Test Drive Before You Sign

You found the perfect company for your new Direct Marketing Home Based Business. You paid for your starter kit, it arrived along with your catalogs, and business supplies. You did all the right things, but nothing happened. Six months latter you are looking for a new home based business.

What went wrong? Chances are that you failed to test the market, before you signed on as a representative.

It's not enough to love the products. Products either have to have mass appeal, or appeal to a niche market. Either way, customers have to want, need and be able to afford the product.

Find out if there is demand and support for your product by test-driving the company. This can be accomplished with a survey of the people you know, your friends, neighbors, co-workers, and family members. Ask them to honestly tell you their opinions on products, price, business opportunity, and the likelihood of their becoming a customer.

Another way is to show the catalog and tell potential buyers that you are doing a catalog party. If you get enough orders to make a party that's a good sign that your area will support your business. (If it becomes a party you can do one of two things. If you still want to become a rep for that company you can sign on and turn these sales in as your first party or orders. Or, you can just be a hostess for that company and reap the benefits while you finish your research.)

If only a few people, place an order than that is a sign it might be difficult to get customers, and perhaps you should keep looking for a more promising company.

The ideal situation would be that you not only get orders, but also a request to book a party, and a request for information on becoming a Representative. This tells you that customers, hostesses, and recruits can be found fairly easily, and that this is a good product/service match for your area.

It sounds logical but too often when choosing a business it's tempting to follow the heart, and passion alone won't generate success. By test-driving your company you will gain knowledge of the opinions of potential customers, and discover how easy it will or won't be to be a successful hostess. This same approach works for companies that only do individual sales.

Successful businesses succeed because they fill a want and a need. Test-driving your business will help to make sure that the buyers in your area want and need your products and service enough to become paying customers. Research and test marketing will go a long way toward insuring a good decision and your success.

Linda Scott is busy, busy! With a background in sales and marketing as a former Sales Manager for a local paper and parenting publication, she is currently an Assistant Manager for a women's fitness center, as well as an Advisor for Ideal Gifts by Friendly Toys & Gifts.

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