Make it Great

Well, after reading a post about someone saying that they were feeling discouraged or like they were not going to succeed with their current business. I think we have all been there or at least know someone who has been here. I. have. been. there.

One of the things people say that I strongly disagree with is; “If you have a passion for the products, you will succeed!” I disagree totally. You need more than passion for the products and business. Passion may make you get up and go to work,talk to strangers about your products or approach businesses, but you need more than that. You have to learn how to “sell” products, what to say, how to approach people and what works. You really have to get into the potential customer’s mind. I know it sounds corny and all but it is true.

Like I have said time and time again “Working from home takes work!”

We are building businesses. This takes years for most people. So, why do we, home based bsuiness owners, expect it to take just a few months or weeks? Pateince is something we all need to aquire.

Think about this:

How many times have you walked into a store and bought nothing? Plenty of times (or at least I hope so, or you have some kind of pack rat problem…..I mean that in the kindest way )

Okay so, if 100 people have shopped in a store, actually bought something, how many people in total do you think came and didn’t buy anything? Probably 200 or even 300 dare I say 400…. Do you see where I am going with this?

I have heard people say in the first year of running a business you will spend more than you make. I agree. You will also do more work than you expected, with what looks like little profit.

Back to the store…..

Okay so 100 shoppers doesn’t seem like a whole lot of business does it? But it is. If 400 people entered that store, looked around and then left, those 400 people will probably tell someone else they know about the store, reaching 400 more people. What if this was in a 1 day period? That store reached 800 people in 1 day. That is not bad, if you ask me.

Point is, it is not about how many people buy your products or sign up with you, it is about establishing a presence. Letting people know you exist and have what they are looking for, is what it is all about in the first year.

Here are some tips to get your website or store to reach your target market:

Your store/website name:

If you sell candles , if would be wise to have a name such as “Blah Blah Candles” or “Candles for Blah Blah”. That way customers will know they are going to a site that sells candles, talks about candles or at least can direct them to candle information. This way you will know that 90% of the customers who came to your site and didn’t buy anything, didn’t leave because they didn’t know what you offered or what your site was about.

Be clear about what you offer on the home page:

If you offer candles, be clear about that on the homepage. Make sure you are not dragging the customer through the whole website, before you finally tell he customer what you offer. The homepage is not for your biography or company story. It should be all about what you sell and what variations of the products you offer and any specials you have.

Contact information:

If you don’t want a lot of emails that say “I am interested in your products!”. Don’t put your email all over the website, just put it on your contact page. Offer a place on your website for customers to ask for a catalog or sample. This way, they ask for what they want and move on. On my website, which is still under construction, I have my email,  phone number and address j/k no address. That’s all customers need. Make sure you put a link to it on your Homepage in the navigation bar.

What may also help is to ask for opinions on your website. Join forums, such as WAHM and ask the ladies on there to look at your website and critique it.

Don’t get down in the dumps, just change your approach, stay open minded. Big stores such as Wal-Mart try many different marketing strategies, so we have to as well.

This ain’t easy, but you can do it, if you want!

Thanks for reading,

Jarmelia Ladson

http://www.mbgourmetcandles.com

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