So, What's Your Master Plan?
by
Stuart Halpryn
© copyright 2005 NetActivated.Com
all rights reserved
Okay,
you want to run your own online business, you've looked
over the criteria on my previous page (http://netactivated.com/criteria.htm)
and don't know what to do next. You need to get Net Activated
and develop your Master Plan
-
What's
your 'Target Market'? -
One of the biggest mistakes
that a beginner can make is to try and sell 'everything'.
All of a sudden you find that you're heading in
a million different directions at once, with no
time to pick one to concentrate on and develop
correctly.
Pick a 'niche', at least in the beginning. You
might not want to make it too narrow a niche,
like selling only right-threaded widgits, unless
you have a product that has an incredible appeal,
or one that you have a captive audience for.
For
example, you might market auto parts. It's sufficiently
broad-based to capture a wide appeal - hey everyone
has a car, right? You wouldn't want to start out,
however, selling auto parts, electronics &
groceries, would you? They just don't go together.
There's no common thread.
When
you look for your niche, keep in mind that there
are basically 3 ways to earn your income;
a) one time only sale - for example,
selling your right-handed widgits may only happen
once per customer
b) residual income - is when you
sell a service or something that requires a 'renewal'
of sorts. Some examples might be web hosting,
or long distance telephone services. In other
words, they 'buy' once, and keep paying for it
as they continue to use it.
c) multiple sales - a grocery or
auto parts store would be great examples. They
have a myriad of different products (with a common
thread), and they'll keep coming back you for
more (assuming that you follow #3a,b & c below).
So which way do you want to earn your income?
While (b) & (c) would seem, at first glance,
to be the way to go, that may not be true. While
there are some out there that state that making
a one-time sale is 'worthless', I'm here to tell
you that I strongly disagree. If every household
in the U.S. needs, or will need a widgit, and
yours is the best available at an incredible price,
then you'd have a captive market, right? The same
might apply if you start selling a new & improved
widget.
Which ever way you choose, it's going to take
work to get it going, and it doesn't stop there.
The building process is always an ongoing one.
I've seen a lot of people build themselves a real
nice residual income, then rest on their heels
because they thought that they had it made. Unfortunately,
they forgot to take into account that sometimes
customers think that they'll get a better deal
elsewhere, some forgot to pay, some just decided
that they didn't need the service any more - and
boom, all of a sudden that steady mailbox money
income dwindled to nothing. So be prepared to
work. After all, it is your business that you're
building, not an employers!
- Try
to pick a niche that you're familiar with and enjoy
-
Why?
Frankly speaking, being familiar with what you're
planning to sell will cut your learning curve time
down (which means you'll be able to start making
money sooner), and if it's something that you like,
you'll be more likely to stick with it, and put
in the time and work needed to get it off the ground.
Remember, no matter what you've heard elsewhere,
starting up an online business is work, lots of
it. So you might as well be doing something that
you enjoy!
- Be
sure that you're providing a real service or product(s)
-
The whole purposer of your
business should be to create more business. Sounds
simple huh? Well it will be if you provide;
a) a real
service or product
b) good customer service
c) follow up on your sales
d) always under-promise & over-deliver
Too many people nowadays are looking for the 'quick
fix' and are making their money by scamming their
clients. While in their minds, they're getting those
quick bucks, all they've built is a reputation of
dishonesty, which sooner or later comes back to
haunt them (whether or not you believe in karma,
everything in this world has a way of evening out!),
and when the money's gone, they have to start it
all over again. A business built on a solid foundation
is one that if properly run, will last for a good
long time.
- You
have to 'Reach' your target market
-
So you decided that you want
to sell widgits, or was it auto parts? Now how are
you going to get the word out to everyone that might
use them? The old saying is that 'it takes money
to make money' certainly applies, BUT, we can do
what we can to minimize the amount that we're spending.
One of the nice things about the internet is that
you have access to a potential client base that's
literally world-wide. You're no longer limited to
your local area to find customers - or vendors of
your product(s). Another benefit is that there's
tons of 'free' ways to advertise. Now I'm a firm
believer in letting your business pay for it's own
growth, so if I were in your shoes, I'd start with
the free and lower cost forms of advertising, then,
as your business builds, consider other forms of
getting your name out there. We'll discuss advertising
in more depth in later issues.
- Make
them 'Customers for Life'
-
Whether you sell one product,
or many, always make sure that they leave a satisfied
client. Satisfied customers/clients tell others
that might use your service or product, they give
you testimonials, they come back to you when they
need your help again, or to get that new & improved
widget that you now carry, or even the new flange
that makes it work even better.
So it doesn't matter if ou're selling one product
or service, or many, the sale doesn't end when they
walk out the door.(see #3b & c) Make sure that
you get their contact info and keep in touch with
them. Contact them periodically, thank them for
their business and ASK them for the referral (this
is another topic that we'll want to explore in greater
depth). Keep them up to date on what's happening
in the world of widgits. If they need you to do
something for them, then refer to #3d, under-promise
& over-deliver. If you 'think' that you can
get them what they need in 3 days, promise them
by the end of the week. If you do deliver in 3 days
- they'll love you for it. Just make sure that you
never promise something that you have no way of
fulfilling.
Real customer service used to be the rule of thumb
in the 'old days', but many over the years have
forgotten what it really means. Imagine my surprise
when I bought a new mattress last year and that
evening I got a call from the owners wife, thanking
me for my business. I could talk on this subject
forever, so I think I'll leave that for another
discussion at another time. Suffice it to say that
if a customer purchases something from you, they're
doing it to solve a problem that they have, or to
fill a need, so do what you can to help them &
make them a customer for life.
Remember,
a 'biz-op' is a business opportunity, your business,
your opportunity. You run it just like a real business,
because it is a real business, and your opportunity
to earn an income online.
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Together,
let's make 2005 the BEST year you've ever had!
Stuart Halpryn is the President
of the Web Design and Developers Association (http://wdda.org),
the largest International Association of Internet Professionals,
is the owner of a very successful web hosting company, First
Stop Hosting (http://firststophosting.com
- since 1996) and is a well seasoned veteran & national
trainer from the MLM/Network Marketing arena.
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- visit http://netactivated.com
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