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Sales
Tips for the Home Based Business
Working out of the home
often means juggling multiple tasks and wearing many
hats. But look out. When there is so much to do that
there is little time left over for sales and marketing
activity, sales can dry up and often do. Here are some
ways to avoid that.
1. Monthly Focus – Each
month, grab your calendar and see which holidays are
coming up. Then focus some type of activity around them.
At least minimally, setup a direct mail campaign through
the U.S. Post Office site (usps.com) in these quick
steps:
Choose one of their postcards.
With their online tools, edit the back
with a quick note, sale of some type & referral
request.
Load an Excel document of addresses,
pay and send.
2. Ad Campaign - Plan ahead with
advertising representatives by gathering their media
kits and asking about special deals or rates they may
have for you. Then follow up and plan a 12- to 16-month
campaign, even if it’s just a small classified
that runs regularly. That way you’ll always be
covered whether you’re too busy to care or not.
You can always supplement with cross-promotional pieces.
But at least, set up a foundation to get you through
the year.
For inexpensive ads to run throughout
the year, check out neighborhood newspapers and free
or cheap magazines and papers that are placed inside
public libraries, large grocery stores and country-type
restaurants. PennySavers and Thrifty Ads are other sources.
3. Regular Income Stream - Don’t
just have all large projects. Set up a few (or several,
depending upon your budget needs) smaller, regular income-producing
projects to generate weekly / monthly income. And maintain
a steady flow as much as possible. In other words, if
five regular, smaller jobs pay the day-to-day bills,
once one of them quits or runs out of work for you,
replace it as soon as possible so that you maintain
your steady ‘five’ as much as possible.
Some people setup affiliate programs
in this manner; selling something for someone else and
earning a percentage or profit for selling. They target
so much income from one source of revenue stream to
cover a certain portion of expenses. And if this runs
out of steam, they beef up promotions or switch to another
affiliate program. Learn more about affiliate options
from a place like Commission Junction (cj.com). Or in
your favorite search engine, type in ‘affiliate
programs’ and see which ones are popular.
So when you juggle, remember to mix
in SOME type of regular sales and income generating
opportunities. You don’t drop the ball!
1howto.com
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