Computer company: from absolute zero to deserved success
I decided to share the experience of creating and promoting a computer company. I think some people will come in handy. Moreover, the start was from the absolute Kelvin zero. And what we have achieved and how, you can see under the cut.
One BUT: this is not a manual for those who want to cut down a lot of dough in a year. This is a description of how stubbornly, gradually and step by step we, who worked sincerely and heartily, succeeded bit by bit. Slowly but surely. We didn’t have the goal to mow, we wanted to help people. There are many subjective judgments and opinions in the text. But in no case am I teaching anyone - I just describe how it was.
So, in order not to bore you with lyrics, I give the initial data of the opening of the company:
Time: Year 2003, Ukraine.
Living: Me and another person with minimal knowledge of accounting. Since the company (private enterprise) was opened, any not-so-experienced boo will save you nerves and money in the future. Moreover, at that time many suppliers refused to work with entrepreneurs, so they had to do an emergency. Although now the situation is slightly better.
')
Then I was almost 23 years old. My skills at that time: abandoned inbound (English language), ability to assemble computers, knowledge of PHP, MYSQL, HTML, VisualBasic, VBA, outputs to suppliers; Well, the lack of any skills to solder something, "ring up", etc.
He lived with his parents, which allowed at that time not to draw extra money from the firm's cash office.
There were also a lot of acquaintances who were aware that “I was engaged in computers”.
"Business" quality: absent completely. No experience in doing business, no notorious qualities of a leader, no ability to spin and tear out earnings from other canines with fangs, no ambitions. I was and is an ordinary humble person. Also, I was not concerned about the success of corporations and did not try to imitate any corporate styles and contrived business models. And still sure that this (imitation) is evil.
Finance: 0 UAH 0 kopecks Not a spear, as they say.
Opening: The company was registered in January 2003. As the discovery happens, they have written a lot already - so I miss this moment.
1. BIRTH
Found an office in the admin building on the market. The main factor was the price. The office is not so hot, but they thought that it would save the flow of people in the market. In general, over time it became obvious that almost all the same in which place you have an office - if people need you, they will definitely come to you in droves. All thoughts about what a huge advantage a good office position gives - pseudo-theory and cheating for those who can offer nothing to customers, except for a convenient location and a beautiful interior. Although this is a separate topic, first things first.
Since they started from scratch, there was no money either. But there were acquaintances and friends. This is already a luck factor and minimal planning. For those who rotate in the IT sphere, it’s not a problem to podgadat opening of the office at the moment when some of your friends need to purchase a small batch of goods.
We did just that, earning our first $ 300. Actually, the idea was originally that, thanks to certain connections, we could be “warmed up” by certain orders. So make sure that for the first time there is someone to buy from you.
But we understood that we would not last that long. Therefore, all the forces were thrown on the so-called "promotion". Of those $ 300. $ 100 was spent on rent, and the rest on advertising. By the way, the ability to properly advertise came much later. If anyone is interested, then as a thread will share.
And now it's time for anxious waiting for calls from customers. One call a day for us was for joy.
BUT! The fact that you have no clients so far does not mean at all that the work itself is absent. It also does not mean that you can be late for work, but leave earlier, because there are no “clients”. We opened the case to deal with them. What we do. There is no limit to perfection - there is always something to improve and finish.
Waiting for people, I wrote a program for accounting and selection of orders, in which price data were automatically downloaded. I remember this because in the distant 2003, for all the companies, for some reason, they selected configurations in the Eksel file, which had 15-20 positions with drop-down lists of products. It all looked primitive and pathetic. And I am a young perky kid who knows how to program - that's what I programmed. I'm actually a fan of all sorts of chips and automation activities - you will see later.
Well, the site wrote at the same time. Nothing special, but it was.
2. YOUTH
There were very few customers: 3-5 orders of computers per month. And mostly through friends. Exits to all sorts of tenders, etc. did not have. But this was enough for rental and advertising. The competition is huge - about 80 small firms for 300 thousand people.
In this difficult time, I worked so far myself: assembly, delivery, warranty, sales. There were not many customers, and I seemed to be able to do everything without assistants. That is, the extra money to pay for someone's work, so far they have not left.
At that time, the principles of our work, which at one time became the Klondike for us, began to emerge.
Character.
Since there were few customers, it was possible to spend a lot of time on each visitor and caller, and considering that I was a philologist, it was not a problem for me to have pleasant intimate conversations with people.
In addition, by nature I am a very honest and conscientious person, so I simply couldn’t physically and psychologically cope my client. And to be honest, I had to cling to each one who came and give myself 100% trying to “satisfy” him. After all, you understand that your earnings depend only on you and there is no one else to blame.
In order not to bore, I will describe what principles we adhered to in our work. Well, what kind of bumps they came to - is a completely different conversation.
1. The customer is always right.
It must be worn on the hands. But you should never be humiliated. Dignity will be the key to your respect. Well, no need to go to extremes - each case is individual.
In fact, this motto is very dangerous - too many people understand it somehow perversely.
2. Communication. The most important feature!
No verbiage like "mother", "percents", "terabytes", etc. Communicated as simple as possible. Usually, before starting a conversation, I asked if a person is oriented in a given area in order to understand how to communicate with him. Sometimes people answer honestly, no; but more often they lie. Everyone lies. And if they are “downloaded” with superfluous information, then they will leave you dissatisfied and stay where they are done well. Therefore, the task was to relax and talk man.
Very often parents come with “knowledgeable children” or “knowledgeable” acquaintances, who sometimes carry such nonsense that their ears fade. But all of them are experts and authorities for people who can hardly distinguish a computer from a TV and are now sitting in front of you ready to spend a certain amount of money.
Redeem how a person is oriented in the matter can be simply. I asked which socket he would prefer on the motherboard. If I saw that a person is stumped, scared (after all, those sitting next to him think that he is an ass in computers even more abruptly with us), or if the answer was absurdity “Asus”, then our client is a lamer and a kettle, in other words : normal, ordinary person.
Therefore, at the time of the conversation, he becomes your girlfriend. You lead him, support him and make him feel smart and knowledgeable. God forbid it was to say that they say no, you are not fumbling, Asus is the motherboard, and I asked for sockets. For this, in due time, I could dismiss unconditionally. But even at that time I spoke on my own, and therefore, the answer was: “of course, Asusi excellent motherboards are a good choice.”
In this case, the conversation went further, in which I “led”, but in which the person felt that he himself chooses, makes decisions, and begins to believe that he really understands something. They can not say "no", any of their nonsense must be maintained and twisted in the right way, without prejudice to their nervous and tender natures. They are like children ...
Yes, and I did not sit at work in order to assert themselves at the expense of other people, demonstrating my knowledge in the field that they faced for the first time.
If a person did not understand at all and called the monitor as a computer, then a verbal correction was required all the time. After all, the mother, who decided to buy a computer for her son, needed to convey the essence of such concepts as hard drive, processor, memory, etc. You can't just say to a person, say, take this one - this is a super comp and it will suit you. People are not fools. Rather fools, but with phobias. And each of them thinks that you want to inflate them by pushing the cat in a bag at an inflated price.
I tried to create a feeling in a person that he understands the question. And here a whole set of metaphors, comparisons and tried and tested patterns already went abreast. And when a person has the illusion that he knows what he is talking about, then he easily spends money.
In general, the essence is this: to give a person to relax, to convey information in a human way, without computer jargon. There are many nuances and personal 100% developments, from which people just fall in love with you - I can write a separate article on this subject. I did not deduct all this in the marketing debris, but took it out of the seller’s difficult everyday routine. Yes, and checked thousands of times.
Well, it's worth noting that all this I did was really out of prompting to help, and not just “push”.
3. To make a person feel that he personally makes a choice.
It is very dangerous to advise the buyer to buy, for example, a monitor of a certain brand. Before these you need to probe the soil. At least to find out if there is any chance that he has covert preferences and hidden ambitions. Because if you strongly advise LG, and Samsung has a defective neighbor, then you may not have a monitor in the end. After all, the neighbor is an authority, and the “authority” justifies its purchase, they say LG garbage and everyone breaks, and Samsung rules.
Therefore, you need to ask, but what does a person know about monitors. And at the first hints on any brand - you need to cling to it and justify the desire of the buyer. In general, you need to behave like a prostitute and hold your nose to the wind.
I understand that there is a power of persuasion and arguments. But I preferred to iron on wool, but not against. I do not want to change someone's worldview and correct other people's delusions, I want to sell.
4. The desire to help, but not the desire to sell something more expensive.
I often consulted people who wanted to take a computer in another company. They came, called and asked if it was a normal configuration. I advised what to change, and they bought there.
For this category of customers the main factor was the price. They are always unreliable - they are defectors. But everyone who follows the path of a cheap product gets burned sooner or later. And then to whom they turn? To me.
The calculation, I think, is clear.
Well, it happened that a person came and was ready to pay for a computer that pulled on 1000uo. But in the end we found out that he simply had to “print” without prospects. Therefore, they sold exactly what was suitable for him - a computer for 500-600%. In this case, explaining all the nuances of the buyer.
It may seem like it hurts a business. This is not true. Finance - maybe, but not business!
5. Pricing policy.
We kept prices average. They did not dump, but they did not break either.
Those who only attract a customer with a price are doomed. Minimum margins are pulling the poor quality of service. And their customers are unreliable, they will always look for a place where it is cheaper.
6. Service.
The computer was always delivered home, turned on, and a mini-test was conducted on its use. No surcharges and additional conditions. Everything must always be delivered to the minute. Under no circumstances should you be late. The client, of course, will understand all your force makers and explanations, and then will quickly forget. But the fact that you let him down, he just will not forget.
7. Do not take the makings.
By law, a person can return a computer for 14 days. So what's the point of taking a deposit?
But the point is not to take it - it always pleasantly surprises the client and he suspects that you want to sell the product in any way. In addition, they immediately lost the feeling that they were lokan-because the whole amount so far from them.
8. Proper warranty
A simple example: a client bought a mother, the next day I brought a burned memory controller, some kind of garbage. You can argue about who is to blame for a long time, but those who have come across services know that paling is 100% not a guarantee, but accordingly it is for you. On the other hand, the client will not even be able to complain, because your rejection of the guarantee will be justified. But do we need such things?
I change my mother to a client ($ 80), explaining in passing that he is not quite right and that under the guarantee she does not go, but we will gladly replace him with a checkmate. fee.
The calculation is simple: if you refused the client, you lost him and all his relatives and acquaintances. But if he makes a replacement, then he will bring with himself a whole bunch of customers over time, who will pay back my $ 80 with interest.
There is nothing more promising than a grateful customer.
In general, a guarantee is one of the main “fears” of a client. And this need to play.
9. Trust.
Work on trust is a pseudoscientific marketing nonsense. If someone says to you that you need to increase customer loyalty and gain their trust, drive such a smart guy into the neck. You just need to do your job qualitatively, and not think of ways to increase trust. I didn't care about people's trust. Only those who want to use it for selfish purposes gain confidence.
Trust is certainly an important element, but it is a byproduct of quality work. It does not increase - it comes by itself. And anyway, the client trusts me or not, I am ready to answer any question, I was not offended by the requests to open the system engineer and show the product serials, I was not offended by the need to sometimes explain that we are not engaged, I was not offended by requests to attend the assembly. The more they did not trust me, the more I had the opportunity to show that everything was done clearly and without problems.
10. Employees
Axiom: For the sale of technology, it is better to take a linguist and train him in technical details, than to take an extra smart iron worker, and then teach him to communicate normally with people. Most of them are antisocial. Hence the conclusion: the ironworker should collect iron, and not lower your sales level.
In addition, the employee must be given at 100%. And it needs to be controlled. Your business will not be needed by anyone except for you, so do not let everything take its course. And the problem is just that many IT-shniki hang noodles on their heads, they say, how difficult it is, how difficult it is, etc., in order to perform their duties as much as possible. My advantage over the workers was that I could do everything that I was talking about myself and also show how to do it.
That is, if someone could not assemble and set up a computer in an hour and a half, and then explained that they had to install Windows and set everything up, he would get it sharply in the forehead, because everything that was required of them was checked by experience. And if I can, then the worker should be able to be even better.
Strictly speaking, with our principles - everything. As you can see, it all came down to a single task: to force the client to come back again and advise us to someone.
I repeat once again - this path is not to a quick profit, it’s all about the development of long-term benefits.
3. COURAGE.
Over time, work has become more. As acquaintances brought acquaintances, and those still acquaintances, etc.
I had to hire people and remove another office to have enough space for everyone. There is a moment: it is impossible for the incoming client to see the process of assembling the computer - it hurts their fragile mind. Assembly - in a separate room.
There is a need for strict accounting and warehouse management. I decided to study Delphi and write on it. In the half of the work I realized that I was trying to write 1C, but from scratch. Assessing the amount of work, I decided that it was not profitable. I began to search the Internet for ready-made configuration for the work of the computer. firms - no. Then they put 1C TiS - I liked everything very much. But you need to somehow update the product and prices in the database. Familiar helped drive prices in 1C. But how poorly it came out: just a copy of the price in the database, neither your markups, nor your product categories, etc. Who has worked with 1C, will understand what it is about, and who is not, he will understand when he will work "eskoy."
When I described to the programmer what I needed - they broke the price of about $ 1000. Yes, I also needed to explain how and what to implement, how to use regular expressions when parsing the price list, etc. I decided that for such money I will write everything.
The boy said - the boy did.
I mastered the language of 1C, made all the necessary changes to the database and even more. Why am I doing this? I wrote above that I am a fan of automation, because I don’t like it when routine breaks the creative process.
So the program is just a brilliant mechanism for yourself. Who worked on a small comp. firms will appreciate the merits.
1. Every hour the supplier price lists are downloaded.
2. If changes are noticed in the price, then the 1C script is run to recognize them.
3. 1C updates all the goods in its database, puts all margins on your settings.
4. 1C creates wholesale and retail ekselevskie price for the right product.
5. Prices are uploaded to the site so that you can download.
6. 1C connects to the MySQL database on the site and updates all the goods in the online store. Who worked with online stores, he knows what monstrously inconvenient ways offer to update the product developers of these stores. And this is 5 thousand positions. 1C did it in 2 minutes.
By the way, I forgot to say that before this moment I had already written a simple inet store from which we tried to trade.
This script was launched once in 2006. And it still works. Probably many at work do not even know how the data on the product is updated and where our prices come from. Everything makes the matrix.
But it got rid of the constant twitching and gave confidence that the prices and the base is always up to date. And the fact that in the internet the prices and the base are updated 4-5 times a day, and in general plunged customers into a pleasant shock.
Our efforts brought more and more fruits. We followed our principles, ideals, worked hard and made new clients.
Reap the fruits!
In 2005, we became the 10th company in terms of annual turnover among the regional firms at our supplier. In total, there were about 60 firms from the region. If you remember, at that time there were a lot of political clashes in Ukraine. In this regard, many organizations have stopped buying equipment. And at the expense of such organizations and lives a bunch of comp. firms that win tenders through rollback, through acquaintances, friends, godfathers, etc. They have come hard times. It became less orders.
And our client grew as grains on each cell of a chessboard. We did not depend on politics, on authority, on the measure, on the president. Our customers were ordinary people, among whom we won the glory of a company that you can trust, where they will talk to you, they will explain, and if we advise you need to take 100%.
According to statistics, 90-95% who call on us to consult, became our customers and bought equipment.
Our business practices and customer relationships began to bear fruit.
It began in 2006.
I wrote a cycle of almost two dozen articles that explained the principles of choosing a computer, but in human language, in the native language for people, and not in computer language. Each issue of the local newspaper went under the article. We were called, we were sent letters, thanked, asked for a copy. This increased the number of customers even more.
And now the time has come when it was possible not to give advertisements, people took us clients themselves. Earned "verbal marketing."
In late 2006, he developed a bearer discount system. That is, the turnover on the card is summed up and a discount is given depending on it. But the card is valid for anyone who presents it, regardless of whether this person took the goods before or not. This prompted customers to bring even more people - because now the discount was given. Moreover, in this way it was possible to achieve purchase prices.
2006 finished in 2nd place in terms of turnover in the region.
2007 - finished at first. And on the 4th region of 8 regions.
The average turnover of $ 80-90 thousand per month. In December, $ 110.
Already 4 large cabinets were filming and it was already very crowded. Worked 7 people. Gathered to open an office in the city center and in the suburbs.
It seems the sales went from the site. In general, were on the crest of a wave.
I received several decent offers from large Ukrainian sellers of equipment. That is, suppliers of our suppliers would like to trade with us directly. And for us it is even more favorable prices and even more customers.
2008 has become a landmark. A lot of prospects and a great desire to work.
The essence of what has been written is to show that if you strive towards something and do what you understand, everything will work out. In our country, where everyone is tired of dirt, honest people begin to attract other people to themselves. Start your business with the soul - and you will be drawn. I used to make work enjoyable. It is a pity that it is not always possible.
In several places I wrote about how I programmed some things — this is not a desire to boast, but an attempt to show that, contrary to the advice, many things need to be done by yourself. At the stage of becoming a company, you will not need software at $ 500 to count orders. Write yourself.
They say that it is bad if the director himself does everything, they say, the development of the company suffers. Do not believe! We simply were not anxious with marketing tricks and gimmicks, we didn’t bother with all sorts of actions and business contacts. Believe me, when you become something like yourself, those who you need will come to you.
By the way, I am in no way trying to promote a firm - there is nothing to promote.
Just besides a heap of positive experience, I also endured tons of negative. And now I know exactly what should not be done in my business. I did not know before. And so it happened:
2008 - the company almost came to an end.
2009 - it seems to me that she is living out the last months.
With the crisis, it is almost not connected.
Well, actually, who cares what a rake was, I can continue with another topic.
PS
Thanks mastered.
UPD1:
since many are interested in “about the rake” - I will definitely write a sequel.
One BUT: this is not a manual for those who want to cut down a lot of dough in a year. This is a description of how stubbornly, gradually and step by step we, who worked sincerely and heartily, succeeded bit by bit. Slowly but surely. We didn’t have the goal to mow, we wanted to help people. There are many subjective judgments and opinions in the text. But in no case am I teaching anyone - I just describe how it was.
So, in order not to bore you with lyrics, I give the initial data of the opening of the company:
Time: Year 2003, Ukraine.
Living: Me and another person with minimal knowledge of accounting. Since the company (private enterprise) was opened, any not-so-experienced boo will save you nerves and money in the future. Moreover, at that time many suppliers refused to work with entrepreneurs, so they had to do an emergency. Although now the situation is slightly better.
')
Then I was almost 23 years old. My skills at that time: abandoned inbound (English language), ability to assemble computers, knowledge of PHP, MYSQL, HTML, VisualBasic, VBA, outputs to suppliers; Well, the lack of any skills to solder something, "ring up", etc.
He lived with his parents, which allowed at that time not to draw extra money from the firm's cash office.
There were also a lot of acquaintances who were aware that “I was engaged in computers”.
"Business" quality: absent completely. No experience in doing business, no notorious qualities of a leader, no ability to spin and tear out earnings from other canines with fangs, no ambitions. I was and is an ordinary humble person. Also, I was not concerned about the success of corporations and did not try to imitate any corporate styles and contrived business models. And still sure that this (imitation) is evil.
Finance: 0 UAH 0 kopecks Not a spear, as they say.
Opening: The company was registered in January 2003. As the discovery happens, they have written a lot already - so I miss this moment.
1. BIRTH
Found an office in the admin building on the market. The main factor was the price. The office is not so hot, but they thought that it would save the flow of people in the market. In general, over time it became obvious that almost all the same in which place you have an office - if people need you, they will definitely come to you in droves. All thoughts about what a huge advantage a good office position gives - pseudo-theory and cheating for those who can offer nothing to customers, except for a convenient location and a beautiful interior. Although this is a separate topic, first things first.
Since they started from scratch, there was no money either. But there were acquaintances and friends. This is already a luck factor and minimal planning. For those who rotate in the IT sphere, it’s not a problem to podgadat opening of the office at the moment when some of your friends need to purchase a small batch of goods.
We did just that, earning our first $ 300. Actually, the idea was originally that, thanks to certain connections, we could be “warmed up” by certain orders. So make sure that for the first time there is someone to buy from you.
But we understood that we would not last that long. Therefore, all the forces were thrown on the so-called "promotion". Of those $ 300. $ 100 was spent on rent, and the rest on advertising. By the way, the ability to properly advertise came much later. If anyone is interested, then as a thread will share.
And now it's time for anxious waiting for calls from customers. One call a day for us was for joy.
BUT! The fact that you have no clients so far does not mean at all that the work itself is absent. It also does not mean that you can be late for work, but leave earlier, because there are no “clients”. We opened the case to deal with them. What we do. There is no limit to perfection - there is always something to improve and finish.
Waiting for people, I wrote a program for accounting and selection of orders, in which price data were automatically downloaded. I remember this because in the distant 2003, for all the companies, for some reason, they selected configurations in the Eksel file, which had 15-20 positions with drop-down lists of products. It all looked primitive and pathetic. And I am a young perky kid who knows how to program - that's what I programmed. I'm actually a fan of all sorts of chips and automation activities - you will see later.
Well, the site wrote at the same time. Nothing special, but it was.
2. YOUTH
There were very few customers: 3-5 orders of computers per month. And mostly through friends. Exits to all sorts of tenders, etc. did not have. But this was enough for rental and advertising. The competition is huge - about 80 small firms for 300 thousand people.
In this difficult time, I worked so far myself: assembly, delivery, warranty, sales. There were not many customers, and I seemed to be able to do everything without assistants. That is, the extra money to pay for someone's work, so far they have not left.
At that time, the principles of our work, which at one time became the Klondike for us, began to emerge.
Character.
Since there were few customers, it was possible to spend a lot of time on each visitor and caller, and considering that I was a philologist, it was not a problem for me to have pleasant intimate conversations with people.
In addition, by nature I am a very honest and conscientious person, so I simply couldn’t physically and psychologically cope my client. And to be honest, I had to cling to each one who came and give myself 100% trying to “satisfy” him. After all, you understand that your earnings depend only on you and there is no one else to blame.
In order not to bore, I will describe what principles we adhered to in our work. Well, what kind of bumps they came to - is a completely different conversation.
1. The customer is always right.
It must be worn on the hands. But you should never be humiliated. Dignity will be the key to your respect. Well, no need to go to extremes - each case is individual.
In fact, this motto is very dangerous - too many people understand it somehow perversely.
2. Communication. The most important feature!
No verbiage like "mother", "percents", "terabytes", etc. Communicated as simple as possible. Usually, before starting a conversation, I asked if a person is oriented in a given area in order to understand how to communicate with him. Sometimes people answer honestly, no; but more often they lie. Everyone lies. And if they are “downloaded” with superfluous information, then they will leave you dissatisfied and stay where they are done well. Therefore, the task was to relax and talk man.
Very often parents come with “knowledgeable children” or “knowledgeable” acquaintances, who sometimes carry such nonsense that their ears fade. But all of them are experts and authorities for people who can hardly distinguish a computer from a TV and are now sitting in front of you ready to spend a certain amount of money.
Redeem how a person is oriented in the matter can be simply. I asked which socket he would prefer on the motherboard. If I saw that a person is stumped, scared (after all, those sitting next to him think that he is an ass in computers even more abruptly with us), or if the answer was absurdity “Asus”, then our client is a lamer and a kettle, in other words : normal, ordinary person.
Therefore, at the time of the conversation, he becomes your girlfriend. You lead him, support him and make him feel smart and knowledgeable. God forbid it was to say that they say no, you are not fumbling, Asus is the motherboard, and I asked for sockets. For this, in due time, I could dismiss unconditionally. But even at that time I spoke on my own, and therefore, the answer was: “of course, Asusi excellent motherboards are a good choice.”
In this case, the conversation went further, in which I “led”, but in which the person felt that he himself chooses, makes decisions, and begins to believe that he really understands something. They can not say "no", any of their nonsense must be maintained and twisted in the right way, without prejudice to their nervous and tender natures. They are like children ...
Yes, and I did not sit at work in order to assert themselves at the expense of other people, demonstrating my knowledge in the field that they faced for the first time.
If a person did not understand at all and called the monitor as a computer, then a verbal correction was required all the time. After all, the mother, who decided to buy a computer for her son, needed to convey the essence of such concepts as hard drive, processor, memory, etc. You can't just say to a person, say, take this one - this is a super comp and it will suit you. People are not fools. Rather fools, but with phobias. And each of them thinks that you want to inflate them by pushing the cat in a bag at an inflated price.
I tried to create a feeling in a person that he understands the question. And here a whole set of metaphors, comparisons and tried and tested patterns already went abreast. And when a person has the illusion that he knows what he is talking about, then he easily spends money.
In general, the essence is this: to give a person to relax, to convey information in a human way, without computer jargon. There are many nuances and personal 100% developments, from which people just fall in love with you - I can write a separate article on this subject. I did not deduct all this in the marketing debris, but took it out of the seller’s difficult everyday routine. Yes, and checked thousands of times.
Well, it's worth noting that all this I did was really out of prompting to help, and not just “push”.
3. To make a person feel that he personally makes a choice.
It is very dangerous to advise the buyer to buy, for example, a monitor of a certain brand. Before these you need to probe the soil. At least to find out if there is any chance that he has covert preferences and hidden ambitions. Because if you strongly advise LG, and Samsung has a defective neighbor, then you may not have a monitor in the end. After all, the neighbor is an authority, and the “authority” justifies its purchase, they say LG garbage and everyone breaks, and Samsung rules.
Therefore, you need to ask, but what does a person know about monitors. And at the first hints on any brand - you need to cling to it and justify the desire of the buyer. In general, you need to behave like a prostitute and hold your nose to the wind.
I understand that there is a power of persuasion and arguments. But I preferred to iron on wool, but not against. I do not want to change someone's worldview and correct other people's delusions, I want to sell.
4. The desire to help, but not the desire to sell something more expensive.
I often consulted people who wanted to take a computer in another company. They came, called and asked if it was a normal configuration. I advised what to change, and they bought there.
For this category of customers the main factor was the price. They are always unreliable - they are defectors. But everyone who follows the path of a cheap product gets burned sooner or later. And then to whom they turn? To me.
The calculation, I think, is clear.
Well, it happened that a person came and was ready to pay for a computer that pulled on 1000uo. But in the end we found out that he simply had to “print” without prospects. Therefore, they sold exactly what was suitable for him - a computer for 500-600%. In this case, explaining all the nuances of the buyer.
It may seem like it hurts a business. This is not true. Finance - maybe, but not business!
5. Pricing policy.
We kept prices average. They did not dump, but they did not break either.
Those who only attract a customer with a price are doomed. Minimum margins are pulling the poor quality of service. And their customers are unreliable, they will always look for a place where it is cheaper.
6. Service.
The computer was always delivered home, turned on, and a mini-test was conducted on its use. No surcharges and additional conditions. Everything must always be delivered to the minute. Under no circumstances should you be late. The client, of course, will understand all your force makers and explanations, and then will quickly forget. But the fact that you let him down, he just will not forget.
7. Do not take the makings.
By law, a person can return a computer for 14 days. So what's the point of taking a deposit?
But the point is not to take it - it always pleasantly surprises the client and he suspects that you want to sell the product in any way. In addition, they immediately lost the feeling that they were lokan-because the whole amount so far from them.
8. Proper warranty
A simple example: a client bought a mother, the next day I brought a burned memory controller, some kind of garbage. You can argue about who is to blame for a long time, but those who have come across services know that paling is 100% not a guarantee, but accordingly it is for you. On the other hand, the client will not even be able to complain, because your rejection of the guarantee will be justified. But do we need such things?
I change my mother to a client ($ 80), explaining in passing that he is not quite right and that under the guarantee she does not go, but we will gladly replace him with a checkmate. fee.
The calculation is simple: if you refused the client, you lost him and all his relatives and acquaintances. But if he makes a replacement, then he will bring with himself a whole bunch of customers over time, who will pay back my $ 80 with interest.
There is nothing more promising than a grateful customer.
In general, a guarantee is one of the main “fears” of a client. And this need to play.
9. Trust.
Work on trust is a pseudoscientific marketing nonsense. If someone says to you that you need to increase customer loyalty and gain their trust, drive such a smart guy into the neck. You just need to do your job qualitatively, and not think of ways to increase trust. I didn't care about people's trust. Only those who want to use it for selfish purposes gain confidence.
Trust is certainly an important element, but it is a byproduct of quality work. It does not increase - it comes by itself. And anyway, the client trusts me or not, I am ready to answer any question, I was not offended by the requests to open the system engineer and show the product serials, I was not offended by the need to sometimes explain that we are not engaged, I was not offended by requests to attend the assembly. The more they did not trust me, the more I had the opportunity to show that everything was done clearly and without problems.
10. Employees
Axiom: For the sale of technology, it is better to take a linguist and train him in technical details, than to take an extra smart iron worker, and then teach him to communicate normally with people. Most of them are antisocial. Hence the conclusion: the ironworker should collect iron, and not lower your sales level.
In addition, the employee must be given at 100%. And it needs to be controlled. Your business will not be needed by anyone except for you, so do not let everything take its course. And the problem is just that many IT-shniki hang noodles on their heads, they say, how difficult it is, how difficult it is, etc., in order to perform their duties as much as possible. My advantage over the workers was that I could do everything that I was talking about myself and also show how to do it.
That is, if someone could not assemble and set up a computer in an hour and a half, and then explained that they had to install Windows and set everything up, he would get it sharply in the forehead, because everything that was required of them was checked by experience. And if I can, then the worker should be able to be even better.
Strictly speaking, with our principles - everything. As you can see, it all came down to a single task: to force the client to come back again and advise us to someone.
I repeat once again - this path is not to a quick profit, it’s all about the development of long-term benefits.
3. COURAGE.
Over time, work has become more. As acquaintances brought acquaintances, and those still acquaintances, etc.
I had to hire people and remove another office to have enough space for everyone. There is a moment: it is impossible for the incoming client to see the process of assembling the computer - it hurts their fragile mind. Assembly - in a separate room.
There is a need for strict accounting and warehouse management. I decided to study Delphi and write on it. In the half of the work I realized that I was trying to write 1C, but from scratch. Assessing the amount of work, I decided that it was not profitable. I began to search the Internet for ready-made configuration for the work of the computer. firms - no. Then they put 1C TiS - I liked everything very much. But you need to somehow update the product and prices in the database. Familiar helped drive prices in 1C. But how poorly it came out: just a copy of the price in the database, neither your markups, nor your product categories, etc. Who has worked with 1C, will understand what it is about, and who is not, he will understand when he will work "eskoy."
When I described to the programmer what I needed - they broke the price of about $ 1000. Yes, I also needed to explain how and what to implement, how to use regular expressions when parsing the price list, etc. I decided that for such money I will write everything.
The boy said - the boy did.
I mastered the language of 1C, made all the necessary changes to the database and even more. Why am I doing this? I wrote above that I am a fan of automation, because I don’t like it when routine breaks the creative process.
So the program is just a brilliant mechanism for yourself. Who worked on a small comp. firms will appreciate the merits.
1. Every hour the supplier price lists are downloaded.
2. If changes are noticed in the price, then the 1C script is run to recognize them.
3. 1C updates all the goods in its database, puts all margins on your settings.
4. 1C creates wholesale and retail ekselevskie price for the right product.
5. Prices are uploaded to the site so that you can download.
6. 1C connects to the MySQL database on the site and updates all the goods in the online store. Who worked with online stores, he knows what monstrously inconvenient ways offer to update the product developers of these stores. And this is 5 thousand positions. 1C did it in 2 minutes.
By the way, I forgot to say that before this moment I had already written a simple inet store from which we tried to trade.
This script was launched once in 2006. And it still works. Probably many at work do not even know how the data on the product is updated and where our prices come from. Everything makes the matrix.
But it got rid of the constant twitching and gave confidence that the prices and the base is always up to date. And the fact that in the internet the prices and the base are updated 4-5 times a day, and in general plunged customers into a pleasant shock.
Our efforts brought more and more fruits. We followed our principles, ideals, worked hard and made new clients.
Reap the fruits!
In 2005, we became the 10th company in terms of annual turnover among the regional firms at our supplier. In total, there were about 60 firms from the region. If you remember, at that time there were a lot of political clashes in Ukraine. In this regard, many organizations have stopped buying equipment. And at the expense of such organizations and lives a bunch of comp. firms that win tenders through rollback, through acquaintances, friends, godfathers, etc. They have come hard times. It became less orders.
And our client grew as grains on each cell of a chessboard. We did not depend on politics, on authority, on the measure, on the president. Our customers were ordinary people, among whom we won the glory of a company that you can trust, where they will talk to you, they will explain, and if we advise you need to take 100%.
According to statistics, 90-95% who call on us to consult, became our customers and bought equipment.
Our business practices and customer relationships began to bear fruit.
It began in 2006.
I wrote a cycle of almost two dozen articles that explained the principles of choosing a computer, but in human language, in the native language for people, and not in computer language. Each issue of the local newspaper went under the article. We were called, we were sent letters, thanked, asked for a copy. This increased the number of customers even more.
And now the time has come when it was possible not to give advertisements, people took us clients themselves. Earned "verbal marketing."
In late 2006, he developed a bearer discount system. That is, the turnover on the card is summed up and a discount is given depending on it. But the card is valid for anyone who presents it, regardless of whether this person took the goods before or not. This prompted customers to bring even more people - because now the discount was given. Moreover, in this way it was possible to achieve purchase prices.
2006 finished in 2nd place in terms of turnover in the region.
2007 - finished at first. And on the 4th region of 8 regions.
The average turnover of $ 80-90 thousand per month. In December, $ 110.
Already 4 large cabinets were filming and it was already very crowded. Worked 7 people. Gathered to open an office in the city center and in the suburbs.
It seems the sales went from the site. In general, were on the crest of a wave.
I received several decent offers from large Ukrainian sellers of equipment. That is, suppliers of our suppliers would like to trade with us directly. And for us it is even more favorable prices and even more customers.
2008 has become a landmark. A lot of prospects and a great desire to work.
The essence of what has been written is to show that if you strive towards something and do what you understand, everything will work out. In our country, where everyone is tired of dirt, honest people begin to attract other people to themselves. Start your business with the soul - and you will be drawn. I used to make work enjoyable. It is a pity that it is not always possible.
In several places I wrote about how I programmed some things — this is not a desire to boast, but an attempt to show that, contrary to the advice, many things need to be done by yourself. At the stage of becoming a company, you will not need software at $ 500 to count orders. Write yourself.
They say that it is bad if the director himself does everything, they say, the development of the company suffers. Do not believe! We simply were not anxious with marketing tricks and gimmicks, we didn’t bother with all sorts of actions and business contacts. Believe me, when you become something like yourself, those who you need will come to you.
By the way, I am in no way trying to promote a firm - there is nothing to promote.
Just besides a heap of positive experience, I also endured tons of negative. And now I know exactly what should not be done in my business. I did not know before. And so it happened:
2008 - the company almost came to an end.
2009 - it seems to me that she is living out the last months.
With the crisis, it is almost not connected.
Well, actually, who cares what a rake was, I can continue with another topic.
PS
Thanks mastered.
UPD1:
since many are interested in “about the rake” - I will definitely write a sequel.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/62192/
All Articles