The idea of ​​the business is the production of souvenirs. Ignorance of your market

Finding new clients can not only be challenging, but also frustrating. Any startup owner knows what it's like to waste time and effort trying to find clients. Every success is preceded by a series of possible failures.

But it is not necessary that it always be like this. We want to offer you several ways to find and interact with potential clients that you will find not only effective, but also easy to use. Promoting products and services is the most important part of business and should be done regularly, however, you should enjoy it. Remember that if you yourself enjoy promoting your business, it will be easier for you to create a positive impression of yourself and your company when communicating with clients.

1. Teach them something new

You have several options depending on your capabilities: the best option would be to join forces with other professionals in your field and conduct various courses and trainings - nothing is more effective than direct communication with potential clients. But you can also do a lot online: share useful knowledge on LinkedIn, post presentations on SlideShare, or write a blog offering useful tips and lessons to readers.

One of the many Wix workshops in New York

2. Donate your products at events

If you are promoting a specific product and want to attract an audience, the most effective way is to give out free samples and gifts during a major promotion.

Find an organization or event managers who would be interested in hosting a similar event or lecture. This will help them entertain the public, who will be happy to receive your products for free, and it will provide you with communication with your target audience in an informal setting, where people will not feel forced into buying and will be happy to try something new.

You can also provide your product at a significant discount for public events held by large companies. The immediate profit will be significantly less, but your logo and product will be seen by hundreds (if not thousands) of new potential customers.

3. Write a letter you want to read

If the letter does not contain useful or entertaining information, it will most likely be sent to spam. But if you can write something interesting or funny, it can serve as an impetus for making a purchase in your store or further disseminating the information you sent.

Take for example Wine Mine, a wine store in Oakland, California. This company created its website using a website builder. Their weekly newsletter contains a lot of interesting information about new wines on sale, funny descriptions of upcoming tastings, as well as jokes and anecdotes on the topic. This type of email is exactly what users want to find in their inbox: short, informative, and most importantly, valuable content.

You can take advantage of these great ones that will help you create the most personalized letter possible.

Don't forget to add a subscription form to your Wix site

4. Be kind

According to research, every second large company in Russia has its own charitable budget and spends from 11 to 17% of its net profit on charity. This does not mean that philanthropic activities are reserved exclusively for the big players. Don't think that you need some crazy amounts of money. You can be sure that any, even symbolic, amount, multiplied by the number of new clients attracted by your social activities, will benefit any charitable organization.

Moreover, charitable activities will help your business create a positive image and build trust with customers. People highly value acts of kindness, so doing charity work will certainly endear you to potential clients. Not to mention the self-satisfaction and real pleasure that comes from doing a good deed.

The intermediary business is rightfully considered one of the easiest to do business. After all, the main task is only to find customers, and there is absolutely no need to invest large amounts of money, risk them, and then try to sell the manufactured product.

Everything is simple here - you need to find clients for someone else's business. But you need to act according to a “knurled pattern”, have certain skills in making transactions and be comprehensively developed. In fact, there is no need for special skills, the main thing is to have a special acumen in running this business. And of course, create your own business plan with a minimum amount of investment.

Office.

To run such a business, you need to rent office space. You can, of course, start running a business from your home. But when working with “large” clients, you need to look truly representative in order to immediately inspire confidence that you are a reputable company, it is prestigious to work with you and you can be trusted. In any case, over time you will have to rent office space where negotiations can be held with one party or another and regular clients can be received.

An office can be rented either in the business center of the city, or you can rent a separate room, the first floor of a two-room apartment, preferably with a separate entrance. When choosing, it is important to consider that it is easy for visitors to meet you. It is advisable that the premises have 2 rooms, as well as a small reception area. The area of ​​the premises may not exceed 45 square meters, but with the expansion of personnel the area can be increased significantly. Negotiations with clients will be carried out in one room, and client search managers will carry out their activities in the other. The room must have a fresh, neutral renovation, have air conditioning, water supply, connected to a heating system, natural and artificial lighting. For renting a room, depending on the chosen location and location, you can pay from $200 to $400.

Tools for work.

To create an intermediary business for finding clients, you need a standard set of office devices:

1. Computer or laptop (one for each person) - from $450 per unit;
2. Telephone (mobile and landline) - $300;
3. Photocopier - about $200;
4. Printer - about $200;
5. Scanner - about $100.

In addition, you need to invest in equipping the office itself (if at least a small set of furniture is not provided by the landlord). For this you need tables, chairs, a sofa, a board, interior items, cabinets for things, shelves for documents and so on. In total, for equipping the office, in the absence of offers from the landlord, you will need to pay about 2-2.5 thousand $.

Staff.

Even an intermediary business will require hiring labor. First of all, assistants in the form of client search managers will be useful. They will help run the business and perform the core work of the company. And you can negotiate with specifically found clients and representatives on the other side yourself. Moreover, in this case it is not necessary to hire people with experience. You can invite students and offer them a percentage of each client found. Or you can immediately hire people with experience so that there is not too much turnover, set them a stipulated amount and then offer a percentage from above. In addition to client search managers, of whom 1-3 are needed at the beginning of business development, you need an accountant and administrator. In total, it costs about $1.5-3 thousand to pay workers, depending on the quality and productivity of their work.

Advertising plays one of the most important aspects in this type of activity. Advertising will need to be done not only to promote your own services, but also to perceive it as a tool for finding clients for partners. Therefore, at the start of work, it is worth agreeing with a marketing agency; it is advisable to insist on receiving a discount, since you plan to use their services regularly.

One of the first steps is to create an expressive website. There you need to prove to your clients in a quality and accessible manner that you are a proven and reliable company that has been on the market for a long time, you have many clients (it is advisable to back this up with information), your services are not as expensive as those of your competitors, and so on. Everything so that the client dials your phone.

Then you can advertise your services through radio and television, distribute leaflets and publish in print publications. Alternatively, you can organize a free seminar where you can present interesting information to potential clients. Like: “how to attract clients?”, “how not to lose a client?”, “how to beat competitors?” and so on. It is advisable to conduct the seminar on the premises of your office. In total, it costs about $400 per month for advertising.

Expenses.

Even such an intermediary business requires small expenses:
1. The average cost of renting a premises is $200-400;
2. Office equipment and equipment - $2-2.5 thousand;
3. Staff salary - 1.5 - 3 thousand $;
4. Advertising activities - $400.

In total, to fully start a business you will need to prepare $6.5 thousand.

But you can start a business yourself, at home. And when there are more clients, you can rent a room and hire assistants for successful work.

Revenue part and payback.

With successful and active activities, the payback will happen quite quickly. After just 6 months of activity, you can return the initial investment. The cost of a customer search service can vary greatly, because it all depends on how difficult it is to negotiate with potential consumers. If we talk about average numbers, then in one transaction you can get from 10 to 50% of the client’s profit.

A striking example of this is the intermediary activities of real estate sales and rental agencies. When moving in, the landlord takes half the monthly salary, and when buying a home, you can take at least $1 thousand. On average, a company with such activities can raise $5 thousand or more per month.

Clients and development options.

Clients in this area are firms and companies, individuals who want to find a buyer for goods or any services. An option for development could be its own expansion, entering the intercity, interregional, interstate and foreign markets.

Paul Jarvis, web designer, coach and author of several best-selling books on business, creativity and self-employment.

Let's say tomorrow I start my business from scratch. There are no clients, there is no understanding of what to do. How do I build my audience? How to attract clients? We all face these questions, as many people open their own businesses every day without a hint that anyone would even want to work with them. They know how to do something well, but at first they all sit without clients.

Therefore, let’s imagine that I am at the beginning of my journey, I am a master of my craft, but no one is interested in this. What will I do?

I’ll try to describe the sequence of actions using the example of web design.

I would start listening to people who are looking for a web designer or have already found one. How and where did they conduct their search? What questions did they have during the process? If they had a negative experience working with web designers, why? What do they wish they knew before commissioning a new design project?

And then I would offer to help. Did they have any questions? Do they need a “second pair of eyes” to watch everything? Do they want to think things through before taking the next step? Do they care about other people's opinions? Is there anything they would like to know about the industry? And I would help them for free, without offers to buy anything from me. More importantly, I will try not to be intrusive, I will just try to answer the questions that I see myself.

This help does not take a month of work; I will not need to redesign the entire person’s website. On the contrary, for such help I only need an e-mail form, some chats, or advice by phone/Skype. Basically, this is a free consultation.

At first it may be one person. Then another one. Then again. I would talk to as many people as possible until I noticed a trend where people would have trouble understanding what I was saying. Their problematic issues. And I would do this without trying to offer or sell anything to them. I will simply offer help or advice to anyone who needs it.

Long before I would start selling anything to anyone, I would build relationships with people based on my helping them. I would not do this according to the network marketing scheme in order to further promote myself or even sell anything to my clients. I would build and maintain relationships with these people so that I could continue to learn from them. It would be a mutually beneficial relationship as people get my help and I get their knowledge.

From now on I am at a fork in the road. I can either blog about what I've learned, periodically compiling it all into a free book that will contain all sorts of insight into the most common customer problems and how to solve these problems. Or I can use the accumulated knowledge to create my own service, since now I know what my potential audience wants. I'll likely do both. And I have a feeling that the group of people I helped will tell others about what I came up with. At the same time, I won’t have to constantly offer/sell something to any of them. And that’s the whole secret - they will help me because I helped them (even if I didn’t expect it from them).

My new business would be primarily based on helping others. Not because I decry capitalism and want to sit on Skype and sing Kumbaya ( the name of a Christian song known in South Carolina, USA - approx. translation). I would do this because it is a way to build a loyal customer base and gain followers. And also because I really love helping others.

To many people, what I wrote above may seem like advice on how to do charity work - perhaps my idea is not very applicable to a business that already makes enough money, clothes, shoes, feeds and creates a roof for the founder's family. But this is how I built my business, for which people sign up 4-5 months in advance. This is how I released books and sold thousands of copies. This is how I've been doing business for the last 15 years. I simply helped others using my knowledge, simply because I liked it.

Very often people make the mistake of creating their client base by thinking only about themselves. Thinking only about money. Thinking about how others can benefit. Thinking about how they can reach x number of followers just to stroke their ego. This can be seen in the way they interact with others, use the power of social media and in the way they market their product. People feel this attitude.

Motives are visible to the naked eye, even if we don’t want them to be. And your intentions will be seen through your business and when you help others.

If you approach your work as helping others instead of looking at how you can get money out of these people, everything will change. People will want to invest in you because you have invested in them.

The best thing about owning your own business and working for free to help others is that you don’t need a dime to get started. No investors or investments, no hardware or software, no secret tactics or even strategies. Nothing more than being a decent person, sharing your knowledge with those who are willing to listen, and that will naturally reach everyone. And then your help will return to you.

With the support of the blog

How can a sales manager look for new clients? This question often arises for both beginners and experienced managers exploring a new region or territory.

Portrait of a potential client

Before you start looking for clients, you need to create a portrait of interesting business partners. Assess the most promising industries, identify market leaders by region and country, study the market situation, and identify weaknesses. This preparatory work helps answer the following questions:

• Who are the clients?
• Where can a sales manager look for clients geographically?
• What is the situation in the industry as a whole?
• What is the client interested in?
• How does he currently solve the problems whose solutions are supposed to be proposed?
• Which companies are your competing suppliers?

Having collected all the necessary information, you can create a portrait of a potential client who needs or may be interested in the product/service that the sales manager is presenting on the market.

Once the client profile has been determined, you can proceed directly to finding an answer to the question of how to look for clients for a sales manager.

The simplest method for understanding how to look for potential clients for a sales manager is to review the existing client base, study the history of interaction and successful sales, volumes and features of the offer. Based on this data, you can find companies similar in industry, volume and potential purchases, and contact them with an offer, based on the successful experience of completed projects. This makes it possible to conclude quick transactions and increase the client base.

The second successful and effective way to find new clients is to receive recommendations from existing clients with whom relationships have been established and communication has been built.

There are several ways to find clients for a sales manager using recommendations:

A personal meeting. You can ask for recommendations and contacts of possible clients who need or might benefit from the proposed solution at a personal meeting with regular clients. People love to give advice and help, feeling like experts. With the right approach, this method can be very effective.

Phone call. By asking an existing client to make a preliminary call to a potential partner of interest, you can most likely count on a meeting and subsequent sale. A call from a recommender increases your credibility and becomes a good springboard for successful communication.

Visiting exhibitions and thematic events

An effective way to find clients is to attend industry exhibitions and thematic events. How to properly look for clients for a sales manager at exhibitions and public events? The goal may be to get to know the company, establish personal contact with employees of the organization of interest, or arrange a personal meeting. It is very important to analyze the information received and work out possible “warm” contacts as soon as possible, without delay. You should write a letter confirming your acquaintance. In the letter, it is worth recalling the place of communication, perhaps citing the words of the interlocutor, clarifying intentions to continue acquaintance and emphasizing the possibilities of mutually beneficial cooperation.

Attending themed events is a good opportunity for networking. Meeting the right people, building communication, exchanging opinions is the path to sales. The ability to make the right impression, be open to dialogue, and demonstrate an expert position in the topic that the sales manager represents will come in handy here. You should avoid front-line sales, intrusiveness, and displays of neediness. Self-esteem, coupled with communication skills and good product knowledge, is the key to successful commercial communication. It is important to be sincerely interested in the state of affairs of new acquaintances, to identify or formulate needs, and to ask the right questions.

Cold calls

A proven way to find new clients is to cold call companies of interest that fit the description of the client’s profile.

How can a sales manager find clients using cold calls? A cold calling algorithm might look like this:

• find the person making the decision on the desired issue;
• call;
• clarify information, ask questions, obtain necessary data;
• sell the opportunity and idea of ​​cooperation;
• arrange a meeting;
• prepare a preliminary commercial offer based on the data obtained during the telephone conversation.

Many companies have implemented agreed-upon telephone sales scripts. If the company's rules allow, then it is necessary to give calls the right emotional connotation, disposing the interlocutors to communication and partnership.

When working on cold calls, such qualities as punctuality, the ability to hear the interlocutor, and ask questions are important. It is necessary to clearly understand the purpose of the call: introduction, appointment, sending preliminary information by fax or e-mail.

Conversion of cold calls depends on the ability to overcome barriers, work with customer objections and speak the language of benefits. Competent speech, a pleasant voice, and a pace of communication that is convenient for the interlocutor will help build a dialogue and find a new client.

Searching for clients on the Internet

How can a sales manager look for clients on the Internet, how effective is it?

Searching for potential clients on the Internet can be done in several ways:

• Active participation in specialized forums with posting information about the product/service and demonstrating an expert position.
• Posting information about the company on social networks.
• Using bulletin boards and thematic aggregators.

Social media

Using social networks to find clients is by far one of the most effective and reliable ways to find clients on the Internet. Depending on the specifics of the business and the target audience, a social network is selected. Let's look at the target audience using the example of Facebook. The audience is young people (18-24) and the middle age group (24-45+), aimed at establishing business contacts and searching for information for self-development.

Here you can most often make acquaintances with new clients. An advanced search makes it possible to find people of interest. The fact that people indicate their place of work makes the task easier.

Many large companies create official pages where you can get acquainted with the specifics of the company's work, employees, problems and news. Social networks are a source of information for analysis, finding the right people and establishing communications for further sales in a segment that is interesting for business.

Forums and message boards

Studying and actively participating in specialized Internet forums helps you analyze the work of your competitors and add advantages that are truly important to your clients into your unique commercial offer. As a rule, on such resources, clients and suppliers share industry news, opinions about products and services, and discuss pressing issues. In addition to new acquaintances and necessary contacts, here you can actively promote your company, taking into account reviews of other suppliers, emphasizing the profitability of your offer and product/service.

There are paid and free bulletin boards on the Internet. They differ in territorial coverage and sectoral focus. By creating a small sales proposal with contact information, you can ensure passive lead generation without attracting additional funds. The sales manager can indicate his contact phone number and receive applications directly, ensuring that the plan is met.

Surely, many of you have at least once heard the saying: “Customers decide everything.” Believe me, this is not an empty phrase. Even the most promising business idea will fail if it is not in demand. This means that first of all, you should take care of the consumers of your company’s services/products.

Where to find consumers of goods and services for trading companies, lawyers, photographers, private accounting specialists, translators and everyone else?

Alla Prosyukova is in touch - economic expert of the HeatherBober magazine! My new article is just about how to attract clients. From it you will learn about options for finding them and ways to attract potential consumers.

Plus, get some helpful tips on how to grow your existing customer base.

1. Options for finding clients for your business

Everyone who has anything to do with sales is aware of cold and warm contacts. For those who have not heard anything about this, I give simple and understandable definitions. They will clarify the situation.

Cold contact- communication with strangers who are most often not in the mood for it.

It is done:

• via the Internet - for example, using a newsletter;
• by phone;
• in personal communication.

Finding clients for your business in this way requires certain skills and craftsmanship. Many books have been written about techniques for conducting such communication, and there is a lot of information on the Internet.

I would like to draw your attention to several important points.

Careful preliminary preparation is necessary. Make a plan for the conversation, anticipate possible objections and prepare reasoned answers to them.

In Russian banks, special scripts are created for this case, in which dialogues are written in detail depending on the development of events during the conversation. Before starting, you should rehearse the conversation according to all pre-prepared scenarios.

Don’t forget about a smile; it allows you to win the favor of your interlocutor from the first minutes. Even if you are talking on the phone, a friendly smile should be felt in your voice.

Now let's look at warm search methods.

Warm contact- communication with familiar people.

These could be relatives, friends, neighbors, former colleagues, classmates/classmates, etc. This circle includes all contacts received through recommendations.

Example

My friend’s son Mikhail sells plumbing faience, and his friend from the fitness club Vlad has a brother who runs a large construction company.

Vlad agreed with his brother about a meeting for Mikhail. During the negotiations, businessmen were able to sign a mutually beneficial long-term contract.

The undeniable advantage of such communication is the preparedness of the potential consumer and his goodwill. But there is also a significant drawback - the limited base of such contacts.

2. What you need to take care of in advance

Before you begin your search, you should be thoroughly prepared.

In order for the consumer to pay attention to your company’s offer, the product or service must meet the following criteria:

1. Be in demand.
2. Have high quality.
3. Have a competitive advantage.
4. Have a reasonable pricing policy.

Before entering the market (for the first time or with a new product), it is necessary to monitor the need for this product/service. If the enterprise is a manufacturer of goods, then before starting production, a quality control system should be developed and implemented.

If you are a trading organization, it is important to properly organize the selection of suppliers. To do this, the company must approve the main criteria for their selection.

Such indicators could be:

• business reputation of the future partner;
• supplier's pricing policy;
• quality of the goods supplied.

Be sure to think about how your offer will differ from competitors’ analogues. Describe your main competitive advantage as clearly and in detail as possible.

Competitive advantage- a feature that favorably distinguishes the offer of one company from the analogous offer of another organization.

It is important that the competitive advantage is clear, understandable to the consumer, and encourages him to purchase a product from your company.

Remember: only with such an integrated approach will promotion be quite effective and the growth of the client base rapid.

3. How to attract potential buyers or consumers of services - proven methods

Having worked for more than two decades in the banking industry, I have thoroughly studied all sorts of ways to attract clients.

I suggest you get acquainted with the most popular and proven ones.

Method 1. Via the Internet

Any company interested in developing and scaling its business uses all types of online advertising to attract the attention of its target audience.

This method is perhaps one of the most effective. After all, the number of Russian Internet users, according to the latest data from Mediascope, is about 87 million people, which is almost 71% of the total population of our country.

To search using:

1. Contextual advertising is a quick way to promote your products and find new customers with the help of such advertising. The main advantage of this method is that such advertisements are targeted and are seen by consumers interested in the goods/services offered. It is correctly configured contextual advertising that gives quick, almost instant results.
2. Advertising articles on the pages of your own and/or commercial thematic websites and social networks - VKontakte, Instagram, etc.
3. Specialized platforms, bulletin boards - such as Avito.

Method 2. Advertisements in newspapers and magazines

An announcement in the press is a long-known method, but no less relevant. Moreover, now it is not necessary to run to the Soyuzpechat kiosk for periodicals, since many publishing houses have an online version of their publications.

Try to find thematic newspapers and magazines. This way you will make your search easier and find buyers interested in your offers.

Method 3. Advertising on radio and TV

Another very common way to find your client is television and radio advertising.

However, it has both obvious advantages and some important disadvantages that must be taken into account when choosing the path to promote your products:

Method 4. Partnership with related businesses

Let's say a company is engaged in the production and installation of plastic windows. If you enter into a partnership agreement with a construction company, their customers will almost automatically become your clients. The main thing is that the window products and the quality of their installation are high.

They are looking for clients in other areas in the same way.

Example

Lyubov Nikolaevna is an experienced agronomist. After retiring, she opened a store selling planting materials: flowers, vegetables, fruit trees, ornamental bushes, related products (pots, garden figures, etc.).

The business brought a stable profit, the products were in demand among the population, but the active nature of the pensioner, professionalism and love for her work required a different scale. It must be said that there was a basis for this. But where to find buyers?

And then fate brought her together with one of the city’s design bureaus. After some negotiations, the parties entered into an agreement for the supply of planting material for orders that the company’s landscapers were working on.

Method 5. Advertising on transport

The next search method that should not be neglected is advertising on transport.

• posting materials in vehicle interiors;
• audio announcements and videos broadcast during trips;
• outdoor advertising: advertisements placed on the body of vehicles and rolling stock;
• advertising banners and billboards placed at airports, train stations, bus stops, and subways.

• low price;
• wide coverage;
• does not cause negativity among consumers;
• better remembered;
• possibility of targeted presentation of information.

4. Word of mouth as a reliable way to find clients

Another marketing technique for finding clientele is word of mouth.

Word of mouth- transfer of information by word of mouth, from one person to another.

This method is based on the impressions of people who already have experience using the proposed product or service. Such attraction does not require additional costs from the seller. The main thing is that the consumer is satisfied with the transaction, then he will, on occasion, share his positive impressions with those who plan to purchase the same product/service.

Wanting to make a purchase, we read reviews about the product, the selling company, and listen to recommendations received from acquaintances and friends. Their opinion seems more objective and unbiased. Often it is this factor that determines our final choice.

Sometimes the impression is negative. In this case, word of mouth can cause significant damage to the reputation of the manufacturer/seller.

Example

My colleague Tatyana decided to buy a new vacuum cleaner. I chose a model on the website of one of the online stores. She wanted to pay for the goods, but then her friend called her.

Having learned that Tanya was going to buy a vacuum cleaner of this brand and model, she began to dissuade her from buying it, since her aunt had exactly the same unit, and it broke after 1 year, that is, immediately after its warranty expired.

Tatyana was confused by this fact. She started looking online for reviews from other customers. As a result, the girl bought a completely different model in another store.

As practice shows, our fellow citizens are more willing to share their negative experiences than leave positive reviews. Therefore, it is worth monitoring the content of reviews left by consumers on various forums and trying to give your own explanations to them. Seeing such participation, consumers will treat the offer with greater confidence.

5. What to do to get more clients - useful tips and recommendations

I’m sure everyone will agree with me: the more clients, the better for business. There are many ways to achieve this.

I have already talked about some of them above, but there are several simpler methods that can also have a positive impact on the growth of your client base.

Tip 1. Participate in thematic exhibitions, seminars and forums

A good result is promised by visiting industry and thematic events, such as exhibitions, conferences, and fairs. Here you can get acquainted with the offers of competitors, express yourself, find new clients and suppliers.

Look for information about upcoming events in the event calendar on specialized websites, such as:

1. Expocentr.ru.
2. Expomap.ru.
3. Exponet.ru, etc.

Tip 2: Visit organizations that are your potential clients

This advice is more suitable for companies offering goods and services to various businesses and organizations. For example, a company sells cleaning products, which means you will find new clients by visiting the administration of large office centers and presenting your products to them.

This is exactly what entertainment agencies do, visiting schools and kindergartens, offering them the organization of proms, video and photography.

You can easily find addresses and necessary information in city telephone books, the Yellow Pages business directory, and the Internet.

Tip 3: Offer services in high-traffic areas

Using this method, you will quickly inform potential clients:

• about the opening of a new retail outlet;
• about ongoing promotions;
• about the arrival of new goods;
• about the upcoming prize draw.

This technique allows you to convey the necessary information to a large number of people who will have your company’s contact information (address, phone number, email, directions, opening hours).

For such a technique to work and be effective, it is necessary:

1. Attract professional promoters who can accurately identify representatives of your company’s target audience from a large stream of people.
2. Remember that the content of the leaflet must correspond to its purpose 100%. That is, if sales are needed - the text should be selling, it is required to inform about an upcoming event - the information should be clearly structured, the flyer invites you to relax in the establishment - the text of the message should create the necessary mood.

I don’t recommend saving too much on paper and leaflet design. It has been noticed that colorful, high-quality printing in the optimal format has a greater chance of being read and not thrown away.