I will take you through the whole process of starting a mail order business including how the business works, what you need to get started, and how to advertise the business. At the end of this article, you should be able to decide and comfortable start up your mail order business.
How the Mail Order Business Works
Let me give a detailed explanation of how the business works before going into how to get started. Let’s say you want to start a mail order business or official stationeries, you order for stationeries in bulk quantity from a manufacturer and keep at home. You can print out a catalogue with précise pictures of the products you have for sale and share to offices around your home. If anybody places an order either through mail or through a phone call, you process the person’s order and send it through mail for the person. You can actually run this business without buying the product and storing in your house; I will talk about this aspect of the business later on.
3 Things You Need to Start a Mail Order Business
For you to successfully start and run a mail order business, there are some things you need to get started.
a. A Supplier-: To run a mail order business, you need a good supplier or manufacturer of the products you are selling; who is willing to sell at a cheaper rate than what is obtainable in stores. Also, the supplier should the capacity to supply you any quantity you want without unnecessary delays.
b. Space to Store the Products-: as a mail order business owner, you need a space to store your products it can be a room in the house or the garage, so that you can mail them out as soon as you get an order.
c. Catalogue-: As I mentioned before, you need a catalogue to successfully run this business, because your clients don’t to see the goods before purchase. It is your catalogue that will give them an idea of what your product looks like, and you have to be as detailed as possible in describing the products with pictures of your products.
Starting a Mail Order Business – Sample Business Plan Template
1. Do your Research-: You don’t just wake up one morning to pick a product and start a mail order business. You need to carry out a thorough research on the product you want to sell. Ask around from people to confirm that the product is on demand. Also, it is important you avoid perishable or fresh products unless you have a stand bye market for them.
2. Find a Supplier-: After choosing your product, the next step is to look for a manufacturer who can supply you with the product at a cheaper prize and a bulk quantity. This shouldn’t be hard to find with the help of Google as most business owners now have online presence. When you find the right supplier, you can either buy in bulk and store at home if you have enough space or drop ship.
3. Advertise-: Since this business is not like the traditional shop or boutique, you need to create awareness that you have products for sale for people to go buy. If do you adverts well, you will not need to stress a lot in the future as your clients will always come back for more.
2 Ways to Advertise Your Mail Order Business
I. Online Presence-: The internet has turned the world to into a global village. You can create an ecommerce site with pictures of your products and an online payment system where customers can order for products and make payment.
II. Catalogue: I have talked about a catalogue a lot, but a good catalogue should contain: pictures of your products, description of the products, your contact number and email address and website.
4. Mailing the Products-: Let’s assume that now everything is set for your business and you got your first order today, the next process is how to ship the product to the customer. There are two ways to go about this: you can make a deal with a shipping company to handle your mailing for a cheaper price, since they will be getting bulk orders from you.
Secondly, you can make a deal with your manufacturer to ship the goods straight to the customer using your name. This way, you wouldn’t have to come in contact with the goods, you just get an order, and you call your manufacturer to ship it out to the buyer using your name.
Now you know all the process involved in starting a mail order business, you have also learned how you can run the business without even spending any money. It’s now left to you to take action today; choose any product that you have interest in and carry out a thorough research to confirm that there is market for the product. Find a manufacturer that can drop ship for you at a cheaper rate.
Get a graphics designer to design a catalogue for you. Share the catalogue to family and friends, offices and business owners around you, and when you a customer place an order for the product and make a payment; contact your manufacturing company with the details of the order for them to drop ship to the customer with your name.
Finally, you have to figure out a means of payment for customers to easily make payment. You can make it an online payment thing. You can also collect their credit card details for their bank to transfer the money from their account to your own personal account.
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