How to Run a Successful Computer Reseller Business from Home
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How to Run a Successful Computer Reseller Business from Home
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Running a computer reseller business which sells computer products online is a business anyone can run. And since this type of business can be run from home or any small office, then day to day business operations will always remain the same, (at least for the most part).
Setting business operating hours:
Setting standard business hours is the best way to run your business. Furthermore, it's the professional way as well.
Normal business hours can be set from 9:00am to 5:00pm Monday through Friday and should be noted across your website on each and every page. And if you’re using a call forwarding service such as RingCentral for example, then their system will forward all business calls to your main number during business hours only. Any business calls coming in before or after business hours will be automatically forwarded to voice mail.
Normal business hours can be set from 9:00am to 5:00pm Monday through Friday and should be noted across your website on each and every page. And if you’re using a call forwarding service such as RingCentral for example, then their system will forward all business calls to your main number during business hours only. Any business calls coming in before or after business hours will be automatically forwarded to voice mail.
Starting the business day:
When starting your business day you’ll want to start off by checking your email first. Any emails, phone calls, and orders that came in over night or after business hours should be dealt with and taken care of first. And although your first instinct will be to check and process orders first, it’s best to read over each email before doing so just in case a customer has added specific instructions for the order they placed online.
You’ll also want to check voice mail messages just in case a customer called in after business hours to add additional information or specific instructions pertaining to their order as well.
Then you can proceed to process and place any orders that came in over night or after business hours. And to do so, you’ll need to check around with your preferred distributors to see which ones have those products in stock and at the lowest prices as well. Furthermore, since many distributors have multiple warehouse operations, you’ll want to have the product shipped from the distribution warehouse closest to your customers’ location in order to save money on shipping costs.
You’ll also want to check voice mail messages just in case a customer called in after business hours to add additional information or specific instructions pertaining to their order as well.
Then you can proceed to process and place any orders that came in over night or after business hours. And to do so, you’ll need to check around with your preferred distributors to see which ones have those products in stock and at the lowest prices as well. Furthermore, since many distributors have multiple warehouse operations, you’ll want to have the product shipped from the distribution warehouse closest to your customers’ location in order to save money on shipping costs.
Once you’ve determined which distributors to use to fulfill the order then you can proceed to order the product online via the distributors’ website or you can call the distributor to speak to a sales representative by phone.
After those orders have been placed with distributors, then you can proceed to answer emails from potential or current customers in a thorough and complete manner. And after you’ve responded to those emails, then you can proceed to return phone calls, (if you've provided a phone number on your website). And when returning phone calls which came in after business hours, you must take note of the area code of the incoming phone number in order to determine its origin.
After those orders have been placed with distributors, then you can proceed to answer emails from potential or current customers in a thorough and complete manner. And after you’ve responded to those emails, then you can proceed to return phone calls, (if you've provided a phone number on your website). And when returning phone calls which came in after business hours, you must take note of the area code of the incoming phone number in order to determine its origin.
You need to determine the location of the caller in order to know what time zone their in before calling the caller back. For example, if you’re running your business in Florida, and you received a call after business hours from a caller located in California then you’ll want to wait till after 12:00pm noon Florida time, before calling the caller back at 9:00am California time.
You’ll want to make sure that you’re returning any calls between the hours of 9:00am to 5:00pm, their time. And the same applies for doing business in the UK and Canada as well. Call them during their normal business hours.
Once all orders have been placed, emails have been responded to, and phone calls have been returned, then it’s time to proceed with the rest of your business day.
You’ll want to make sure that you’re returning any calls between the hours of 9:00am to 5:00pm, their time. And the same applies for doing business in the UK and Canada as well. Call them during their normal business hours.
Once all orders have been placed, emails have been responded to, and phone calls have been returned, then it’s time to proceed with the rest of your business day.
During the business day:
It’s always good to have a “things to do” list in order to better manage your time and priorities as well. For example, a “things to do” list can consist of the following:
-Attend to any unfinished business first.
-Add product pages: Add model abc, model xyz, and accessories.
-Add new product model abc to main page.
-Add new products to comparison charts.
-Add product review for product model abc.
-Contact sales rep for abc distributor to enquire about availability.
-Add and respond to link exchange requests.
-Check PPC (Pay Per Click) or other marketing campaign statistics.
-Begin to execute new marketing campaign.
-Take and place orders.
-Call back potential customer(s) at X:00pm.
-Check to make sure customers received their package from previous orders.
-Send out courtesy emails to customers who did receive their orders.
-Attend to any unfinished business first.
-Add product pages: Add model abc, model xyz, and accessories.
-Add new product model abc to main page.
-Add new products to comparison charts.
-Add product review for product model abc.
-Contact sales rep for abc distributor to enquire about availability.
-Add and respond to link exchange requests.
-Check PPC (Pay Per Click) or other marketing campaign statistics.
-Begin to execute new marketing campaign.
-Take and place orders.
-Call back potential customer(s) at X:00pm.
-Check to make sure customers received their package from previous orders.
-Send out courtesy emails to customers who did receive their orders.
If you’re still adding products to your website then that’s what you should be doing each and every day until you’re done.
The more product pages you have done and complete then the easier it will be to keep your website updated when new products arrive. And in the computer product industry, new products arrive almost weekly.
New and most popular products should be placed on the main page after a product page has been built and added for those products. And that product image and short description should link to the product page within your website.
The more product pages you have done and complete then the easier it will be to keep your website updated when new products arrive. And in the computer product industry, new products arrive almost weekly.
New and most popular products should be placed on the main page after a product page has been built and added for those products. And that product image and short description should link to the product page within your website.
And if those new products are comparable with other products in your niche market then be sure to add them to your comparison charts as well.
During the day, you’ll also be getting orders online, and/or by phone, (if you've provided a phone number on your website). And when the orders do come in then start shopping around with distributors to see which distributors have the lowest pricing on that product and which distribution centers are closest to your customers location in order to save money on shipping costs.
Then place and process the order with the distributor and then proceed with the rest of the items on your “things to do” list.
It’s also important to keep in touch with your distributor sales reps for updates on sales, rebates and release dates for new products. And if you have an ETA (estimated time of arrival) and pricing on a new product then go ahead and build a page for that product so that you can begin to take pre-orders for that particular product even before it becomes available.
During the day, you’ll also be getting orders online, and/or by phone, (if you've provided a phone number on your website). And when the orders do come in then start shopping around with distributors to see which distributors have the lowest pricing on that product and which distribution centers are closest to your customers location in order to save money on shipping costs.
Then place and process the order with the distributor and then proceed with the rest of the items on your “things to do” list.
It’s also important to keep in touch with your distributor sales reps for updates on sales, rebates and release dates for new products. And if you have an ETA (estimated time of arrival) and pricing on a new product then go ahead and build a page for that product so that you can begin to take pre-orders for that particular product even before it becomes available.
Marketing and Advertising your website:
You should also be setting an allotted time each and every day for Internet marketing purposes only. This can be anywhere from 2 to 3 hours a day where you’ll check on marketing campaigns to see results or to tweak and adjust ads for better results.
This is also a good time to launch new marketing campaigns and strategies as well. Marketing and advertising your website is the life line of your internet business. And the more time and effort you spend on marketing your website then the more traffic you’ll create. And more traffic means more sales.
This is also a good time to launch new marketing campaigns and strategies as well. Marketing and advertising your website is the life line of your internet business. And the more time and effort you spend on marketing your website then the more traffic you’ll create. And more traffic means more sales.
At the end of the business day:
Just because the clock says 5:00pm doesn’t mean you stop working. That just means it’s time to finish off the last items on your things to do list without any interruptions from emails, phone calls, placing orders etc...
For example, at the end of the day you can proceed to collect, sort and send tracking numbers to customers who have placed orders for that day or the day before.
You will also want to check tracking numbers for orders made and placed previous to those days to make sure that those customers received their products on time.
Then you can send those customers a courtesy email to make sure that they’re satisfied with the product and had a good experience from purchasing the product from your online store to the delivery of the product at their door step. In other words, you want to make sure that everything went well and that the customer is satisfied with their purchase.
For example, at the end of the day you can proceed to collect, sort and send tracking numbers to customers who have placed orders for that day or the day before.
You will also want to check tracking numbers for orders made and placed previous to those days to make sure that those customers received their products on time.
Then you can send those customers a courtesy email to make sure that they’re satisfied with the product and had a good experience from purchasing the product from your online store to the delivery of the product at their door step. In other words, you want to make sure that everything went well and that the customer is satisfied with their purchase.
Some resellers and retailers send out email survey forms, yet most consumers simply don’t have the time to fill out surveys. And in such cases, it may be better to create a form email, letting your customers know that you hope they’re happy with their purchase and the product and if there’s anything that you can do for them then to please let you know. Keep it short and simple.
That way, you’re not taking anymore of their time while letting them know that you’re still there for them even after the sale. And this is just part of the process of creating customer satisfaction and building a good reputation online. And then once you’ve put in a good days work then it’s time to close up shop and get on with your daily life, or keep on working without interruptions. The choice is yours.
As you can see, running a computer reseller business and selling computer products online is really not that difficult to do. And once you start operating your business on a day to day basis then the rest becomes routine and easy enough for anyone to handle.
That way, you’re not taking anymore of their time while letting them know that you’re still there for them even after the sale. And this is just part of the process of creating customer satisfaction and building a good reputation online. And then once you’ve put in a good days work then it’s time to close up shop and get on with your daily life, or keep on working without interruptions. The choice is yours.
As you can see, running a computer reseller business and selling computer products online is really not that difficult to do. And once you start operating your business on a day to day basis then the rest becomes routine and easy enough for anyone to handle.
