Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

Hello everyone,

I am re-tuning my entrepreneurship plans to just be an independent rep for other three other lines, kind of like an Avon, but with a lot of flexibility in my marketing etc...  If I will have about $200 a month, starting in September for this, and my products are higher end, what is my best strategy for marketing, would it be direct mailing?  Advice appreciated. 

Hhhmmmm...many of us are in this same budget boat.  Here are some ideas:

• direct mail may work if you invest in a mailer up front and send out as many pieces as you can afford until reaching the $200.  These typically run much higher than $200 though.
• Personal letters - write a one-page introductory letter to a mailing list explaining the unique benefits of your 3 lines.  Direct customers to a website to learn more, or to your phone number for immediate service.
  
• PR - cultivate relationships with reporters that cover your type of products and customer base, and offer to be an expert for any future articles they are writing.  No hard costs to this except your time and maybe some telephone tolls.
• Email campaign - buy a list from a reputable list broker and send emails explaining the benefits of your line and how to contact you.
• Donate $50 a month to an active charity in your community that hosts regular events where you can set up a table and share information about your lines.
• Network by joining a few business organizations and tell everyone what you do.
  

Best of luck!
1

Our marketing budget is also considerably small.  I run a chiropractic office and personal training studio, and in order to get the word out that we exist (which at this point seems to be enough, there doesn`t seem to be a need to establish that we are "the best"), we have done the personal letters directly to the specific groups that we want to target. That has worked alright, we also have done promotional postcards on the street which also got us lots of unique visitors to our website and several phone calls.  The best thing seems to be just being out there and meeting people.  You never know who you will meet!  The people that have been most influential in our business I met while walking around town and in situations not specifically designed for networking.


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Brandon
De Novo Pittsburgh Chiropractic & Health
Treating Pittsburgh`s Athletes
www.denovopittsburgh.com

$200 is small when you consider all of the marketing options, but it can be a lot of product.

I helped out several Mary Kay sales people, and one of the most effective ways to market was free products.

This will require you to do quite a bit of networking, but instead of pushing people to buy products or have shows, query their interest, and if you see some possible profit in them, offer them a free product. Mary Kay had samples, but that is telling someone they are not worth much. Give them a full product to try and you will have a lot more potential.



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Nate Stockard is the owner of Stockard & Associates, Inc. and provides design and marketing solutions for small businesses. He is also the author of The Market Seedling, which offers articles, information, advice, and tips on small business marketing and design.