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Many, if not all, of us have had at least a FEW sales. Whether these sales came as a result of friends and family seeing our products and wanting them for their own occasions, or we have shown coworkers our stuff and they've ordered, I believe that just about everyone has had some degree of success in making sales.
That said, why aren't you building on those past experiences to lead to even more sales? More sales = more money. Isn't that why you're doing this in the first place, to make more money? If you're a hobbyist, then you probably should take this with a grain of salt, as you're not trying to make a living from your candy wrapping. However, if you start seeing a few orders from friends, family and extended acquaintances, you may just change your mind and go full force into trying to build a business.
First off, you have to be excited about your products and services. If you aren't enthusiastic about them, why would anyone else want to buy them? Here's an example:
"What do you do for a living?"
::Well, I make candy wrappers with pictures on them for birthdays and weddings. It's neat stuff, but I'm just starting out so I don't know where it might lead:
Um.... YAWN.
Try this:
"What do you do for a living?"
:: I own and operate a small business that provides unique personalized candy wrappers and favors for events and occasions of all kinds. Some of the newest product designs I have are really fantastic. Not to mention, you're getting candy with your greeting. How cool is that? Here's one of my mintbook business cards, just to give you an example of what I do:
Who would YOU buy from?
But I'm not a salesperson. Yes, you are. Really.
How can I be so sure? EVERYONE is a salesperson to some degree already. When you interview for a job, what are you really doing? You're selling yourself, your talents and your potential value to the would-be employer. When you try out for a play or sports team, you're selling your talents and abilities.
Translate THOSE past successes into becoming a better salesperson for your business and products! Take the time RIGHT NOW to sit down and draft a list of what makes your products unique, what gives them value over a greeting card or other standard party favor, and how they will benefit your potential customer should they choose to buy them. Give this some serious thought, you'll be amazed at how many "PROS" you can come up with.
Now, if you're trying to sell to a business client, think hard about the questions they are going to want answers to. "How will this increase my revenues? How will this help me gain more business? Why shouldn't I stick with my boring old business cards?" Don't give COST any consideration at all. If you have to sell based on lowest pricing, you don't want that sale anyway. You're offering a quality product at a fair price that will help your business customer gain more clients and/or sales. Think VALUE not COST.
Take a little time to think it over, then sit down and draft a letter of introduction. Don't bother telling your prospective client that "My company is the best in the field at candy wrapper products". Why should they care? Chances are, they won't. Instead, introduce yourself and your business briefly, then get right into the benefits THEY will see by purchasing and using your products in their businesses.
Example:
Dear Sir/Madam (It's best to have a REAL Name)
Let me introduce myself, my name is Joe Shmoe with XYZ Wrappers and More. We're a company dedicated to providing businesses with promotional products that are definitely in good taste.
We design and manufacture custom wrapped candy products such as Hershey's Chocolate bars, mint books, lollipops, and so much more. If you want to help make your business stand above the crowd, there's no better way to do so than with a little sweet treat.
By using our custom candy wrapped products, you will definitely get noticed and stay on the top of your prospective customers' lists. How many business cards have you been handed in the last year? And how many do you honestly bother going through to find someone's name? Probably not too many. Why? Because business cards are all the same size, and generally get stuffed into a desk never to see the light of day again. What if you could pass out your business contact information in a way that deters your prospect from cramming it in their pocket and ultimately forgotten about?
By using our products, you're not only getting your information into their hands, but also their stomachs. Give somebody something they can snack on and they're more likely to remember YOU before they remember your competition.
yada yada yada.... this is where you offer to work up a sample for them free of charge. and end the letter.
Also - consider doing some craft shows, bridal fairs, baby expos, ANYTHING that will allow you to put your products in people's faces! Get your name out there and give them a reason to remember you for their next event. Costs to attend such shows range from as little as $25 upwards of $500. Start small, learn from your first few efforts and then shoot for the bigger shows.
Bring plenty of business card samples and get them in people's hands! If they inquire about something you've brought to sell or simply display, stick a mint book in their hand and begin telling them how you can custom create a product suited particularly for their event.
You don't have to SELL yourself, you merely have to give them a reason to BUY from you. Don't make your main selling point about price, you'll only wind up losing out on that deal anyway. Point out the possibilities for weddings, and showers, and birthdays, etc..
What I'm getting at here, is you can't just start a business and hope that people will come looking for YOU. You have to go hunting them down any way you can if you plan to succeed.
It's a slow process most of the time, and occasionally you will hit a wall where you feel like you just aren't going to have any success whatsoever. That's when you have to back up a step, regroup and run headfirst back into it. Don't give up because you aren't immediately successful. Take some time to reflect on what you've been doing, ask others for advice, and try to build on your smallest successes.
Eventually, you'll be busier than you ever imagined, and you'll have a solid, stable business that you can run for however long you're willing and able.
Persistence pays off. Now GO GET 'EM!
This article was written and published by William French owner and operator of
http://www.crazy-software.com. We offer personalized gift making software with FREE trials!
You have permission to copy this entire article with reprint rights. The Bio section must remain intact with all links working.
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