How can I sell my products?

Whatever your business is, you'll need to make people aware of it, especially in the early stages as you're getting started. Word of mouth is the cheapest and easiest way - tell all your friends and family and get them to tell their friends. Ask your customers to tell their friends about you - give them a discount, upgrade or extra for recommending someone.

Online

The more 'niche' or exclusive that your product or service is, then the better it will generally sell online.

People are much more likely to take the added perceived risk of buying online if the product is unusual or hard to source especially if you have taken the trouble to set up a secure online shop ( there are lots of simple solutions to doing this - you'll be surprised how easy it is!).

If you're offering a service then create a website to give potential customers an idea of an idea of the prices and services you provide.

Make it as informative as you can and give as many prices as possible - one thing that's guaranteed to make potential customers move on is an amateur-looking website with no contact information and no idea of what things will cost them.

Have a dedicated phoneline or mobile for the business and answer it professionally - Write a script and practice with your friends if you need to untill you sound confident. Even something simple like

'Good Morning, work at home website. How can I help you?'

sets the conversation off on a professional footing and makes it more likely that you'll get the work!

If business levels allow, don't forget that there are also a wide range of answering services available to take calls on your behalf and forward messages to you.

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Offline

If you want to sell locally, then there a number of options - choose the methods that will suit your product best.

Car Boot Sales.

These are cheap to enter and can be a great way of testing the market, especially with low -ticket items.

Weekly Markets.

A weekly market is a step up from a car boot sale and can help you get established as a regular business. Find out about them from your local council or ask around at the market itself. Renting a stall in a busy market can get you a lot of passing trade for a low outlay.

Craft Markets and fairs.

If you are selling crafts or gifts, then a craft market can put you in touch with the right customer base. Again, you can find out about them from your council or by asking around at the market.

Renting a stall at an event.

Search for events in your area or which you think you could sell at and contact the organisers. Many events have opportunities for stallholders ranging from food sales to crafts and goods related to the event. Many specialist suppliers do a good proportion of their business at events - for example militaria suppliers at military re-enactments, equestrian suppliers at horse shows etc. Even a general event like a summer fete can be worth attending if you have the right product.

Talk to local shops and galleries about buying your stuff or selling it on commission.

Don't be shy about calling in to local shops and galleries with a sample of your wares. If your product is saleable, you can often do a deal with a local shop to offer your stuff on a sale-or-return or commission basis. Don't be too ambitious to start off with and be willing to negotiate on pricing and percentages.

Tell everyone you meet.

Self-explanatory! Sell your business to your friends and family and ask them to tell their friends and family too. Hand out flyers and business cards.

Classified ads in your local magazine and free newspaper.

Advertising in your local paper can be a lot cheaper than you think, ask for a discount for more than one insertion and don't forget that parish magazines, neighbourhood and district magazines and school newsletter can offer a cheap way of getting your message across.

Leaflets and cards in local shops, newsagents etc.

Put cards up in your local shops and newsagent. Many supermarkets now offer boards where local tradespeople can put up business cards or adverts.

Distribute leaflets.

Printing costs have come down and down over the past few years and the process of designing a leaflet of poster is much easier using a computer. Most printers will help you with advice on producing a professional-looking leaflet or will even include design in the costing. Always get someone else to proof read the leaflet before you go to print.