Home Business Tips

Finding Customers

In most home businesses, the owner or entrepreneur plays all the roles, such as chief executive officer, bookkeeper, secretary, and salesman. This last role is crucial since it directly causes the influx of profits. A few entrepreneurs consider hiring a couple of people to do the sales. But most home business owners knew the importance of the salesman that they play this role themselves.One of the most challenging tasks of the entrepreneur-salesman is to find new customers. An entrepreneur may make a list of people he knows and checks which of these people are inclined to purchase the products of his home business and which have the aptitude to be part of his network. But sometimes, this method is not enough.

Here are some suggestions so that the entrepreneur-salesman can find more customers.

1. Believe in the quality of the products or the services offered by the home business. There’s nothing like a sincere admiration for the products that will convince people to patronize the home business.
2. Make a profile of the “perfect customer”. Some entrepreneurs tend to believe that the product of their home business is practically for everyone. Perhaps this is true. But not all the time. Here are some things to think about:
   • If the product is expensive when compared to its alternatives, the perfect customer should belong to the higher-income bracket
   • If the product is for health and wellness, the perfect customer would be someone who values their health
3. Once a profile of the perfect customer has been made, the entrepreneur-salesman should go back to his list of acquaintances and determine which among them fits the category of “perfect customer”.
4. If the person before the entrepreneur is not the perfect customer, the entrepreneur must still talk about his product and his home business. He need not sell. His objective is to make his home business known.
5. Browse the classified ads in the local newspapers. These are “gold mines” in which the entrepreneur will find prospects who may be interested in his products. Then, he may send brochures or flyers to them.
6. Attend events like exhibits and fairs. To know when and where these will happen, the entrepreneur must invest in the local newspapers. He may join the event as an exhibitor. Or he may bring his calling cards and brochures when visiting a fair.
7. Give something for free. If the home business has products, the entrepreneur should distribute free samples and request the recipients to spread the word about the new product. If the home business provides services, such as consultation, then the entrepreneur must look into giving free advice.
8. Offer tips or referral fees to friends. The entrepreneur’s friends have other friends who may be interested in his home business.

There are billions of people in this planet. And there will always be people coming in who may become the new customers of the home business. As a salesman, the entrepreneur will need one virtue: persistence.

Small/Home Business Tips, Sales Essentials 2006-02-17 Home Business Tips