Sell Products and Services
Selling products and services is easier than people think. Actually, it may be better to run a home-based business than an office-based one.
Steps
- Choose a product or service in which you are interested. Investigate and research the time and amount of work involved with the product or service. Your passion comes across in everything you do, so come across with the enthusiasm or excitement that will interest others.
- Research how much money it would cost you to sell or provide the service that you choose. Think about how much money you would make and if it would be enough to live on. If not, just try something else.
- Organize your time and see how it interferes with your life. Arrange plans and organize your business. This will be helpful in the long run.
- Figure out what problems that your product or service solves. Said another way, to a large extent, people buy to eliminate pain. For example, people in New York City will tend to buy comfortable walking shoes during a transit strike; the shoes will prevent or eliminate the pain caused by walking a long way. For what you plan to sell, list all of the "pains" that your product/service can eliminate.
- Identify the people or groups of people who might have the pain that you've identified. How can you get to them? Face-to-face, on the phone, through e-mail or a Web site? Identify those people and get to them!
- Create a script to use with prospects. Introduce yourself, tell them what types of customers you work with (or want to work with). Ask the kinds of questions that potential buyers would ask: "You know, several of our customers ask if we have shoes that eliminate the pain of long walks....But enough about them. Are you concerned about the pain associated with long walks? Do you anticipate having some long walks coming up?"
- Recognize that most people won't have a need for something that you sell. In the case that we're using, most people already have decent "walking shoes." So if they say "no" to your offer that means that they don't have a need right now! That's it. Their lack of interest has nothing to do with you; they don't hate you, dislike you or reject you. They just don't need what you're selling right now. Don't get your ego "bent out of shape."
- Buy a computer and set up every kind of computer program that is made for business. There are even packages that are specially made for small businesses. Also, look into finding some means to collecting payments if PayPal or Amazon Payments do not fit into your business goals. Technological advancements for point-of-sale (POS) systems are making it easier than ever to run an online business in today’s highly competitive world. For many businesses, there is simply no going back to traditional sale terminals; choose a virtual terminal or something similar.
- Selling things on the Internet is also helpful for starting a small business. Be sure to search the Internet often. It helps to ask for help and tips, and to get feedback. When it comes to planning a start-up business, something that is often overlooked is the role of technology in supporting and even determining the path of the business. Small companies are often let down by poor technology, including failed Internet connections, missed calls, and even computer crashes. Avoid these problems by being more aware of the potential benefits of investing in technology,
- Get into advertising. Create slideshows and ads to attract customers based on their pain, and what your product or service will do to eliminate that pain. Don't focus on YOU, focus on your prospective customer.
- Once you have enough customers, you can raise or lower prices, depending how much money you expect to get out of the business and how many customers you have.
Tips
- Microsoft Access is one of the best organization programs for running a small business. Other computer programs are extremely helpful in organization, running reports and similar tasks. Also check on ACT!, a program that can manage your contacts very effectively. For example, ACT! makes it very easy to get back to a potential customer every 30 days. In the end, you want to continually make your presence know to your "top of mind" when that person needs what you're selling
- Advertising on the internet is also helpful, because of how the high traffic can get.
Warnings
- If are selling or marketing a product make sure you avoid Inventoritis.
- Never let people into your home. It is better to have an Internet-run business where people don't have direct contact with you. It may seem hard running an Internet business, but when you get going, it is definitely worth all of the work.
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Sources and Citations
- http://www.bizmord.com/Blog/archives/50 (Article on how to sell more and better.)
- http://www.bullfrey.com/sales-problem-identifier.htm (Interactive Sales problem identifier)
- How To Sell on eBay Guide Learn how to sell on ebay free