What would you rather do… make a little money for a lot of work or make a lot more money for not as much work? It takes just as much effort to sell one thing to someone as it does to sell something in quantity to someone. I’m talking about products. If you have a product to sell wouldn’t it be better to sell a batch at a time instead of trying to sell one here and one there?

If you are a small business owner with a product you know what I’m talking about and you know how important your time is. It’s time consuming and tiring to lug your stuff around hoping to sell a few here and a few there. Selling 20 items to 1 person is always better than selling 20 items to 20 different people. If you sell products (or services), here are some ideas for leveraging your profits…

Understand your pricing model. To really understand the benefits of this, you should really understand your pricing and what the real cost of your product is. Most people don’t know the real cost of the product they sell. If you are going to sell your product in quantities at wholesale or some other pricing schedule, you need to understand margin. Margin is one of those things that seems very complex but isn’t so bad once you go through it. It’s a common fear for entrepreneurs to look at their numbers, like it was for a client I recently took through the process, but once you know what you’re dealing with your confidence and profits will soar.

Create a list of the industries you want to work with. Once you’re confident in your pricing, do not skip that step, you can start to think about what companies sell a different product or service to the same client as you. Start out with everyone you can think of and then pare it down to the top 3 best choices. You need to think about what point in the consumer’s buying process they would be interested in your products. As an example, a book on business strategy would be perfect in the hands of a business banker who works with small business owners. The banker wouldn’t create their own workbook but they may be interested in purchasing a ready-made book that they could give to their clients when they come in to open an account or ask for a loan. You now have a distribution model for selling your product in bulk.

Create a marketing strategy that emphasizes what’s in it for them. Now that you have your pricing down and a list of potential partners who would be interested in purchasing your product in bulk, it’s time to develop your marketing strategy. The most important thing is that you make it clear to them what benefits they will receive. Steer clear of leading with the features – facts about your product – but instead focus on the benefits – results they will see – by working with you. If you are offering something to be resold, then focus on the win for them and the win for their customer. Never talk about the benefits you will receive, no one is buying to make you feel good.

If you can get all these things lined up then you can sell more with less effort because it’s always better to sell more to one. My encouragement for you is that you will review what you are selling, your pricing model, your distribution model, and your marketing message to see if you are leveraging all the pieces to get the most from your products and contact me for a complimentary strategy session!  Remember, you can achieve whatever you believe as long as you are willing to work for it!

Liz Uram is the owner of The Coach & Mentor Group  she specializes in helping big-thinking, fast-paced entrepreneurs sort out their big ideas and get results through strategic action plans.  Visit www.coachandmentor.net to request your free ebook ‘Boost Your Business Now!”.