How to Break into the Corporate Market: Tips for Home Business Owners

We have discussed various things about running a home business in the past. There are a lot of opportunities you can explore as an entrepreneur and a cooking enthusiast, from selling your own baked goods to providing catering to neighbors or customers.

The corporate market is the next frontier. If you think you have what it takes to cater to hundreds of employees – or selling your products to companies who need them – then it is an opportunity worth pursuing. Here are the tips you need to know about breaking into the corporate market.

Scale Your Business Gradually

You don’t have to invest in new equipment and recruit employees right away. In fact, you should avoid investing a lot of money on expansions you don’t really need. What you want to do is scaling your home business gradually.

Start with the first order you get from a business client. Try to keep up with that order before you take on another project. As you maximize your production capacity, you will know when to add new equipment, recruit employees, and maintain a more sustainable growth.

Avoid Cold Calls 

When marketing to business customers, research is your most valuable tool. Instead of sending mass emails, for example, it is much better to use tools such as The Email Finder to verify recipients and find the right people to contact in a business. You can use this for more information about the recipient, as well as the business, so your emails don’t go to a dead account.

Use the information to make your sales proposition as personalized and targeted as possible. Avoid making cold calls and only engage leads when you know they are interested in using your services or buying your products.

Turn to Local Trade Shows and Organizations

Now that you’re trying to win business customers, it is time to be more engaged with local communities, trade shows, and other similar events. Trade shows and events are where you meet potential clients and expand your network.

You may not win sales immediately, but you’ll have plenty of opportunities to benefit from at the end of the event. It doesn’t take long before you will start getting orders to process. To make sure that orders do come through, you will need to focus on the promotion of your business at this trade show. Just showing up with your products is not going to have people flocking to you, so it would be a good idea to look at promotional materials to help make an impression. There are desktop or floor-standing retractable banner stands which will be useful as they can have your business name and graphics on to potentially entice people. You could also look at setting up a TV that shows you making your products so people can see what you are about and how you do things.

Don’t Forget Your Colleagues

Your friends, your neighbors, and even relatives are great sources of leads to pursue. Don’t hesitate to ask them to recommend you to their superiors. Friends and relatives can be a great source of leads, but don’t forget to take those leads seriously. Whether you can convert them depends on how good your sales proposition is.

Be Generous with Samples

Last but certainly not least, let your products do the talking. One of the best ways to market to business customers is by sending samples and letting them convert leads into potential customers. You know you have a great product and you already have loyal customers. Winning your first business client should be a walk in the park.

So, what are you waiting for? It is time to take your home business to the next level and cater to business customers. You can grow at a much faster rate and achieve more as you work with more B2B clients.