At the time I was your average enterprising computer tech/sales guy. Selling one computer a month was good enough to keep my business afloat as I was making enough to barely make it over the break-even mark in my quest to money in Zimbabwe.
The order of the day my colleagues and I followed was to post ads in the local newspaper and simply hope we got phone calls. Today that is known as hope strategy and it does not work!
Wanting more out of life, I began to focus on understanding my market. I realized most people used computers strictly within the scope of their work due to limited computer knowledge. However, the desire to use them beyond that realm was clearly there.
Trust was something hard to come by in my city at that time so it was normal for entrepreneurs to be perceived as shady characters, I was not spared but I was determined to change that.
Within a week of studying my market, I came up with a strategy. My idea was to offer computer support for free over the phone. Building and repairing computers 18 hours a day over 5 years left me well versed in how computers operate, so this was something I could do with my eyes closed.
My free telephone service ads were an instant hit as I got a number of calls from people who needed assistance. This free service didn’t interrupt my daily work as I simply used a bluetooth headset to talk to my callers while I worked on my computers. My callers greatly appreciated this service, apart from it being free, it was very convenient.
Within the first week some of my callers began ordering computer parts and other I.T. services from my business, simply because they trusted me. I charged 45% more than all the other businesses in my city but because they all trusted me and found my service valuable, they didn’t mind. These are the kind of customers I was looking for and I got them! Due to the fact that I was the only one providing this free service, this catapulted my business to a level where I was now selling at least ten machines, several batches of computer parts and doing at least 10 major computer servicing jobs a month.
My big break came when I got a contract with a large conglomerate that supported entrepreneurs as part of its social program. Every month for one year they ordered a minimum of 20 computers for each of their offices throughout Zimbabwe and Botswana. Each order was a minimum of 10k USD.
All this began by taking some time to analyze my target market and putting my target market’s needs before mine. From there it was simply a matter of addressing their needs while commercializing the relationships I had built with my callers. Following this same process has helped me build my website development business along with my lead generation business.
If you need help getting your ideas off the ground or developing strategies for your business, you are welcome to contact us for complimentary tips or comprehensive assistance.
