1. For my first interview, I talked to my boss. He knows how to market and sell products. He gave me great advice for selling products on college campuses. He told me that the key to selling is knowing your product and being indifferent when doing it. If you show indifference, the customer won't feel pressured to make a decision and will therefore buy the product if they "like it, like you, and think it's a good deal," according to my boss. My boss said he would even help me if I had any problems and questions about anything. He is a great guy and I am glad I got to tell him about my idea.
2. For my second interview, I talked to a person at a market who had their own business of getting the word out there to people about saving the Earth. This guy promotes his products at markets and sells reusable grocery bags that wrap up in a small ball and can be used for anything. He also had his company logo on them. I told him about my idea and he gave me some advice. He told me to not give up because there are always people who will tell you no. He explained his business model to me and how he started it and I believe it will benefit me if I do want to open up this business.
3. The third person I interviewed was my Human Resources director at my job. Katherine deals with inventory and supply for our products that we sell. I asked her who she gets the supplies from and if the company pays a percentage from the inventory that the company sells. She told me that they get the supplies directly from the vendors and they do have to pay them a percentage of the products that they sell. She gave me great advice on how to work with inventory and what to do if something is damaged. I learned a lot and will definitely use her advice.
Overall, I've had to network a lot for my job. I've called top business owners in the same business model to get advice from them. This networking experience was fun and I got some great advice for my business.
The three people you interviewed were rightly chosen. Every part of the assignment is completed. In my own opinion, I believe that the person from the market who gave you the interview could have told done a better job at giving you advices. his ' Never give up " advice is just a general advice but he should have given you deeper advices specific to your field that he knows so well. Besides that, I liked the other interviews and you did a great job overall !
ReplyDeleteThe people you contacted all provided you with good information and advice. An easy way to sell your products and market your business idea is to get a booth at a local farmer's market or art show. Even if people don't buy a lot, you'd definitely get a ton of foot traffic. Being able to network is an important skill to have when creating a business, and you demonstrated your abilities with this assignment. Great post!
ReplyDeleteAll of the people you interviewed offered good advice, but I did have some disagreement with your boss. Although you don't want to pressure consumers into buying something, I don't think being indifferent is the best strategy. College-age students are driven by emotion and impulse more often than logic, therefore it is critical to show passion about your product or service. Katherine gave you some good general advice regarding inventory and working with wholesalers. If you are looking to sell products, you will spend a lot of time dealing with manufacturers and wholesalers to bring products to market. I think your best location to start would be at local farmers markets where the audience is willing to listen.
ReplyDeleteHi Monica! I think its great that you were able to network within your job. I recently started a job this semester and am getting to know my coworkers more in hopes of doing the same one day. I agree with your boss that its important to make your product stand out and emphasize its uniqueness because there are so many things to spend money on now a days and plenty of opportunities for advertisements.
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