Business Details - How to Start a Home-based Computer Repair Business - page 100

Some questions to keep in mind while selecting the types of services that you will offer
upon opening your store:
n Would you use the service yourself if you were a consumer?
n Can you see yourself getting excited about this service?
n Would you sell it to someone you know?
n Is there a real need for the service in today's market?
n Can you imagine yourself selling this service for the next several years?
The key to having a successful business is to know your service line and to believe in the
promise that you are selling. If you do not believe that you can deliver the service yourself,
then you probably won't be successful at selling it and performing it for a total stranger.
Keep brainstorming and you'll find the service line that meets both the needs of your target
market and your own ability to deliver it.
Selling New Goods
OK, so we've talked a lot about computer repair, niches, types of repairs, and I've given
you some ideas on how to get started. But let's complement your service line by offering
a few items that you can profit from and help offset some costs associated with the service
industry.
We've all been cross-sold to before. Think about “impulse buys” at the supermarket while
waiting in line. You reach over, grab a pack of gum, and add it to your cart. It happens in
retail stores across the country and there's a reason for it. Most likely, the cross-sell makes
sense for us, whether we like the suggestions or not!
Cross-selling is selling an additional product to your existing customers, usually related to
the service that you're currently performing or about to begin.
Cross-selling isn't difficult because you're selling to people who want to buy—it might just
take a small suggestion for them to do so. The key, however, is to do it well. Here are a few
tips on how to cross-sell to your customers effectively.
Suggest the Correct Product
Customers are more open to cross-purchasing if the products that you're suggesting are
products they actually need. Suggesting a set of headphones to a customer who just had
new software installed on a computer might not be the right fit. But a memory upgrade for
that computer or a laptop carrying case would be.