Getting Funds Through Getting to the Consumer

Last Thursday I was at a Small Business Administration (SBA) class on how to get loans from banks and lenders offering SBA loans. At least that's what I thought the class was about. 

Unfortunately when some of the reps of a few banks went out there, things didn't go as planned. They were talking about how they weren't going to lend money to small businesses because of they don't trust them, it's not making the banks much money from offering small loans, and because of the economic slump. Small business owners at the class were not too happy. 

I didn't look at being at that class as a waste of my time or money. I looked at it as confirmation. Confirmation that banks and lenders are not going to lend to start up small businesses that don't have income coming in. At this point small businesses can't rely on banks and SBA lenders to lend the funds. They have to get the funds on their own.

My plan to do that is simple, getting the product to the consumer. We have free samples of our Pure'ity hair care products. Through offering samples, getting contact info of people who try the product, and through countless following up, we plan on getting prospects to because brand loyalists. 

If you're a small business owner, and you offer a product or service that has great benefits and a competitive advantage, it's time to start showing people why they should be using your product or service instead of a different company. Remember you are your most effective marketing weapon. Your time and energy you put into getting prospects converted into customers is important. You have to have that drive to succeed, and go out of your comfort zone. 

Don't have a lot of time to do it all yourself? Start considering hiring independent sales reps. Independent sales reps will help sell your product or service. The benefit is that since they're not an employee of your company, you don't have to pay employee compensation, unemployment, or health care expenses when hiring them. You just pay them the commission amount they receive for every sale they make. 

One last tip, do not cut back on your marketing. Without marketing, you'll have no prospects that'll know about you. If you're a small business and been in business for awhile, cut back on expenses that you don't need. For example, if you don't have customers calling in much for service, it'd be time to downsize your customer service department. The strength of your marketing determines the strength of your profits at the end.