Hey guys (gals),
Just curious what types of advertising works best for you? I’m trying to transition from sub contractor work to direct for homeowner work. Need to become more visible.
Thanks
jason
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It takes a while to build a reputation, but. Do a good job and don't forget to open your mouth. Direct referrals are indeed the ticket.
Best of luck.
A great place for Information, Comraderie, and a sucker punch.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
Quittin' Time
I'm with calvin. Referrals are best. Most advertising I've done in local papers/mailers has only resulted in lots of wasted time. I think it depends on the type of customer you want to target. .
Speak the truth, or make your peace some other way.
Do you know any of the local realtors? These guys/gals often are asked to refer good people, especially when someone buys a fixer-upper or buys with the intent to remodel.
Another possibility is a networking group like BNI (Business Networking International - they have thousands of chapters all over the country) with members from diverse businesses who are motivated to refer people to other members. There's usually a realtor and a mortgage broker in those groups who could become strong networkers for you.
Does your church or scout troop or other civic group have a project planned that you could use to show your stuff while doing good works?
BruceT
over the last coupla years ...
I've looked at at least 10 ... maybe 20 jobs ... thru realtors.
Not one went thru ... and on the jobs where I was able to go back and check on .... not one was ever built.
At this point ... with a realtor lead ... I just ballpark. I stopped wasting the time to price it out. Hard to qualify the customer too ... because the realtors have them see well versed at saying the right things to make you think there's more than a snowballs chance.
Each and every time if was just the realtors way of using an estimate to see at a higher price or buy at a lower. None of the jobs were ever gonna happen.
Jeff Buck Construction
Artistry In Carpentry
Pittsburgh Pa
Jeff. I know exactly what you're talking about here. this is one of the most common 'Sleazy realtor' ploys out there. It happens way too often, and it sucks.
However. if a guy had a good friend who also happened to be a realtor, that particular relationship could prove quite mutually beneficial.
It's one thing for a realtor to use some annonymous contractor to help grease the wheels on one of his closings, and quite another for someone to knowingly screw a buddy out of his time and effort." If I were a carpenter"
Actually, I've had pretty good luck with punch out/inspection lists either pre or post sale. I have wasted time in the past - it took a little while to figureout when someone was pimping me out. Now if someone wants an estimate on my letterhead to take to settlement, I charge for my time.
we got this dude in town that does those quick house remodel shows for the weather channel, maybe you need a tv show
LOL.Speak the truth, or make your peace some other way.
pimp my pad?
We have a good website linked to NAHB, Local Home builders Assoc, http://www.notsobighouse.com and all our state solar center stuff plus we support local tree-hugger causes and music festivals in exchange for having our URL in there websites and publications (and write for FHB and get them to list our URL on the contributors page) we have business cards with our URL on them, and we've even made up postcards of our prettiest work and slipped them into postcard racks at local stores as if they were for sale. The postcards are wild, got them made cheap at http://www.modernpostcard.com we walk into meetings with clients and see them on the refrigerator! One employee came to us after having one of our cards hanging over his work bench for a year. But if you don't have a website you can change and update for less than $100 / change you aren't really trying. FYI ours is http://www.chandlerdesignbuild.com and I update it myself regularly.
BEST - Word of mouth from your local lumber yard
NEXT - Word of mouth from customers/friends
Next - Weekly newspaper ads
WORST - Realtors (I checked back on the some of the 25 or so bids I gave out and they were getting done - by family, friend, unlicensed nobody's - as per my estimates; started charging 'em for estimates and stopped getting calls).
Grunge on.
Frickin Realtors,
I was paying a "Realtor" for golf lessons. We were gettin on pretty good but he kept asking me to bid on stuff for his clients. I'm like no thanks and you've wrecked my golf swing.
His clients are trying to sell stuff and they want the costs to appear low for the new owner. He musta asked three times on this one project. Kept telling me about this other contractor who bid some repairs and how he was sure that guy was expensive. So I told him "add a couple of hundred bucks to his price and figure my price for me"
The best advertizing- People always seem to ask each other what kind of work they do- I always ask- "Why what do you need?" Then I figure out if its something I can do or get done.
Of course most people know I'm a contractor from my shirts or my truck or my manly good looks.....
What's your trade? I'm surprised nobody asked yet. Also, I'd have posted a long time ago but I didn't want to be made to look. So, what the heck do you do besides making people look?
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FT Job Wanted: Chicago, north side/North Shore burbs.
http://forums.taunton.com/n/mb/message.asp?webtag=tp-breaktime&msg=70809.1
Curently working as a sub trimming houses and installing kitchens. Have don a lot of renovation work over the years and would like to increase that. Also done a spec house w/ a partner and built an addition last year. Been using job site signs, van signs, adds in local weekly newspapers, yellow pages,and direct mailings to real estate agents and architects. All my work is still just referal (wich is great) but I would like more to pick from instead of having to take everythign just to fill the schedule. My crew eats up work fast. none of them are nikked wimin.
In my experience, the Yellow pages are the BIGGEST waste of money ive ever spent (and i've bought some dumb things). Flyers, sent out thousands. Some days (of walking for 7 hours) were fruitless. One day however I pulled a $60000 off of one.
My most effective so far has been referrals and a local yellow pages type of book. Last year I spent $900 on an ad and pulled about 20k gross from the it.
I renewed that one.
nekked wimmin