What is a Ballpark Figure?
A ballpark figure is a rough statistical estimate or an estimate of value otherwise unknown. Accountants, salespersons, and other professionals commonly use ballpark figures to estimate current or future results. Given a specific rate of growth, a stockbroker could use a ballpark figure to determine how much money a customer might have in the future.
A salesperson could use a ballpark figure to estimate the viability of a product that a customer was thinking about buying.
A ballpark figure is mostly a placeholder set up to contemplate what the quantity or total of something could be so that the parties involved can move forward in whatever negotiations or planning are underway. As a definition, it has applications depending on the situations, in market forecasts as well as in daily life.
Understanding Ballpark Figures
Ballpark figures are estimates that are used to move a discussion or deal forward when the exact size or amount of something is not yet determinable.
Ballpark estimates may be used for day-to-day purposes, such as calculating how much food and drinks a barbeque may need, or how many months it is likely to take to pay for a new purchase.
Ballpark figures are also used throughout in the business world, for instance, estimating how much it may cost to expand into a given market, or how many years it may take for a company to be profitable or sell to justify a large purchase.
It can be used to estimate public adoption of a concept, product, and technology as in how many people are likely to purchase a particular phone and how long it might take them to upgrade that phone, once purchased.
