Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: DREDIOCK on September 06, 2008, 09:45:43 AM
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Ok I know there are a few other business owners out there.
Curious as to what you find works the best for you in attracting new business.
Yellowbook
Yellowpages.
Newspaper.
Home town newspaper type circulars (those little newspapers in plastic bags that usually litter your driveway)
Church/Community bulletin/newsletters.
Referral companies like "Service Magic"
Business cards in stores.
Etc.
What do you find works best for you?
And which have you found as being little more then something you pour money into?
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You could hire some of these guys....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_b97tP6pEM (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_b97tP6pEM)
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When I was a contractor, though I'm not anymore, I did all of my advertising through my local
paper. Once I started getting busy most of my business came from word of mouth and I would only
run an ad about once every couple of months.
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dred.. when I was a contractor I also did all my advertising through the papers. I also made contacts with the other contractors who needed my service and the outlets where supplies could be purchased.
With lowes and home depot getting cut rate contractors and all the illegals that might not work these days tho.
Probly need a gimmick these days..
lazs
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http://www.gmarketing.com
It's called guerrilla marketing, marketing instead of warfare. There's all sorts of marketing stuff there.
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I have read a few things about this subject. You have to get you name out there
in the the faces of many people. I put my business card anywhere I can.
If you see a bulletin board put a business card on it. Give every one you meet a business
card. get your name on anything and everything you can find.
Promote your company by putting up a booth at a local festival.
Get involved in organisations and donate a prize in your name.
Make sure you business looks clean a presentable..when people come to
your business make it look like a class act!
I'm going to have a contest in my neighborhood at Christmas time for the best
decorated house. I'm going to put flyers on the doors announcing my contest.
People will have to bring the flyers in my store to enter the contest.
I will give a $300 1st prize 2nd $200 and 3rd $100.
Advertising is very expensive when using the papers or T.V.
Think of other ways to advertise that until you have the capital to afford the newspapers and T.V.
Also as another said...word of mouth is a great asset to your company. If you do
a good job and are honest and frendly to people, the word on mouth is very powerful!!
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Yellowbook/YellowPages managed to generate mostly sales calls, the few customer calls are usually pretty useless.
Newspaper/Print usually requires a lot of patience unless your the only guy advertising your specialty.
Church bulletins will generate leads if it's your church and everybody knows you.
Service Magic and the lot are a waste of time.
Never tried cards in stores,
Depending on what you do there's property managers, condo associations, Realtors (who have proven to be profitable bird dogs to me in the past).
There's always flyers placed directly in the neighborhoods you want to work in.
But the most reliable is referrals. For any business repeat or referred customers are they most lucrative. I put most of my marketing effort into developing that source. But I have a real small outfit that does mostly higher end stuff. I can't sell price and am picky about what I bid.
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Well it really depends what kind of service you intend to provide. You need to give a clue as to what you are doing before anyone can tell you the best opinion. I've done a lot of advertising but it really depends on who you are trying to reach, with out that info it's pointless to give an opinion.
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Well it really depends what kind of service you intend to provide. You need to give a clue as to what you are doing before anyone can tell you the best opinion. I've done a lot of advertising but it really depends on who you are trying to reach, with out that info it's pointless to give an opinion.
Sales are Sales weather its buggie whips or widgets.
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Sales are Sales weather its buggie whips or widgets.
I'd have to disagree with that. For instance selling used cars takes entirely different marketing than say selling a service to another business. Selling a service to a business once again takes entirely different marketing vs selling a service to a individual. Advertising all depends on who you want to reach and what you are providing or selling.
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"Buddy Referrals" are the best.
I also like to get 10000 flyers made up, then have them inserted into the local paper according to zipcode.
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thirty years in business and I never advertise. our work advertises for us.
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I'd have to disagree with that. For instance selling used cars takes entirely different marketing than say selling a service to another business. Selling a service to a business once again takes entirely different marketing vs selling a service to a individual. Advertising all depends on who you want to reach and what you are providing or selling.
you're wrong.
i own a repair shop. i sell(obviously) automotive repairs, diagnosis's, and maintenance. i do it very well. if i can get the customer in the door, i can sell them SOMETHING. i never resort to selling something the vehicle doesn't need.
a friend of mine owns a corsetry shop in philly. i help her out there sometimes fixing things.
about a month ago, this couple comes in, looking for things for her to wear. the sales girls were both busy with other customers, so i stepped in and asked if i could help them. the woman went over to look at some miniskirts while the husband told me what they were looking for. i asked him if he knew what size she wore, he did, so i pulled a couple things off the shelf for them.
to shorten it up, they walked out with almost $700 of corset, and fetishy colthes for her.
they did come back to buy more, a few weeks ago, and although the salesgirls weren't busy this time, they wanted me to help them.
so, yes.......selling is selling, if you're selling shoes, repairs, whatever. it all works the same.
treat the customer well, and they'll come back, and most likely send friends back to you too.
dred,......i'm getting ready to leave for the day...when i log back on tonight or tomorrow, i'll go through what works for me so far, ok?
<<S>>
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thirty years in business and I never advertise. our work advertises for us.
yep...basically word of mouth.
i've only been in business for 6 months, and that works best for me so far
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Yellowbook/YellowPages managed to generate mostly sales calls, the few customer calls are usually pretty useless.
Newspaper/Print usually requires a lot of patience unless your the only guy advertising your specialty.
Church bulletins will generate leads if it's your church and everybody knows you.
Service Magic and the lot are a waste of time.
Never tried cards in stores,
Depending on what you do there's property managers, condo associations, Realtors (who have proven to be profitable bird dogs to me in the past).
There's always flyers placed directly in the neighborhoods you want to work in.
But the most reliable is referrals. For any business repeat or referred customers are they most lucrative. I put most of my marketing effort into developing that source. But I have a real small outfit that does mostly higher end stuff. I can't sell price and am picky about what I bid.
I do Painting Wallpapering and small home improvements and an assortment of repairs.
But I've had people call me and be willing to pay me for all sorts of things. From putting together a store bought Desks and bookcases. To hanging Window treatments. Usually the phone call starts with. "I know you dont usually do this, But..."
As for advertising
I've tried about all of them.
The single two that have worked better then all the rest combined is word of mouth.
And business cards in the Hardware/Paint stores where I buy my supplies.
Yellow Pages, Newspapers and Service Magic generated mostly either as you say, Sales calls (people looking to sell me something) Or people just price shopping. Though I have a buddy that swears by the little township weekly newspapers.
They just havent worked for me.
Service Magic was a HUGE waste of time and money.And seem to think they are like the mafia when you try to cancel. I think I posted a story about it about a year ago
Tried Yellowbook.com this past year and since January I've received exactly 1 phone call..yep..1
Another price shopper.
Like you I'm small and tend to do more high end quality stuff. Rather then be a Gob & go (Gob it on and go onto the next one)
So selling by price can sometimes be difficult. I always tell people to make sure they are comparing apples and apples
Another area where I've gotten work is in retirement communities bulletins Where my customers have actually volunteered to put my name up.
Another thing I'll do is create my own luck.
Often when Im in one of the stores. Homeowners will come in looking for this or that. Or will just be buying some paint.
I'f they seem like they need help I'll ask them a few questions then give them my advice and then hand them a card and ell them if they have any problems,call me.
I this past year did a 6K job for the daughter of a lady I helped in the store a year prior.
Amazing how many jobs i've gotten over the years just by helping people in the store and then handing them my card.
Saved my arse during some dead times on several occasions.
Another thing Im about to try is some door to door flyers Im working on.
There is a relatively new housing development that was built between 1 and two years ago just a few blocks form me.
I figure I'll print out some flyers. Then hire my daughter and one of her friends to go around depositing them on peoples houses.
I find that after about a year in new homes people want to start personalizing their places with color.
My approach is going to be simple.
just a Basic flyer advertising my name and type of work I do. The downside of construction grade paint. The quality materials I use yadda yadda yadda. etc etc etc
But with the Opening line in bold letters.
"Tired of White Yet?"
The most common thing people tell me when they paint a newer house is.
"I'm just so tired of looking at white"
I figure at worst. My kid and one of her friends make a couple bucks spending money.
But to be honest. I've found my best success in advertising has also been the cheapest.
Simple Business cards and word of mouth.
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Well it really depends what kind of service you intend to provide. You need to give a clue as to what you are doing before anyone can tell you the best opinion. I've done a lot of advertising but it really depends on who you are trying to reach, with out that info it's pointless to give an opinion.
I've done some advertising as well (not for business... mostly for non-profit organizations). He's correct, each service/business should really tailor their advertising to their target customer base.
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you're wrong.
i own a repair shop. i sell(obviously) automotive repairs, diagnosis's, and maintenance. i do it very well. if i can get the customer in the door, i can sell them SOMETHING. i never resort to selling something the vehicle doesn't need.
a friend of mine owns a corsetry shop in philly. i help her out there sometimes fixing things.
about a month ago, this couple comes in, looking for things for her to wear. the sales girls were both busy with other customers, so i stepped in and asked if i could help them. the woman went over to look at some miniskirts while the husband told me what they were looking for. i asked him if he knew what size she wore, he did, so i pulled a couple things off the shelf for them.
to shorten it up, they walked out with almost $700 of corset, and fetishy colthes for her.
they did come back to buy more, a few weeks ago, and although the salesgirls weren't busy this time, they wanted me to help them.
so, yes.......selling is selling, if you're selling shoes, repairs, whatever. it all works the same.
treat the customer well, and they'll come back, and most likely send friends back to you too.
dred,......i'm getting ready to leave for the day...when i log back on tonight or tomorrow, i'll go through what works for me so far, ok?
<<S>>
yup, spot on. selling is discovering what the customer wants and then getting it for them. sometimes finding what they want is more about listening and observing to merely hearing what someone is saying.
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thirty years in business and I never advertise. our work advertises for us.
Yep. Same with my company (the one I work for, not the imaginary one I own ;)). If you're in a field where you can make a name for yourself through quality work, you'll be swimming in referrals.
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Localized print and direct mail strategies will eventually generate some response. Unless you hit the customer lottery it takes a while to get in front of the right lead at the right moment. Casual meetings can pay off really well too. Problem is, you can't really take control of that kind of strategy. Print ads are great if the market's ripe, you just need to scale the effort to fit your resources.
I've seen guys do well using tactics I wouldn't touch with a stick, the "storm chaser's" come immediately to mind, but even they sometimes develop a good client or two.
Referrals are the key to longevity in any business. The contact costs little or nothing and you're already pre-qualified walking in the door. Developing them is the key. I try to patronize or refer my customers' businesses when I can, send a bunch of holiday cards, follow up whenever I get wind of a relation that's "thinking of doing something", and of course, ask. There's a moment when your client is especially receptive to providing referrals and if you bother to ask, you can usually get a name or two.
Another twist on the flyer strategy is to hit the area where you have a job or recent completion. Not much, just the same block. It works better for exteriors but the fundamental idea is the same. If you work an area that gets a decent amount of side walk traffic, stab a pole mounted flyer box in the grass next to your truck. People do take them if they're in the market. By the way, it seems to work better if you do your own flyer distribution. Best done on a weekend when people are out. Face time is real important.
Oh, and answer your phone, first or second ring if possible. Small contractors lose more business by letting voice mail handle their calls than by doing poor work. If it's a bad time to take a call, just beg for the permission to call back in a few.
Sales and marketing are actually completely different if closely related disciplines. Proficiency in one does not assure skill in the other. But they have one thing in common. They require one to receive before one can effectively project. Or more simply put, look and listen before you open your mouth.
For those that felt their invaluable advice required a deeper clarification of Dred's specific profile, I suggest you read his original post. It pretty much tells you what you need to know.
The other reality is most businesses don't think of promotions until there's a problem. They look into spending money to attract business just when the cash flow dries up. The old Reactive/Proactive dialog. Develop a few good habits and practice them daily and it will usually pay off. Most people in the trades hate selling, marketing, or prospecting. Consequently they tend to respond to letting somebody else handle the task (Service Magic, Yellow pages, Newspapers) but unless you're too busy to do it yourself, you won't get near the same effect as you will by taking control of who you put your name in front of.
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Yep. Same with my company (the one I work for, not the imaginary one I own ;)). If you're in a field where you can make a name for yourself through quality work, you'll be swimming in referrals.
not referrals, actual orders. hi you did mr so n so's gates. we want you to come over and help us out with ours. that is the most common thing I hear on the phone.
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Ya, with all those crazy Cubans running around who wouldn't want some serious security! ;)
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Yep. Same with my company (the one I work for, not the imaginary one I own ;)). If you're in a field where you can make a name for yourself through quality work, you'll be swimming in referrals.
so how many of us do you think are owning "imaginary" companies?
mine is new, but it is real.
google john's car care in cherry hill nj if ya don't believe me. or go on napa's website, and look for the same shop name in cherry hill.
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yup, spot on. selling is discovering what the customer wants and then getting it for them. sometimes finding what they want is more about listening and observing to merely hearing what someone is saying.
yep..that's exactly what i did.
it's what i do when i'm selling repair work too. i listen to them concrening their problems. get the info. then diagnose.
when i'm listening to them describe their problem, i get a feel for their personality. this helps me when i find the problem, and need to sell the fix.
you can apply the same in anything. listen, learn. treat the customer as if he/she were a friend. THAT by itself goes miles.
DRED..........
what DID NOT work for me so far:
church flyers(St. Pius X) right around the corner from my shop.
place mats(the ones in the diners with a couple dozen ads on them)
money mailers(or what ever they're called)
what DID work to some extent:
phone calls. i call some people from the customer list EVERY single day if i have time.
word of mouth. i've had people come in otw canada from florida, because their brother-in-law is a customer
signage. i had a portble sign out front till cherry hill said i couldn't as it was against the code. THAT brought a lot of curious NEW customers in. now i have my E-350 cargo van letered up, as that is allowed.
what you said you do with business cards is good too.....i haven't tried that yet, but will be putting them around now that i read your idea.
good luck dude!!
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Localized print and direct mail strategies will eventually generate some response. Unless you hit the customer lottery it takes a while to get in front of the right lead at the right moment. Casual meetings can pay off really well too. Problem is, you can't really take control of that kind of strategy. Print ads are great if the market's ripe, you just need to scale the effort to fit your resources.
I've seen guys do well using tactics I wouldn't touch with a stick, the "storm chaser's" come immediately to mind, but even they sometimes develop a good client or two.
Referrals are the key to longevity in any business. The contact costs little or nothing and you're already pre-qualified walking in the door. Developing them is the key. I try to patronize or refer my customers' businesses when I can, send a bunch of holiday cards, follow up whenever I get wind of a relation that's "thinking of doing something", and of course, ask. There's a moment when your client is especially receptive to providing referrals and if you bother to ask, you can usually get a name or two.
Another twist on the flyer strategy is to hit the area where you have a job or recent completion. Not much, just the same block. It works better for exteriors but the fundamental idea is the same. If you work an area that gets a decent amount of side walk traffic, stab a pole mounted flyer box in the grass next to your truck. People do take them if they're in the market. By the way, it seems to work better if you do your own flyer distribution. Best done on a weekend when people are out. Face time is real important.
Oh, and answer your phone, first or second ring if possible. Small contractors lose more business by letting voice mail handle their calls than by doing poor work. If it's a bad time to take a call, just beg for the permission to call back in a few.
Sales and marketing are actually completely different if closely related disciplines. Proficiency in one does not assure skill in the other. But they have one thing in common. They require one to receive before one can effectively project. Or more simply put, look and listen before you open your mouth.
For those that felt their invaluable advice required a deeper clarification of Dred's specific profile, I suggest you read his original post. It pretty much tells you what you need to know.
The other reality is most businesses don't think of promotions until there's a problem. They look into spending money to attract business just when the cash flow dries up. The old Reactive/Proactive dialog. Develop a few good habits and practice them daily and it will usually pay off. Most people in the trades hate selling, marketing, or prospecting. Consequently they tend to respond to letting somebody else handle the task (Service Magic, Yellow pages, Newspapers) but unless you're too busy to do it yourself, you won't get near the same effect as you will by taking control of who you put your name in front of.
the only thing i disagree with is the phone. i never even attempt to answer on the first ring. it looks as if you're just sitting there waiting for it to ring. i always go for 2 or 3 rings.
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When my father and I started our business we found that the yellow pages and newspaper were really helpful. Now we have started getting free advertising by doing work for charitable organizations, inviting the public to help out, and then we get alot of business from the people who show up to help.
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Ten years painting/waterproofing only advertising has been a card, company profile, a smile and a hand shake. You can't beat the personal touch. Oh and then sign writing the vans to help with parking issues in town. The rest has been word of mouth...honesty is your best advert especially when it comes to the contracting field.
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Ten years painting/waterproofing only advertising has been a card, company profile, a smile and a hand shake. You can't beat the personal touch. Oh and then sign writing the vans to help with parking issues in town. The rest has been word of mouth...honesty is your best advert especially when it comes to the contracting field.
and the automotive field. automotive techs, have that "grease monkey" reputation still going on. women still feel uncomfortable dealing with some of them, although i've been pretty good at making women feel comfortable in my shop........
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you're wrong.
i own a repair shop. i sell(obviously) automotive repairs, diagnosis's, and maintenance. i do it very well. if i can get the customer in the door, i can sell them SOMETHING. i never resort to selling something the vehicle doesn't need.
a friend of mine owns a corsetry shop in philly. i help her out there sometimes fixing things.
about a month ago, this couple comes in, looking for things for her to wear. the sales girls were both busy with other customers, so i stepped in and asked if i could help them. the woman went over to look at some miniskirts while the husband told me what they were looking for. i asked him if he knew what size she wore, he did, so i pulled a couple things off the shelf for them.
to shorten it up, they walked out with almost $700 of corset, and fetishy colthes for her.
they did come back to buy more, a few weeks ago, and although the salesgirls weren't busy this time, they wanted me to help them.
so, yes.......selling is selling, if you're selling shoes, repairs, whatever. it all works the same.
treat the customer well, and they'll come back, and most likely send friends back to you too.
dred,......i'm getting ready to leave for the day...when i log back on tonight or tomorrow, i'll go through what works for me so far, ok?
<<S>>
He's not asking about selling once they get in the door.. He's asking how to best advertise to get them in the door.. There is a very big difference and I'll give you a bit of my history.
I started a lawn service when I was in high school at age 17 and ran it 10 years. In that time I went from doing only residential lawns to doing nothing but commercial accounts. When I did residential I did door to door, word of mouth or ads in small local papers. When I did the commercial accounts, I did very little advertising other than a very big add in the phone book and going out to personally drum up the work with various businesses person to person and bidding on govt contracts.
I then started a used car dealership but just did it on the side and advertising was totally different there.. Phone book was useless to me I did nothing but newspaper classified adds mixed with the auto trader.
I sold the lawn service and took over a small floor cleaning company that had a good contract. This business I did no advertising at all, I pulled in all the work by going out and meeting face to face with store managers. Advertising in the phone book or paper wouldn't have brought me much biz because it's just wasn't the type of biz that is in high demand. Typically once you had a contract you kept it unless the store manager was a A hole or you screwed up.
I got out of the floor biz and car dealer ship about the same time and took some time off and now I run websites. Which is a whole different animal in reguard to advertising but I can tell you I have had lots of experience in 4 different business at this point in my life and every single one of them was different in it's advertising.
Again he wasn't asking how to sell once they are in the door, he was asking how to best advertise to get them in the door and that really depends on what you are trying to sell. With out that info it's not much use trying to guess what will work best for him.
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"the only thing i disagree with is the phone. i never even attempt to answer on the first ring. it looks as if you're just sitting there waiting for it to ring. i always go for 2 or 3 rings."
Yeah, I've heard that too many times to count. It's a bad time to explain why I try to discourage that kind of "Theater of the Mind" approach but I will say that I was given that old chestnut early on by one of the best and it pays. You'll also find it's a habit of most of the real first class operations worldwide. But no bother. If that's your thing God Bless ya, doubtful it will alienate anybody.
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Moreso then needing advise.
I am curious as to compairing what folks find works for them the best.
And what they have found doesnt.
And seeing if anyone had any different results and new ideas to try.
I figure with the traditional slow months the winter brings around here and already existing drop off due to the economic mindset people are in.
Its been a bizarre summer. decent spring. Insanely busy July. Nosedive in August. and now back to around normal in Sept.
The August slowdown though worked out well as insanity of July between work and some personal issues going on in my wifes family (Her mother has bladder cancer and isnt doing well) had me close to being burnt out.
I ended up Running a crew for a buddy of mine for a couple of weeks which seemed like a vacation in itself. All the authority with only about half the responsibility LOL
Anyway
I figure its better to start thinking of these things now then when winter does actually come.
Pretty much so far the things people have said works for them so far is the same things that works for me.
Word of mouth is by far how I get most of my work.
Second most is business cards in the store.
Actually selling isnt usually a problem.
I did get some work from Service Magic. But I found the investment/return ratio and aggravation with dealing with that company wasnt really worth it.
If you try it. You will get leads from SM. Just keep in mind most are either window shoppers or are very price oriented. And SM is less then helpful or co operative if you have a problem with them.
I've known other contractors who do get quite a bit of work from the paper version of the Yellow pages. (the phone book)
But those that do are the ones that take out the full page ads at thousands and thousands of dollars a year.
And even they get slow.
The rest so far are hit and miss.
I am getting a ton of people calling me lately looking for me to advertise with them though.
Couple of weeks ago I had someone repeatedly calling me wanting me to sign up for a year of their advertising service (which neither I nor anyone I know of around here has ever heard of) at $200 a month.
And wanted me to sign up for 2-3 years Telling me that that was what most of their clients signed up for(yea alright, HELLO) Telling me how I was going to be going on all these leads
They claimed they weren't a referral service but in talking to them it was clear thats exactly what they were.
After telling them no thank you a few times I finally said "Ok If your so confident of your service. there are two things I want and I want them in writing.
First I want the first month free as a trial period. Second And I want a 1 year contract. Not a 2 year contract.
If your so confident I will be able to land work. this shouldn't be a problem. You invest 1 month and you end up getting me signed up for the remaining 11 if I like your service. Otherwise your just asking me to sign up for 2-3 years of another bill"
The lady on the hone replied with "Well I want a Mercedes and a diamond ring too But Im not going to get that either."
Heh. She aint gonna get it on my dime either.
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What type of contractor work is it?
ROX
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Moreso then needing advise.
I am curious as to compairing what folks find works for them the best.
And what they have found doesnt.
And seeing if anyone had any different results and new ideas to try.
I figure with the traditional slow months the winter brings around here and already existing drop off due to the economic mindset people are in.
Its been a bizarre summer. decent spring. Insanely busy July. Nosedive in August. and now back to around normal in Sept.
The August slowdown though worked out well as insanity of July between work and some personal issues going on in my wifes family (Her mother has bladder cancer and isnt doing well) had me close to being burnt out.
I ended up Running a crew for a buddy of mine for a couple of weeks which seemed like a vacation in itself. All the authority with only about half the responsibility LOL
Anyway
I figure its better to start thinking of these things now then when winter does actually come.
Pretty much so far the things people have said works for them so far is the same things that works for me.
Word of mouth is by far how I get most of my work.
Second most is business cards in the store.
Actually selling isnt usually a problem.
I did get some work from Service Magic. But I found the investment/return ratio and aggravation with dealing with that company wasnt really worth it.
If you try it. You will get leads from SM. Just keep in mind most are either window shoppers or are very price oriented. And SM is less then helpful or co operative if you have a problem with them.
I've known other contractors who do get quite a bit of work from the paper version of the Yellow pages. (the phone book)
But those that do are the ones that take out the full page ads at thousands and thousands of dollars a year.
And even they get slow.
The rest so far are hit and miss.
I am getting a ton of people calling me lately looking for me to advertise with them though.
Couple of weeks ago I had someone repeatedly calling me wanting me to sign up for a year of their advertising service (which neither I nor anyone I know of around here has ever heard of) at $200 a month.
And wanted me to sign up for 2-3 years Telling me that that was what most of their clients signed up for(yea alright, HELLO) Telling me how I was going to be going on all these leads
They claimed they weren't a referral service but in talking to them it was clear thats exactly what they were.
After telling them no thank you a few times I finally said "Ok If your so confident of your service. there are two things I want and I want them in writing.
First I want the first month free as a trial period. Second And I want a 1 year contract. Not a 2 year contract.
If your so confident I will be able to land work. this shouldn't be a problem. You invest 1 month and you end up getting me signed up for the remaining 11 if I like your service. Otherwise your just asking me to sign up for 2-3 years of another bill"
The lady on the hone replied with "Well I want a Mercedes and a diamond ring too But Im not going to get that either."
Heh. She aint gonna get it on my dime either.
that last line, would've had me askign to speak to a manager.
the slow down you described is exactly the same for my shop this year. i barley broke even in august, sept. seems to be picking up nicely.
don't know if it's coincidence though, but what i did notice was that just when the gas prices started to drop is also when my appointments started to drop also.
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not referrals, actual orders. hi you did mr so n so's gates. we want you to come over and help us out with ours. that is the most common thing I hear on the phone.
Sorry bout that, that's what I meant. If you do good work, people hear about it, and they'll call with work that needs to be done. Obviously this works a bit better for business that deal with niche products/services, though.
CAP1: It wasn't an accusation, it was me saying I wish I owned my own company. :)
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Sorry bout that, that's what I meant. If you do good work, people hear about it, and they'll call with work that needs to be done. Obviously this works a bit better for business that deal with niche products/services, though.
CAP1: It wasn't an accusation, it was me saying I wish I owned my own company. :)
lol.....understood.......
it's a LOT more work than i expected though. still much more fun than working for someone else. :aok
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Pfffft, you're the president, hire an in-office masseuse! :aok
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lol.....understood.......
it's a LOT more work than i expected though. still much more fun than working for someone else. :aok
Damn right.
Went into this...well back into this 8 years ago.
Despite the ups and downs I dont regret a day.
At least the aggravation you have is YOUR aggravation and not from some jack nut boss who knows less then you do.
the closest thing you have to a boss is your customer.
And if they seem problematic.
You only have to deal with them till the job is done.
One of the best parts for me is witht he start of every new job.
Is its like starting a new job.
And on larger jobs. Just when it gets to the point where its feeling like "a job" I'm about done.
Not to mention the certain degree of satisfaction when your done taking something that looked like a disaster to start with and make it look damn near like a work of art when its done.
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that last line, would've had me askign to speak to a manager.
the slow down you described is exactly the same for my shop this year. i barley broke even in august, sept. seems to be picking up nicely.
don't know if it's coincidence though, but what i did notice was that just when the gas prices started to drop is also when my appointments started to drop also.
Seemed ot have hit all over.
The stores I deal with all noticed a drop in August. And a very significant drop in business this summer over last year overall.
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that last line, would've had me askign to speak to a manager.
the slow down you described is exactly the same for my shop this year. i barley broke even in august, sept. seems to be picking up nicely.
don't know if it's coincidence though, but what i did notice was that just when the gas prices started to drop is also when my appointments started to drop also.
I haven't made any money this year. the thing is to not spend every penny you ever made so when times like these come through you can survive and then take advantage of the period coming with far fewer competitors. economic darwinism prevails baby.
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I haven't made any money this year. the thing is to not spend every penny you ever made so when times like these come through you can survive and then take advantage of the period coming with far fewer competitors. economic darwinism prevails baby.
oooooooooo, i'm squirrling money away now more than i ever have. if i don't HAVE to have it, i don't buy it.
although i have a bit more money available to spend, i keep it all nice and safe for these slow periods.
on a positive note, my acountant says i'm one of her clients that;s in better shape.....i'm actually turning a small profit, which she can't believe since i just started in march. :aok
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I made a couple of errors in judgement and against my own principles. in 2005 I bought my wife a truck and allowed myself to be persuaded into paying notes on it even though I had ready cash available. in 2007 I did the same thing again for a truck for me. while the notes are low and we send additional money every month which goes directly to the principal owed I still feel like I'm living with damocle's sword over my head. I will probably never purchase another vehicle on credit again irrespective of what my accountant suggests or how low the interests are.
the other mistake was I kept too many salaries on for too long when I couldn't afford them and the people were basically idle. consequently money that should have seen me through two bad years might only seem through one.
at least I'm not going to the banks for loans though.
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oooooooooo, i'm squirrling money away now more than i ever have. if i don't HAVE to have it, i don't buy it.
although i have a bit more money available to spend, i keep it all nice and safe for these slow periods.
on a positive note, my acountant says i'm one of her clients that;s in better shape.....i'm actually turning a small profit, which she can't believe since i just started in march. :aok
Yea one of the things you have to remember is to treat the business as though its a person. The Business has to make money as well as you