I see a huge variance
between those selling in home
business. Please recognize that some sell on web sites
only, some sell to individuals only ordering as they get
orders, others have inventory and do events and sell. All are
ok but will bring different results.
What
makes the difference between those who sell well and those who
don't? That is a really good question........
Could be
the selling style of the person (are they asking for the sale)
Could be
geographic (may mean finding a higher income area to sell to)
Could be
the events they are selling at (how much traffic)
Could be
they ways they are selling (have they found a niche)
Could it
be their advertising (or lack of)
I know
that on average those selling
the most products are:
1.
Keeping some inventory so they can sell on the spot
2. Are
asking for the sale, not just waiting for others to ask
them
3.
Scheduling events (classes, events, parties, booths, etc) and
work actively at these events
4. Do defensive
advertising (calls, emails, parties, person to person asking)
rather than just offensive advertising (sending out flyers,
ads, emails, and not following up)
5.
Knowing what competition exists in their area and use it for
their benefit (showing what else they have to offer and how
their business can benefit their customers) - not worrying
about what they can not offer.
6.
Making contacts for their business every week day.
7. KNOW
their NICHE and sell to that niche
8. Are
passionate about their business and their products
9.
Advertises and make contacts offline not just online.
10. Make
a 5 yr plan, not giving up after 2 or 3 months
Now that
said there are lots of ways to sell. We have many reps who
have active sites they owned prior to their home
business and have great traffic and are selling only online
and doing fine. If you want to sell only online remember it
will take more time and advertising money to get your web
pages in the search engines up high and be recognizable and
get the traffic and sales you need.
There
are reps who only sell to buy wholesale for their own uses and
a few friends and are happy with that. There are reps who want
a business but do not have the time to make it happen.
You can
check with any company (Tupperware, Party Lite, Gabbie
Goodies. etc) and find reps who love the products and company
and are selling successfully and you will find reps who did
not like it and did not sell well and are frustrated. It is
less about the products and more about the seller and their
choice and niche.
McDonalds
sells sub-standard burgers but knows their niche (hot, fast,
geared to families with kids). Tupperware is priced much
higher than Rubbermaid that is available in every store. But
Tupperware knows their niche (quality, customer service reps,
and life time guarantee). What will be your business niche?
What do you want for your business?
What level of sales is success to you? Are you getting that?
What will you do this week to make it happen? What is your
niche? What does you average customer look like:
Parents
is not a niche. 2 income family with 2 kids in school is a
niche.
I have been reading a book that is
excellent!!!!
Guerrilla Marketing for the Home-Based
Business by Jay Levinson
He talks about taking your business
(any business any products) and create a plan, know your
competition (we all have competition), and learn your niche.
It is well worth getting if you want to take your business
to the next level. Success is available to all who want it
and are willing to work for it, not giving up until
they obtain it. I have watched many online friends start
with am idea or a product and over the last couple years
take it from struggle to regular orders. That can be you
too. He also suggests a SLOGAN or niche statement that you
put on all your business lit. Each of you will have a
different one than mine. What will be your slogan?
He also talks about a business giving a
guarantee. As a business owner, it is up to you what kind of
guarantee you offer. A couple of
sites offer an unconditional money back guarantee on
all orders. They made the decision to do that for all their
products and vendors, taking the risk themselves to make
their customers happy. That is how stores do it too. They
can not return wholesale merchandise they buy unless
defective but decide what to offer their customers who want
to make a return.
The last thing is a suggestion to treat
your business like a business, not a hobby. If you were
opening a store in your town (and you have, just online) you
would need inventory (with large minimums to get wholesale
price), printing, advertising, office supplies, organization
supplies, etc. You would write business plan describing your
niche, your sales goals, and step on how you will accomplish
that. You would need to tell the community that you exist
(thru advertising and word of mouth) and that you have the
products that they need and they should buy from you. Are
you doing that? Some could do this out of pocket, some would
get a loan. I have done MPK with no debt slowly by selling
then buying then selling then buying. I did spend a couple
hundred dollars in the beginning to get started. How will
you proceed with your
business?????
This article was written and copyrighted by Kay Green
