Was thinking about the difference between the two ….
at the moment .. I don’t advertise, aside from giving everyone and anyone I meet a business card and having the van lettered up ….
just got a voice mail message today … someone wants to talk about some remodeling.
Think it may be a friend of my dentist. He just told my wife on Thurs that he gave my number to 3 other doctors and wanted to know if anyone called yet.
Knowing that this caller got my name and number from someone that already knows me …. gives me much more confidence that I already have the job going in .. all we gotta do is make sure the money is there and the ideas are in place.
I’m thinking if and when I start the local community mag ad’s … that’s going to change my approach a bit.
Just realized … if I move to having real advertising in addition to the word of mouth …. I’m gonna have to adopt a second approach for the “cold callers” …
The closing rates and going to be lower for those that got my name from an ad …
probably have to spend more time up front and most likely even plan on more meetings before the signing.
I’m still planning on going with the mag ad’s … have 2 in mind … both aimed sharply at target markets I already pursue ….
but … thinking I’ll have to lower my expectations of the results.
Gotta get back into the cold call selling mindset …. get back to where I was in other sales jobs where there were more contracts declined than accepted … back to playing the numbers game.
As it is now … with pure referals …. if the money is there and the project cemented … I’m usually surprised if I don’t walk away with a start check….
Man … this advertising is going to hurt my feelings!
Jeff
Buck Construction, llc Pittsburgh,PA
Artistry in Carpentry
Replies
The only thing I could add to your train of thought is advertising has given us a steady stream of new clients to go with our referals and returns. Also it has allowed me to be more aggresive with my rates as I have some more business to work with.
Like it or not if you are going to pursue rate increases some of your existing clients will fall by the wayside feeling you are now too expensive and having some new blood that doesn't know the lower rates will help this cause.
Our cable company has a local channel that you can purchase still photo ads for about $35 a week. I get 2-3 calls a week from that on the average. Sell about 40%. DanT
I have a dish .. so I never think about cable.
I'll have to see how the supplier is in the area I like to work and see if they have something. Pictures and worth ... what .... 999 words?
Good idea.
losing a coupla customers because you have too many people throwing money at ya isn't a bad thing!
JeffBuck Construction, llc Pittsburgh,PA
Artistry in Carpentry
Jeff,
Why is it that you have decided to advertise?? Are you looking to bring in more work, broaden your customer base?, etc.?? Just thinking of all the tire kickers you might be getting with the advertising.
I think ( BUT I may be wrong) that Piffin only takes on new customers if they are refferals from old customers,
-m2akita
Not trying to answer for Jeff but when I first went into business I read all that here and so I thought, man thats what I want to do just wait for referals. There are some pretty dry times waiting to build up your referal base. So I started some ads and what a boost! Just my thinking. DanT
you always need to keep the flow of potentials running ...
advertising will just be one more added to the bag of tricks.
Plus ... the one community paper ... will be a back up to the job sign and van lettering.
it goes directly to the neighborhoods I focus on.
not that I'm planning on anyone reading the ad cold and calling out of the blue ....
but each and every time someone sees your name ... you become more "established" in their mind. The more some thinks they "know" your company ... the more trusted you become.
I'll call it the "mike Smith" theory .... "Be Everywhere at All Times" ....
the other mag I have in mind will be more of an "in" in a specific community.
I do have plans to track it and see if it's money well spent.
At the moment ... I don't have a yellow pages ad. I know lotsa people look there after the fact to see if you are "legit" ... but as far as I know ... I haven't lost any sales because I'm not in the book. Have had people ask ...
I just tell them the truth. I don't think it's money well spent, and with all my referals, I haven't needed to find out for sure. Here's the list of referals if you want to check me out, and ad printed on yellow paper doesn't mean I come back after I take your start check!
JeffBuck Construction, llc Pittsburgh,PA
Artistry in Carpentry
I run an ad in the paper that covers my chosen area best. I run the same ad every week. My theory is that they get used to seeing the ad, and the more times they've seen it, the more they think of me as an established outfit, then, when they are ready to buy, they call me up.
I know referrals are supposed to be the best advertising, funny thing, last three referrals I had, all time wasters. It could be because in the UK it would be considered bad manners to ask someone how much their kitchen cost, so they don't. So, when I go and see them, give them a ballpark figure, they don't already have an idea of my prices. So a referral can be pretty much the same as an ad response, unless the HO has already checked out some prices with the competition
John
Hey you know you are right about the yellow pages thing. I haven't been in the yellow pages but have found many of my older clients do just that, check it to see if you are a real business. Just changed that last month. DanT
what'd your ad run?
ever now and then I think about calling to see what one little line would cost ...
then ... which one? We have both the Yellow Pages ... and the Yellow Book ...
or something like that ... shows ya how often I check to see which one I've pulled out.
like the guy at a sales seminar I went to said ...
How many millions of dollars do Coke and Pepsi pay to fight each other ...
Whats the first thing U say to the waitress ...?
Coke or Pepsi, what ever U have ....
JeffBuck Construction, llc Pittsburgh,PA
Artistry in Carpentry
Jeff,
I think the advertising is a good idea. A friend I know concentrates an small, local weeklys and does ok.
FWIW, here's what I do when I get a sense things are gonna slow a bit.
I keep a good data base of all clients, and also possibles, the ones that didn't hire me.
Once or twice a year, I make up a postcard, hit the button and presto, they're all addressed. Put on a stamp and out they go.
Stay away from holidays, school openings and closing times etc. Put some type of message and or a cartoon or something on it, just a hello or I've added this to my specialties, or I just hired so and so.
I almost always land a job or two, and that's usually enough to pick me up and keep things rolling. Not bad for way less than $100.00.
Good Luck,
Eric
I Love A Hand That Meets My Own,
With A Hold That Causes Some Sensation.
Edited 10/4/2004 7:06 pm ET by firebird
Thats a great tip Eric.
I used to sell for a friend that specialized in Pella windows. He used to send out a letter prior to the one year anniversary which ended the base warranty period. He would remind the customers that the warranty period was ending and that it would be a good idea to go around and check all the windows and call him if they needed any service.
Begging to do service work might seem illogical, but that letter got him a ton of referrals and repeat business.
He still went out of business and this guy could sell....only problem....he had a lousy installation crew and a lousier superintendent.
blueIf you want to read a fancy personal signature... go read someone else's post.
I guarantee all my labor for two years and highly encourage my clients to take advantage of that. I remind them several time to call me if something needs a tweak.....keeps a small problem from becoming big sometimes too!
It's a good excuse to have a face to face and see what's going on, not just with them, but with friends, neighbors and relatives.
I can't tell you how many times I've heard someone tell me,"I was looking for your card to give to so and so......" And then I got THIS in the mail!
It keeps me current with them and really doesn't cost a cent!
EricI Love A Hand That Meets My Own,
With A Hold That Causes Some Sensation.
At first the salesman they connected me with said for a bold white page line and a single yellow pages line under GC section would be 60 a month on top of the phone bill, but first you have to have it converted to a business line.
I already had a second line I use as a business line so I called the phone company and 1 hours and 57 minutes later (not kidding) and 9 people I got it switched to a business line. The last thing they said was, oh and you get a free one line in the yellow pages with your $58 phone bill for a business line.
So then I wasn't PO'd any more about the wait. Needless to say I didn't call the salesman back. So in the end it cost me $21 more than the original line cost. DanT
That's what kept me from doing it last time ...
only had one home line for me ... had 3 for the wife's biz ... but I wasn't gonna pay extra just for my name in lights.
when I first got my cell phone ... I asked again ... wasn't possible to have the cell as the listed ad number ... or words to that effect.
since cells are everywhere now .... maybe I'll check back.
I use my cell as the work number ... so it's that or nothing.
and ... I ain't paying any extra ... just give me a price to have it listed.
Since we're talking about dealing with phone companies here ...
I'll probably go unlisted.
funny about the salesmen ... when I managed a carpet cleaning co ..... the yellow pages guys were always the most annoying.
JeffBuck Construction, llc Pittsburgh,PA
Artistry in Carpentry
Jeff,
Have to second your opinion on the yellow pages sales people.
When I relocated here in '96, I needed to turn cash FAST, so I picked what I figured was an underserved sub trade to get started. As soon as I pulled a business license, the yellow pages guy called.
He listened to me impatiently, and recommended a full page ad, since I was new; it would convince people I was legitimate. This cost $2,000 or so a month. I told him I would get back to him.
I called the 7 firms in my trade with full page ads, and 6 had disconnected numbers. When I called him back, he explained that this was great for me, since my ad would now get better placement.
In no way did he feel that the 24K in direct yearly overhead may have been a factor in these guys going out of business. I bought a little bold face 3 liner so folks could find me.
Best,
skipj
Don't know if they are still doing it or not, but I remember a story in the subburban paper where they phone company would look at ads in the classified for people wanting to do work make them get commercial lines if they did not have one.
I remembered on guy that did some moonligthing painting. He would only advertise twice a year for a month at a time. They got him.
Would bring new meaning to the term Phone Police lol. I had mine that way for 5 years with no issue. I just needed to make the change to seem more legit. DanT
One thing about advertising is it's basically a cold call from whoever. I am a firm believer in referrals and networking, not that ads don't do it. I know you and many others here are in very large areas, my area is rural. Business cards and a smile are the # 1 things for me.
Referrals are great because you may already know something about the person before even seeing the job.
I also have my van lettered. I bet I've gotten maybe 2 leads from it. I didn't do it for the leads, though. I was going for a pro look, that I feel I have gotten. For the first time, I purchased a spot in a local phone book. I guess I'm going for some of a whole package. The phone book is most important, I feel, for people who already know me and want my work to find my number.
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