Nothing happens until you sell your product. Sales is everything. You can have the best food product available for local community food markets but if you don’t learn how to sell it, all your preparations will come to naught.
Where do you begin with selling?
We’re not talking here about pushy selling, trying to force yourself and your product onto prospective customers. Instead, we are looking at creating a selling environment and experience around your product so potential customers are curious and interested to buy. This means having attractive signage at your food stand, handling queries from prospective buyers and knowing the features advantages and benefits of your product. You can better help your customers make informed buying decisions.
Selling need not be dull and uninteresting. The more fun you can create around your product, the better. You might use an attractive slogan, have a pull-up banner with the advantages and benefits of your product or even have a mascot. Think about how you are going to surround your product with a lively display.
Apart from personal selling, you also need to find the right platform for selling. What I mean by this is to do some homework and find the best local food market for your product. Although the volume of customers may not be as high as an established food market, a new startup food market may be eager for sellers and you can agree to a reasonable cost for appearing on their market.
Are there no-cost ways to sell your product?
Yes, if you have a readily available markets such as family and friends. But if you want to sell to the broader public you require selling space that you in most instances need to buy. Unless, of course, you do a deal with an existing food store seller and ask if you can use some space on their stand to test your product. The owner of the store might agree and this will give you an opportunity to get your product out into the marketplace at no cost. You can extend this idea by negotiating a fee with the store owner should you wish to continue selling your product from their stall.
Buyers have such a range of products to choose from today. They are skeptical about product claims. Make sure that your advertising or sales messages are credible, believable and authentic. Don’t make exaggerated claims. Also don’t copy what other people are doing otherwise you quickly lose your uniqueness.
Selling is about people. If you are friendly, relaxed and pleasant when selling your food product, potential buyers will gravitate to your product. People like people who treat them with respect, look after their interests and whom they can trust.
Even if you have had no prior selling experience, do your homework on your product and make sure that you use language that is positive and constructive and then let prospective buyers make up their minds whether they wish to purchase your product or not. In most cases if you have prepared yourself you will be pleasantly surprised with the number of sales you make.
