Home
Based Sales Business: Giving Your Customers What They WantYour ability to sell
consumer goods and services will factor into the success of your home
based sales business. Will you
focus on making many small sales? Do
you want to land the “big fish”? Are you looking to
accrue profits from a few but lucrative sales contracts with large
businesses? If you have a home
based sales business, you need to define your target market. More
importantly, you need to address their wants. This is crucial to making
both large and small sales. Clearly Define Your
Target Market Your target
market is your “potential customers” of your home
based sales business. They are the ones who will be inclined to
purchase your offered goods or services. Defining
your target market will require work on your part. It is imperative to
research the population of possible consumers for your product or
service. You need to know information regarding your target
market’s: - Age
- Occupation
- Location
- Sex
- Marital
or family status
- Ethnicity
- Socioeconomic
background
After collecting your data, you may have
more than one group that will be your potential clients. This is
usually the case. Only after
pinpointing your target client base can you address their wants. Do not fight a losing battle. It would be a
colossal waste of time to make a sales pitch to those who have no need
of your product or service. This is just good business sense. Expound
on the Benefits of Your Product or Service Once you have determined your target market,
you need to conceptualize how your product or service will fulfill
their wants and needs. It is
not enough to elaborate on your products outstanding features. It might
be “new”, “revolutionary” or
the best thing since sliced bread, but how will it benefit
your prospective client? By
focusing on the benefits of your product or service, you are answering
the potential client’s question, “What’s
in it for me?”. Delving Further: A
Client’s Wants and Needs
Wants and needs are often
similar. So, zeroing in on them can be difficult, but not impossible. You, as the owner of your home based sales
business, must be adept at uncovering the slight nuances between wants
and needs to assure the best possibility of a sale. For example, you may know your target market
(Stay at Home Moms) need time management tools.
Your provided service will help to meet that need. However, is it a
service Stay at Home Mom’s want? As the owner of a home based sales business, it
is imperative to transform your potential buyers’ needs into
wants. Missing the Mark I learned the value of clearly defined wants
and needs through “hands on experience”. In one of my ventures, I had identified a clear
need: natural health practitioners who worked from home and were not
able to attract enough clients. I
knew that there were many around. They also shared their problems
freely. So, I developed a
solution for their needs. It was clear to me that I had a winner. After six months, I realized that somehow I had
missed the mark. Lots of health
practitioners came to my website. They also downloaded the free report.
They even thanked me for the great information. Very few bought the training. What went wrong? I had misjudged what they
wanted. I knew their needs, but failed to deliver what they wanted.
Building Relationships is Crucial to Your Home
Based Sales Business While
producing events, I only had a few large clients. That gave me a lot of
time to spend with them. I understood exactly what they wanted. I build very personal relationships. This is very similar for small customers. The
trick is to get to know the group of your customers
as individuals. Once you see a
pattern of what they want, you grow your marketing investments. Conclusion
The ability to make a sale is
crucial to the success of your home based sales business. You not only have to define your target market,
but also their wants and needs. It
is important to note that sales are not pushing things on people, even
if you think they need them. Personal
relationships are necessary to uncover your potential buyers’
wants. This will help to insure both big and small sales.
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