Author: Stephen John Anderson
Source: ezinearticles.com

Have you often wondered how hard it is to start up a new business in Direct Sales and Services on the Internet? Is there an easier way and faster way to get there? The following are some basic rules which are necessary to keep your business growing to plan. For every hour spent researching and learning about these basic rules, it will save many thousands of hours later getting the business back on course. It will be a step in the right direction to be one of the 5% who will prosper in their business after five years. The statistics show that within 5 years of start up, 95% of all small businesses will fail. The rules to follow which will help your business be one of the 5% are:

What are the rules of starting up a new business in Direct Sales on the Internet?
Step 1. Find a coach or mentor who can provide firm guidance and avoidance of the pitfalls.
Step 2. Find a network of peers in similar industries which you can consult with.
Step 3. Find a Market. In other words, find what people are willing to pay for, and find a profitable niche in providing these products or services.
Step 4. Ensure that the customer is made to feel that they are appreciated and welcomed.
Step 5. Always learn from the customers, how your services or products can be altered to suit the customers’ needs.
Step 6. Be very persistent.

Let us expand on these steps with a brief description of each.
Step 1. How does one know where to start in this business? Let’s take a step back and look at an allegory to starting a business.

You look for something that you really enjoy doing. Let us say for this example it is flying. If you wish to fly like a bird, what do you do first? Build an oversize kite and try to lift off? If that doesn’t work, then find a higher structure to jump from?

An easier and safer solution would be to find someone who is already flying like a bird, using a pretested and expertly built kite or hang glider. Ask them how they learnt to fly and what the biggest challenges they faced were. Use their recommendation to find a good instructor, purchase a high quality hang glider and enjoy the sport.
Who are the best people to ask about the Direct Selling on the internet? There are many private Marketers who have learnt from the school of hard knocks. Some of these have used their experience to create on line courses to help new starters and existing Marketers to improve on their skills.

Where can a person find out about the on line courses? The quickest way would be to do a Google search for Online Internet marketing courses. There are many to choose from and further searches can help identify the history of the course developer and find one that is suited to your requirements.

Look for someone who has been in Internet Marketing for over five years and has run their business on the internet full time. Over 95% of all new small businesses fail within 5 years. The people who will have the most to offer are those who have done the hard yards (in the trenches) and watched over and invested their money wisely in their business.

Why do we need to go to this all of this trouble? Yes it would be easier to take the first advice given by the first “expert” we meet or just go and do it and learn as you go along. But after all it is your time and money being invested, so why not aim to keep your time and money invested to a minimum. Seek out advice from a person who has the results to prove his advice is sound. Beware of the expert who has gained their knowledge from books and have not the practical experience. There is a saying that it takes five years to gain five years of practical experience.

A good coach or mentor is someone who knows when things are going wrong and alerts you to the correct course of action immediately.

Step 2. Build a group of positive and “like minded” people to exchange ideas with. This group can be referred to as the Master Mind or Think Tank. The importance of building a harmonious support group can be compared to a flock of geese in flying formation. The goose at the lead position works the hardest and creates lift for the following geese on either side. By flying in a V formation, the flock can travel 72% further, than if they were flying alone. There are many other lessons from the geese that can be used for business. Please refer to Google for further interesting facts on “geese flying formation”

Geese honk to encourage the others flying in formation. When the leader tires, it rotates back into the formation and another goose flies in the point position. Likewise in the support group, they will support and encourage each other, and share the harder tasks.

An important effect that is progressively increased by being with the “like minded” group is that a person’s confidence, concepts, mindset, language, attitude and leadership skills are improved. As these skills amplify, his ability to achieve goals and organise teams to meet a common objective will also increase. This is what is known as growing a person’s circle of influence.

The circle of influence is also affected by only being with people that are positive and progressive. Take a close look at the five people you spend most of your time with. Is your income and attitude the same as their average income and attitude? (In most cases it is). One step to increasing your income and attitude is to pick your friends wisely.

Step 3. Find a Market. In other words, find what people are willing to pay for and find a profitable niche in providing this service.

There are many great inventions around with highly enthusiastic business owners trying to promote them. Without doing market research and finding a clientele, these great inventions will stay in their boxes.
Find a market you like servicing and also provide an angle for your niche, so as to stand out from your competition.

Step 4. Ensure that the customer is made to feel that they are appreciated and welcomed. Even with something as impersonal as the internet, it is now more important that a personal touch is added to any business transaction or inquiry. It is a well known fact that it is much easier to sell more products to an existing customer, than find new customers. Another important effect which comes from customer satisfaction is the very inexpensive, yet powerful “word of mouth” advertising media. For example, if your friend told you that the food at a highly advertised restaurant was not as good as the yummy meal at the unadvertised restaurant next door, which restaurant would you go to?

Step 5. Always learn from the customer how your service can be modified to be suit their changing needs. Some businesses may start out as high flyers with a niche markets and customers coming in to check out the new fad. When a fad or fashion changes, those who can pre-empt the change and stock up accordingly will be able to best service their clients. Continuous improvements based on customer feedback can keep the business growing, with a fresh appearance and delivering an ever improving service.

Step 6. Be persistent. Be very persistent. Image the persistence displayed when a child is learning to walk. The child will make many mistakes and lose balance. These mistakes can be viewed as learning experiences. The child’s support group expected the child to walk and always encouraged the child to give it another try and do better. Having this positive support group of “like minded” people in business is also a great boost every time we have a learning experience. They are the ones who encourage us with words of advice to give it another try and do better.

The most important of these points is to find a good coach or mentor. When this step is done with due diligence, we save more time by not having to reinvent the wheel. The Master Mind group is what provides the energy, and fine tuning to keep you going further. Market research is also essential; to ensure that the business you wish to enter will have a client base that require your products or services. Without this client base, the business is not sustainable. Customer satisfaction is paramount. Customers will pay a higher price to be recognised and spoken to kindly by the cashier. Constant improvement will ensure that the business grows and prospers. A fresh looking business helps to breed fresh ideas. Persistence is always is a characteristic that cannot be under estimated. There are many examples everyday where people have persistent against what seemed in insurmountable difficulties. Their persistence saw them through and in most cases earned them recognition as an expert in this area of their life!

Stephen Anderson is a Consultant Engineer with his own business. He has a keen interest in several topics which range from Human Potentials, Health, Coaching, and Online Marketing. Further information about Stephen Anderson, contact details, and a click by click Internet Market Business training system can be found at the following web site: http://www.sjgAnderson.com