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Many of you have followed our "Reseller in a Fishbowl" articles since it was introduced early in 2001. Carl Owen has been our model reseller since he began his reseller business at that time. This year has been a great one for him. He has taken his struggling startup business and made it a fixture in the community. I interviewed him to find out how he achieved that.
Editor: How many clients have you picked up this past year?
Carl: I now have about 50 clients. In the whole year I only lost one client, and that was because they're not in business anymore.
Editor: That's tremendous Carl! I remember in the beginning that it was kind of a struggle for you. How did get most of these clients?
Carl: Boy, was it ever. In the first month or two of my business, I don't think I made a single sale. It was very frustrating. I was really working hard, too. A lot harder than I needed to, if the truth be told. Once I got that first sale, though, I gathered a momentum. Now, I average 4 or 5 per month which is right where I want to be in this community.
Editor: What do you mean that you were working harder than you needed to?
Carl: That's probably the biggest thing that I have learned--choose who you work with. While every person you meet may be a potential client, some people have more potential than others. It's important to determine who your better leads are early on. If someone has no basic knowledge of the Internet, you will have to work a lot harder to make a sale, for example. Also, if a person has a product that really lends itself to e-commerce, it is often much easier to make a sale. If I have to work full-time for two months to make one sale, that's 9 sales that I didn't make.
Editor: Your company has really become a part of the community. I overhear business owners talking about it all the time. How did you achieve that?
Carl: I have an advantage in that this is a smaller community. The most important thing that I did was to become involved in the Chamber (of Commerce). I decided early on that I wanted to target local small businesses, so I decided that I needed to put myself where my target was. I participated in all of their events, and in that way I became recognized in the community. Also, advertising RexburgOnline.com has helped a great deal.
Editor: And now that you are so widely recognized, how has that helped your business?
Carl: Even though I have done extensive telephone and personal contacts, the majority of my business comes from referrals. The first sales took me a great deal of work. When I get a referral, there's almost no work. They have talked it over with their friend who was satisfied with my work, and they've practically sold themselves. They come to me, and I just close the deal. My reputation and recognition around here are the most valuable assets that I have!
Editor: Well, congratulations, Carl. This has been a great year for you. I know how hard you've worked for it, and you definitely deserve it. Is there any advice that you have for the rest of our resellers in the coming year?
Carl: Just to get out there and do it. It can seem like a big task at first. At first I was worried that I didn't know enough or that I wasn't a salesman. I still don't think I'm a saleman. I just talk to people about websites and the people that want or need them, get them. It's as simple as that. I use TeamICServ to build them, so that I can spend more time getting more clients. But you won't make a single sale until you start talking to people. Get out there and do it...it's as simple as that.
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