Hello;

I have been reading from this nice forum off and on
for awhile now. I can see some of you are a pretty tight
knit group.

I agree that "doing" is the key to success, not that
every action will bring immediate success, but learning
through failure is success too!

I have been doing tons of reading about marketing
online AND offline and many business folks say that the
product isn't the first thing to start with, meaning you
can't take a product, which you may think is the best in
the world and build a business around it, without first
establishing many other elements.

Especially in this day and age...just how many flyers
can one person read in a day. We are bombarded with
perhaps 3,000 ads a day (TV, radio, billboards, internet,
newspaper, bulletin boards). What is going to make your
flyer, (product) more interesting than the other 2,999?
And since we are inclined to think "if I just make it
flashier, catchier, more "grabbing", maybe it will get
noticed. So what we see, (and get more numb to) is
flashier, grabbier graphics...bigger letters, more
striking words... just how much can one brain take?

I liked the story about the encyclopedia lady...she
had a very good strategy. All of Michael's points in his
reply are great things to remember.

One of the main points I am learning is that building
a relationship with people is the first step toward being
the one they "will" come to if and when they need or want
your product. Your idea of getting people together at the
library is good, but you must put the idea of selling
something behind you. Nothing will make people trust you
less than using the bait and switch tactic. Your
relationship with people is the "added value" to the
product(s) you sell.

Just think of where you shop, and then think about
why you shop there. If you absolutely hate the
environment and the people, you will not shop there even
if what you want is $5 cheaper there, because they have
actually subtracted value from your experience.
Why do we go out for dinner and spend more than we know
the food costs? Because we have such a good experience and
(someone else does the dishes) Get to be known in your
neigborhood as (Boyd, the walking, talking, smiling guy
who can find anything you need, for a good price, and
bring it right to your door) The part that might be
lacking after that is customer service for the product in
case there are problems with it or they don't want it
afterall....customer service is really a struggle these
days....

Networking will take longer, but in the long run,
when people know you and trust you, and you are the one
they want to buy something from, you will see the
benefits of taking the time to build relationships.

Regards,
Michelle