the hundred dollar business

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Yesterday I wrote on my blog about the critical need for entrepreneurs to understand that at the end of the day, they absolutely must have customers.

Period.

Nothing else matters.

There’s a perfectionist lurking in most of us, plaguing our otherwise proactive natures with destructive thoughts like:

• What if everyone hates it?
• What if all my customers ask for refunds?
• What if the concept doesn’t work?
• I need better equipment to make this work.
• I need more money before I can start or maintain my idea.
• I can’t get customers without spending money.
• There’s already someone doing something like this, so I can’t compete.

Yada, yada. IGNORE it all.

If you spend 8 hours strategically analyzing your potential failure, versus 8 hours strategically getting off your duff and talking to people about your product…. well?

So, here are a few ideas to get you started– this is crossposted from The Carolynn Blog.
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This is a tongue-in-cheek follow-up to yesterday’s post…

I realize I was more than a little vehement on the fact that at the end of the day, a business owner needs to concentrate on making customers. I guess it’s a little heavy-handed to say “Get customers!!” without providing any ideas on how to go about it.

However, the fact is, customers aren’t going to grow up out of your carpet while you listlessly wish you had sales. There’s a direct correlation between your effort and the number of customers and sales you have.

With that in mind:

42 Ways To Get Customers!

Tell people about it anywhere you see them– bus, plane, grocery store, etc.
Tell your family & friends about your product.
Hand out fliers.
Blog it (make sure to include a “purchase here” link, or your contact info with “contact me to purchase”)
Set up and host an event & spotlight your product
Ask people to buy it.
Develop relationships with people willing to do commission-based sales.
Talk to a buyer at a large company or store.
Radio ads.
TV ads.
Newspaper ads.
Host a relevant competition.
Announce a special promotion.
Have a frequent buyer’s card.
Give samples out.
Attend/speak at a community event and talk about your product.
Find and participate in a niche blog community.
Create an awesome video and put it on YouTube
Put together a website, even a simple website, and feature photos of your product.
Send out a press release.
Send out an article/press release to an article distributor.
Call the local media & tell them your story, ask for an interview.
Write up your own article & shop it around to the media.
Invite people to lunch and talk about your product.
Make arrangements for an affiliate program/referral system.
Set up a call center.
Go door to door.
Get on the phone and call everyone you know to ask for referrals.
Buy lead lists.
Use pay-per-click methods.
Optimize your site for SEO.
Leave a comment with your link on someone else’s blog/website.
Stand outside a major traffic-point (mall, university, etc.) with a booth, talking about your product.
Go to tradeshows
Go through specialty magazines and make a contact list of people in your industry
Google “your geographic location + your industry” to find and make a database of local experts you can network with.
Attend chamber of commerce & other local events.
Call your current clients and upsell them something new.
Think, “Where would my client be in order to purchase ABC?”, then go directly to that location and market there.
Send out cards with a special.
Send out email newsletters.
Contact businesses in your industry and exchange business cards.

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I’m sure there are more ways. These are just off the top of my head. Admittedly, some of them are somewhat boring, traditional, and/or not the most effective.

But, in 10-15 minutes of brainstorming, you could probably add at least as many ways to the list. And with a few hours of strategic planning & execution, you could determine which methods will be a good jumping point.

And by tomorrow, you can jump in with both feet and start actually contacting and inviting people to be your customers. If you’ve got a product or service with any kind of value, it’s a matter of it being:

A numbers game + your consistent effort + a matter of time= getting customers.

By the way, if you have any additional ideas to add, please post a comment!