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I’ve been in this business for ten years. My wife and I moved and I started my own business about a year ago. I’m looking for advertising that works. I’ve got truck and work site signs. I’ve got a display add in the phone book. I’ve got a display classified in the “service professionals” section of several local papers. Having only been in this for one year, I already find that most of my work is repeat and referral but it’s not enough to keep me in business.
The phone book brings no calls. The newspapers only bring leads that are shopping and rarely build.
I would appreciate any suggestions on where to spend my advertising dollar to get quality leads.
Thanks
Dave
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Sounds like you have a pretty good advertising portfolio. Unfortunately, I have learned that the best advertising is a great looking job and satisfied customers. They are your best or worst advertisment. This is a problem for people who move into a new area. It's the age old problem of what has to come first, a job well done, or a client to do a job for.
I suggest starting a good relationship with a good salesman at your supply house, get involved in your new community, and contact some established contractors and ask about sub work to fill in the blanks.
After a while, word gets around, creating a reputation for you to build on. Be patient and do it better than the other guy.
*Dave T,Ditto to kcoyner.......I'm sorry to say that word of mouth is the BEST ad.It takes time.......Wishing you the best,Ed. Williams
*Dang! Reading Dave T's post had me thinking I was reading something I had written. I was in the same boat. Especially about all that wasted money on the phone book. I mean, in 3 years of having two display ads and line ads in several different catagories in the book, I got exactly 11 calls of which I was able to land--ready for this?--three whole jobs. Woo hoo! I figure I spent over $2K each to land those jobs.The service directories only help keep your name in front of your market; don't expect many jobs from this. Figure it as the cost of doing business. Other than word of mouth, I'd say your truck and work signs are most effective. Just keep plugging at it. You have to have staying power. The best means to assure this--besides having sufficient capital--is to consistently do your very best in every facet of your business. (As aside: you will be head and shoulders above the competition if you simply return all phone calls promptly and show up on time.)You could initiate some type of community volunteer work. As example; lots of seniors need help in home maintenance, yet can't afford it. Organize a work day periodically with some other contractors. Be sure to send a little write-up into the local newspapers. They'll print it. Be sure to include your business name--as well as recognition of the other folks involved--and use your phone number as a contact number. I'd think people would love to see a husband/wife team, so send in a pic too.I agree with Kcoyner and GACC, W-O-M is where it's at, especially for a small remodeler. My suggestion would be to close out that expensive phone book advertisement and invest that money right there at the jobsite. You can never be too tool heavy.
*Word of mouth is the best but you do need to develop a base first. When I started out I would pick some older neighbor hoods that could afford remodeling projects (look at what's parked in the drive way). If I saw a gutter off or loose, shutters missing, bad trim etc., I would write a quick note on my card & pop it into the mailbox. I've since found out if it isn't mail don't do it, it's illeagal (even if it does get noticed quicker). Tape it on the door that is the most obvious to get used.It is amazing how many of the handy man jobs turn into larger projects.
*Hey Fred! Is there any way for you to scan in your ad so we can see it? Thanks - jb
*I've gained some work for my company from being a member of the local Lion's club. I didn't join for that reason, but I'm sure you'll find that many do. Most of the guys in the club are middle to upper income, so I guess they would be a good target market for this type of "advertising". Some of the guys are bankers, and are told that they have to attend a church of their choice, and join a service organization such as Lion's. The bank then pays their dues for them. If you want to do that, and pay your dues as "advertising", you can deduct it as a business expense, I think.
*I agree with Fred L.I have had excellent success with Yellow Page Ads.I spend several thousand$$$ each year on mine(and it is MUCH smaller than the one Fred describes.The price is partly determined by size and color ,and partly by the size of population your phone book covers.If Fred is in a geographically remote area his large ad may be cheaper than my small urban ad.)The point is it works. It works particularly well for trades such as Plumbing or Roofing Or Electrical(or in Freds' case weatherization)I am not so sure how well it would work in something like custom cabinetry or homebuilding,but it is great for the problem solving trades.sometimes it works too well.We are pretty much sold out of time available for additional projects this year,and are scheduling for the spring.The phone still rings every day with people desperate for roof repairs and there is simply no way to serve them all.By the way Fred ,I would kind of like to see your Ad also, Just to steal idea's from it. Good Luck All,Stephen
*Hey, I have an idea to pick up Stephen's extra business: take out an ad under Tarping.I think the specificity of your trades is a big factor. Also, Fred's right, your ad should SAY SOMETHING! When I was looking for an HVAC contractor, I had no idea how to pick -- start with the largest ad? The most amusing name? (The "Comfort Doctor" turned out to be a quack.)When I interviewed at a law firm the other day, three people there mentioned, "Um, I actually need a carpenter..." (no kidding). I'm trying to stay not too busy so I can finish my own house.
*andrew - the golden rule of carpentry is you never finish your own house.Stephen - I'd like to see your ad too. Thanks - jb
*What you fellas are saying is "know your market!!" A couple of years ago I was running a monthly ad in Woodshop News and Cabinetmaker and some other mags aimed at my market. I got calls from contractors asking how well my ads were doing in pulling in business and I answered truthfully but always cautioned them, "You don't want to advertise in those magazines. Who are you trying to sell to, other contractors?"When I started out on my own I tried to reach out to architects. I quickly learned (within $200) that I was not in the right ball park. But, when I showed my wares to custom cabinetmakers, high end builders and contractors, there was genuine interest. I learned where my market was -- I learned who had need for my products.I think your ad content is not nearly as important as your marketplace. Find your buyers, offer a good product or service at a competitive price relative to your market, check your advertising expenditures against responses and you should do well.Ron Wiener, Woodcarver's Website
*Jim,I have virtually no computer skills and zero scanning or Fax capability . If you E mail me an actual mailing address I would be happy to mail you a copy of the Ad I have run for several years and a copy of the Ad I am running starting December.(thats when the phonebooks come out here)I tried a whole new look with the new Ad and I have my doubts about it.I am thinking about moving up a size 12 months from now and am considering having it professionally designed by someone other than myself or the phone company.Good Luck,stephen
*Anddrew,the tarping idea is kinda funny cause there is a house about 12 blocks from me that has had one of the big blue tarps on it for 2-3 years. It has slowly weathered to a very pale blue and is torn to shreds. I can't imagine it sheds much water.I would hate to have my name associated with such an sight.I occassionally get calls from people who want to know "how much would you charge to put a tarp on my house"I try to politely explain that neither I nor anyone I am familiar with would want to be involved in tarping a house unless we were going to be roofing it VERY soon. There are tons of perceived liability issues here.Good luck,Stephen
*I have read these posts with great interest. There have been some very good ideas expressed, but I have not seen the most important aspects of getting your business off the ground, and keeping it alive.You are small, so keep everything small to start with. You can very easily oversize yourself, and kill off your business in a nanosecond.First thing to do... Write out a business plan. You are small, so keep the business plan small and simple. You can write it out on notebook paper, with a pencil if you wish. The idea of a business plan is to determine what services you want to offer, where and who your clients are most liklely to be, marketing strategies to reach these clients, expenses you are most likely going to incurr, budget, and projected income.I personally sold off everything I owned that had a note attached to it (except my house). I sold these items so that every month I didn't have to make x amount of dollars just to pay my personal bills. The less you HAVE to make, the better off you will be while your business is growing.Do not spend more than your business plan budget allows. This will keep your expenses in check. Employees cost money. Lots of money. Keep employee numbers down to a bare minimum, and do most of the work yourself. It will be long, hard hours, but it will all be for you and your family. As you grow, you can add more employees to take the work load off of you, and allow more time to supervise and do paperwork. You will be doing LOTS of paperwork.Now down to advertising. Your business plan will have targeted your most likely client category, where they live, and how you plan on reaching them. Here's a small thing, but adds up big time. Ask people where they would look for someone who does what you do (in my case, it is home repairs and improvements). I asked anyone I came across in my neck of the woods. I got varying answers, and an awful lot of "I really don't know where to start looking". I looked in the phone book, and I saw 1 add for my type of business. So I placed an ad here. It lasted for a year, and then I pulled it. I did not get a single call off of that ad. I placed an add in the local newspaper under "Business and Service Directory". I have found that most everyone I know gets this paper, and reads this section. This is a weekly paper, and comes out on Wednesday. On Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, my phone rings off the wall. These are what I call "initial contacts". From this point on, whether or not I get their job will be entirely up to me. When starting out, get your name in front of as many people as you can. Fliers work well, as well as leaving your business cards everywhere you can think of. I leave my cards in almost every store I go to (video rental, convenience store, lumberyard, etc...). I leave fliers everywhere I can think of too. I print them up on my computer, and this keeps costs down to almost nothing. When a potential client calls you, ask where they heard about you. Keep tabs on this. At the end of each month, look over your list and see where the most effective advertising has taken place. Then concentrate your ad dollars here. Yard signs and truck signs help keep your name visible. The most important thing to remember is this... Once you have spent your advertising dollar, and gotten a call, the rest is up to you. You must now become a salesman, a pr professional, and an expert in your field. Your bid, and the way you handle the initial customer meeting is very important. First impressions are everything. Then when you submit your bid, have your bid speak loudly about you, your company, and the quality of your work. Then, if you get the job, you must deliver. Great bids and lousy work (or lousy treatment of the customer) will sink you fast. If a customer feels like you did them wrong, or did a lousy job (whether or not you did or didn't), then they will tell everyone they come in contact with. If you do a great job, and all goes well, they may tell one or two people. In other words, don't build yourself and your company up, and then can't deliver. Deliver what you say you will, when you say you will, and in a reasonable amount of time. This builds reputation, and reputation builds client bases. This all takes time, so be prepared to wait. Waiting takes a lot out of you. Business is slow, income small. Keep your living expenses down, and make sacrifices financially until you are on your feet, and have a thriving business. It is hard for a small business like us to have the working capital on hand for a year or two worth of slow business. This is why it is necessary to spend as little as possible until you start building up your clients, and your income. According to the U.S. Labor Department, and the Small Business Administration, more than 90% of all small businesses fail within a couple of years. This is due to inadequate cash flow, inability to actually run a business, and lack of knowledge on HOW to run a business. All of this takes time to learn, and time is cheap. Time, however, does not pay the bills. This is why it is so important to keep the bills down as far as possible during your early period.There's an old saying... "Customers = Business Survival, but Customers + Smart Management = Business Profits.James DuHamel
*Stephen, man, I tried to e mail you but it came back as undeliverable. That also happened last summer when I tried to e mail you. Is it me? - jb
*James,you have some good points there.As other people have noted,you have to know who your customers are and where they shop.I used to use a newspaper ad. I got lots of response from the ad,but they were not quality leads. I got virtually no response from community and weekly newspapers. For me the phone book generated a lot of responses and a high ratio of them were for quality jobs.Since it takes just as long to estimate a quality job as a time wasting bad job,I want the most quality reponses.Each year the yellow pages brings me much more money than it costs me. It is interesting to me that I am having pretty good luck mith a method that did not work well for you,and you are succeeding with a method that did not work for me.Good Luck All,Stephen
*Lets hope I had better luck emailing you. I really suck at this "brave new world" stuff.Good Luck,Stephen
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I think what advertising works has alot to do with your location. I was once an urban contractor. A small display ad in a couple of local phone books brought in almost all of our business. These ads were not the largest or nicest and were not in all the categories they could have been in.
I now live and work in a very rural area. There are a few small towns in our county but mostly farm land. I pulled my phone book ad after one year. There were only four other display ads to compete with, I was in several categories, my ad was sharp and said all the right things. I got three calls, only one was a good lead, and no jobs.
I'd like to add two things:
1) Keep your costs low so you can survive the lean years. You don't need a new truck, you don't need a fancy office. The burden of debt is a real killer.
2) Learn to sell. sales is something I am not particularly good at. I am however really trying to learn the skills. There are a couple of good books about this and I have had the opportunity to ask alot of questions of some of the best remodeling sales people around. It's a difficult skill for me but one I will need to develop to grow and to survive the next time we enter a recession.
-Ryan
*FWIW, An idea I had but nevr got around to trying was to hand out fyers at neighbors of the job site, explained I'd be working on the So 'n' so' house, that it would be noisy from time to time, but that if there were specific times that were inconvenient for them for us to be noisy, please let us know and we'd try to stay to quieter work at those times.I figure folks would respond to that type of thoughtfulness.Bob
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Dave, That idea Bob Walker put forth sounds like a winner to me. I wish I had his finesse. My approach is more direct in an idea that I had for years that might get the creative juices flowing.
It seems that everyone who buys a piece of improved real estate wants to remake it in their own image to their own requirements. If there is a way, in your county, to come up with a list of recently sold properties, a mailer to the new owners offering your services might be an ongoing part of a campaign for you. Hope this helps.
Ron Wiener, Woodcarver's Website
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I've been in this business for ten years. My wife and I moved and I started my own business about a year ago. I'm looking for advertising that works. I've got truck and work site signs. I've got a display add in the phone book. I've got a display classified in the "service professionals" section of several local papers. Having only been in this for one year, I already find that most of my work is repeat and referral but it's not enough to keep me in business.
The phone book brings no calls. The newspapers only bring leads that are shopping and rarely build.
I would appreciate any suggestions on where to spend my advertising dollar to get quality leads.
Thanks
Dave