for inventory planning, staffing, and budgeting purposes.

Once the total sales figure is established for the year, it can be further divided into monthly expectations and categorized according to product classifications. This granular view allows a business to align its operations more effectively with expected demand, thereby optimizing inventory levels, enhancing customer service, and facilitating targeted marketing efforts. By having a clear monthly distribution, management can make informed decisions on resource allocation and strategize for peak sales periods or seasonal fluctuations.

The other options, while they play important roles in the overall sales process, do not specifically represent the step of analyzing and segmenting projected sales output. Employee sales commissions are calculated based on actual sales, profit margins pertain to the profitability of items sold, and increasing marketing investments is a potential strategy influenced by the forecast rather than a task involved in its creation.