"A Couple More Business Ideas..."

A few more ideas on starting your business from scratch.

Again, let me know of any ideas you come up with and feel free to modify the ideas I'm posting.

Sorry for repeating myself, but you'll make your life easier if you'll first write a sales letter for your services.

From that one, long letter, you can draw material for all other forms of presentation -- phone, face-to-face, flier, short copy letter, brochure, etc.

The process of writing the letter will 'force' you to think through every aspect of your business.

Too, it'll help you anticipate questions, objections and flotsam, so you're not taken by surprise when talking with prospects. You can relax a little.

Finally, know that you can tie an order blank to a dog's tail, set him out on a corner and someone will eventually come along and sign on the dotted line.

Idea #1: Bang the phone.

Idea #2: Visit a large office building. Scan the building directory. Write a verbal pitch and a leave-behind sales piece tuned to the tennants. Visit every office.

If you're unsure of how to gear your language, visit your library or book store and pick up some books on selling to whatever group most closely matches the tennants -- your prospects.

Yes, I know these activities suck from first-hand experience.

Some of you may remember my post telling you about the summer I spent selling residential fire extinguishers door-to-door.

The product was superiour to anything else on the market. But there was this small problem in demo-ing them, though.

I'd knock on a door, strike up a conversation and ultimately ask if I could show Ms. Homeowner the most effective tool in existence for safeguarding her family, home and hearth, against fire.

Once inside, I'd further engage her in chat ('patter'). While talking, I'd pull a frying pan from my catalog case, a can of lighter fluid and a box of stick matches.

After squirting some flammable fluid in the pan, I'd pull a match from the box, hand the box and match to Ms. Homeowner and while pointing, command her to strike the match and throw it in the pan.

She unfailingly complied.

All of this pitching was delivered as if I were saying: "Nice day out there", instead of "Let's build a large open fire in the middle of your living room".

Which we did.

Now that I had her full attention with some assistance from the eminent threat of a conflagration, I would tap the top of the extinguisher and instantaneously douse the fire with a colorless, odorless, nontoxic gas.

"It's so safe you can spray it on food, then eat it without concern for your family's health. And so clean ... well, as you can plainly see, there's nothing to clean up".

I gained a new and deeper appreciation for luck that summer.

I hope this story makes your job a little easier.

--Peter

Comments

[Robert]

"It's so safe you can spray it on food, then eat it without concern for your family's health."

This phrase triggered a great flashback for me...

I worked at a dive shop during the summers in high school and college. Once a guy came in off the street selling a new miracle cleaner. He was finding spots (easy in this dive shop) spraying the cleaner on and wiping them up for his demo.

At one point he said, "This is so safe you can even swallow it."

Hmm... I said, "Really? Swallow some." He looked at us and gamely opened his mouth and spayed a bunch of it into his mouth. Bummer. He started gasping and holding his throat. Then he ran for the door and threw up out in the parking lot.

Dang that was a good memory - thanks for triggering it.

[Copywriter, Peter Stone]

Robert,

That's very, very funny!

Probably so, because while reading I kept thinking, "That coulda been me".

--Peter