Do you really know what marketing is? It's the art of finding ways to sell a product or service; but developing new ways of selling a product are not
easy. You have to study what other people are doing and get ideas from them.
Listen to people who have actually done something to show for their own
efforts. They certainly know because they have been there! Why seek marketing
advice from a book that reads above your head and was only written by someone who "studied" the field? Go and talk to the people who have ACTUALLY lived it! There is a difference!
Get your mind in a direction to sell your product. Of course it helps if you
created your own product or whole-heartedly believe in the product you are
selling. Now, all you have to do is find the type of people that would be
interested in buying your product. Find out what makes people buy a product
like yours. Study how others are selling the similar product you are selling.
Then _ armed with all this valuable information, work out a direct plan that
you'll enjoy doing. Design methods around your likes, dislikes and
personality traits. It works!
You have to work on your business EVERYDAY in order to become successful.
Even if you work outside the home 8 hours a day, you have to devote some
time each evening to your home business enterprise.
Most businesses who have been around awhile have seen many 100's or even
1,000's of new businesses open up and close. That's one reason why people
are "skeptical" of a new business until they see for themselves that they're
serious. YOU have to prove that you are serious in order to get people to
order from you and become good customers. You also have to treat customers
like you would your own family with respect and concern. This does not
mean you are to be shallow and allow yourself to be taken advantage of.
Customer service is nothing more than placing yourself in the other person's
shoes and seeing the world and the situation from their viewpoint. Often -
if you will just take a few minutes to listen to people, you will learn a
lot and turn a complaint into a workable situation.
In marketing, it is extremely important to start watching people and their
buying habits. The next time you are standing at the check out counter
buying groceries _ watch people around you. Don't stare at them but open up
your eyes and ears. Be in touch with your surroundings. Listen to ladies as
they discuss the reason "why" they would rather buy one type of cookie over
another brand name. Try and pick apart the actual reason "why" people react
the way they do.
And here are some tips to help you appear professional and serious to
potential customers in your mail order business:
On your word processor or computer, type a STANDARD letter about
your company. It should say something like: "We would like to
introduce our company to you. We are business professionals who are
interested in providing our customers with the very best service
available. We'll do our utmost to guarantee your satisfaction and
repeat business. Enclosed are some offers for your consideration.
They have been especially selected for you and your interests. If
you don't see what you're looking for _ please take the time to
write and let us know what we can do for you. We'd love to hear from
you today."
Now, the next time you get a BIG MAIL or other materials that you might
normally throw in the trash, you could mail your offers to these people. It
only costs a 32c stamp and who knows, they might send you $1 million dollars
worth of business over the next few years!
Keep a list of all the mail order publishers you come across. Then, if you
ever move or introduce a new product to the market, you could send them a
short Press Release. This works! Publishers are always looking for news to
pass along to their readers.
Give something away FREE for every order placed (depending on the amount
of the order.) You might even want to give the customer a choice of the free
items he/she can obtain free for every order over $10, $25, $50 and $100.
And instead of 50% off, offer DOUBLE the order. (For instance, instead of
50% off an order of 250 printed circulars - say that you'll DOUBLE the order
to 500 FREE.)
