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| Subject - Advice Needed For Service Call Business | |
| Romex Racer |
I'm thinking of getting into the exciting and wildly lucrative service business  I think the time is right locally, they're building 20,000 new homes in my area and there's few local electricians with a polished service call offering. The yellow pages comes out in 9 months, I'm thinking of a half page ad, full color. I would handle the calls myself initially and when I'm doing 2 days a week in service calls, I'd buy a service truck and hire a cracker jack electrician, have him help on my remodels and new homes when not doing service calls. As the service work builds, run that as a seperate division from the construction division. I would use a flat rate pricing book and run it like ESI but without all the vicious raping and pilaging. I'm interested in how John A Peters runs things, customer oriented but with an eye on profits. The idea of service work freaks me out. The truck inventory requirements alone are awe inspriring. Carrying everything from fluorescent ballasts to wiremold is a scary undertaking. Here are my questions: Must a service technician be able to do anything, anywhere, anytime without visiting the supply house? What should be included in the yellow pages ad? Are the yellow pages the best advertising vehicle? I don't want to include language that says my technicians are tested for drugs, I think the drug scare is over and it carries negative connotations. What is your advice for starting a service business on a shoestring? Thanks! ...........................Richard |
| wilkie | RR, I believe you have a well thought out plan. I would make a few suggestions, but that is all they are. We only do service and repair, so please keep that in mind. Our businesses are a little bit different. I agree with you on the flat rate thing. No matter what you do, make sure it is a system that doesn't require you to personally be involved. Meaning, the future tech can price, install, and collect on every call without supervision. What you stock becomes a look at your ROI on each part. Yes, trips to the supply house are COSTLY. We balance what normally comes up, versus the cost of carrying the parts. We do not carry load centers on the vans because when we sell them we can have our supplier bring them to us. The materials arrive far before we even have the old stuuf broken apart. As we grow larger, the logistics of this become to much to manage, so we will eventually stock that stuff. But for now, why would I want to incur the stocking costs, and then pay the vehicle expense of driving all that weight around. Also speak with your CPA about the tax liability associated with inventory. Be very,very careful about your advertising. It doesn't matter one bit what you and I think about our industry or our business. What matters is what our potential customer thinks. Your customer will be a 30 year old,or older, employed female. Your advertising should be aimed at her. What makes your business different, and what about that is pleasing and refreshing to her is what goes in the ads. FYI....8 out of 10 applicants responding to our ads for experienced service technicians,fail our drug test. |
| MONOLITH | quote: Heh. "Dear Penthouse Forum, apparently my 30 year old female customer had just gotten out of the shower when I rang the doorbell....." Sorry, I kid around alot.  Actually you bring up an interesting point that I hadn't realized before, I guess I do deal more with the women of the house than the men. I guess it's a trend of more women are 'stay at homes' then men are, and/or many men don't have the time or inclination to deal with "I have to be home for thr repairman today"? Anyone else notice this? So how do you direct an ad for electrical repairs more towards females, other than calling your company "Chippendales' Electric"? *yes, that's a serious question*  |
| aline | This is where I think coupons work well. My wife loves coupons. It doesn't matter if the guy down the road is $100 cheaper she has a coupon for $20 off and she is determined to use it. I've thought about putting a statement in the yellow page ad that says we honor our competitor's coupons. A new electrical service company is putting coupons in the local paper in my area. They appear to be a member of ESI. They use the trademark wording "Straight Forward Pricing". Their website looks quite similar to Mr.Sparky's. www.masterelectrical.net They don't have a yellow pages ad out yet. |
| kiwisholland | Yellow Pages: When I got the sales kit for the yellow pages, they listed statistics and demographics. Electricians had one of the lowest ratings. In other words we get the least return on our investment than any other trade and near the bottom of ALL businesses. The yellow pages supplied these statistics, and I cut the size of my ad way back after reading it. A plumber friend of mine who has been doing service work exclusively for 8 years is slowly getting out of the phone book. He says it is a waste of his money. But, THE BIG PLAYERS, like Mr. Sparky and ESI claim you are not really in service unless you have a huge ad? I got demographics from the SBA and plan to use direct mail in a big way to reach these Female customers. http://www.max-effect.com/index.html Breakeven and Flat Rate:http://www.servicedoctors.com/content.html http://nspgweb.com/ Service Doctors sells NSPG software for the same price, but throws in free and awesome training. Give Marc a call, tell him about this web site. He's a great guy. Inventory: My plumber buddy has one of those Isuzu box trucks with the Hackney body. He has a lot of inventory, but even he doesn't carry EVERYTHING. Why carry a water heater? Why would we carry everything? You aren't going to change a service the same day some calls, unless its an emergency. You have to schedule it. Most people want to pick out their own ceiling fan and light fixtures, so carry catalogs. My flat rate book has tasks and charges for running to get non-stock inventory. Maybe you could get a feel for what the customer needs over the phone and make sure you have it when you arrive. When I fiqured my breakeven, I included supply house time and parts runs. Drug testing: Maybe I'm younger than some of you guys, but if one of my techs smoked pot, in his own home, off the clock, I could care less. Better than having a drunk on the payroll. And I don't think most customers care so long as the guy is not high or drunk at their house. I think it will hard to do for nothing or on a shoe string. I am just starting out, but I got a loan and have spent a lot of money. Good Luck! |
| Ryan | 60% of my buisness is service work but my advice to you is hire someone you can trust because you should make it a c.o.d system because almost all of my outstanding invoices are service call jobs so I now make my tech collect before he leaves unless they are a repeat customers. I wouldnt seatle for any cracker jack either it takes a good tech to find a lost nuteral or a dead short, but almost anyone can pull romex from box to box if it is already layed out. |
| Romex Racer | Hey Ryan, when I say "craker jack" I mean a top notch electrician, not a hack. Thanks everybody, the responces are great, the direct mail approach sounds good. Very good info here. ...RR |
| kiwisholland | I live in a "township" outside of a "B" level city. Philly and L.A. being "A" level cities. Here in PA, our counties are divided into these "townships", the benefit: another place to pay taxes to! Anyway, my township is experiencing a MASSIVE explosion of new construction. We will soon have the second highest population in the county, behind this county seat city. Many of these developments are "McMansion" neighborhoods with near spec house sized homes. Many many many of these homeowners want to do simple (to us) things like install dimmers, lighting timers, whole house surge suppresion, hot tub hook ups, the list goes on and on. Referencing the Custom Homes thread on this site: think of the homeowners side to this HELL that is building a new home. They grow disgusted of the hassle and headaches involved with building a new home. They just want ALL of the tradesman or WORKERS as they think of us, to just get the hell finished and out of their house. Ask friends and family who have gone thru it. BUT, they still want all those dream home things they envisioned done to their homes. Here where I live, in every Sunday paper, in the Real Estate section, they list ALL properties sold divided by township. The listing is required by law I think. It lists both the male and FEMALE buyers names, their address, etc. Some guys might not be into this, but you can also tell if the buyers are a gay couple. Gays are as big as the Female factor in my opinion. Just watch HGTV. All we have to do is find our target neighborhood and send the congrats letter along with our broshure INCLUDING A COUPON. Now, these people are bombarded with this sh*t when they first move in, so it has be distinctive and personal. I feel a real stamp and hand signed letter in addition to stand out copy will help. This is feasible for me as I am small. Maybe not affordable for the bigger guys. Anyone else have experience with this? |
| MONOLITH | Kiwis, what county are you in? I'm in Chester. |
| kiwisholland | Monolith, Lehigh county, north of Bucks/Montgomery - Allentown. |
| MONOLITH | Ah yes. The company I worked for last year sent me up your way on service calls many times. Which I hated because it was a 2 hour drive. There's a company that has a full page ad, maybe 2page, claiming to be in your area, but they're actually down towards Philly and making guys travel. PM me if you want the name of the company. I'm actually going up that way on Tuesday, to see a client I met while working for the other company... Off Easton road in Bethlehem, I think the area is called 'Hellertown'? Just North of Bethlehem Steel. I never go up that way anymore. I'm all the way down and west between Pottstown and Downingtown. I like to stay close to home. |
| kiwisholland | Any new opinions on this topic? Any help would be appreciated. |
| John A. Peters | I/we have plenty of opinins! Which one do you want? Which specific idea, problem or topic, please. |
| wilkie | kiwisholland, You stated that per statisics, electricians get one of the lowest returns on investment in the YP. I'm not familiar with the statistics you are referring to, or your plumber friend. I can tell you that it is a fact that 80% of people who need an electrician, will turn to the yellow page directory; even my own satisfied customers. Many things will determine your return on advertising dollars. The quality of your ad will greatly affect if you get calls or not, as will your ads size and placement. You also have to be able to maximize your return when the phone does ring. Meaning, if I were to price our services for $100 per hour, and when a YP customer had us out to perform work, I would lose money big time. The reason is that my costs to capture that customer are high, very high. I have to be ready and available to serve the incoming request for service, but I also need to have our prices set in proportion to our costs. I look at who is successful doing what we want to do, and how did they achieve it. In the industry we are in, residential electrical service, one of the cornerstones is an effective YP campaign. |
| mahlere | Wilkie, I think what Kiwi was getting at is that in studies they have found that customers on average need a plumber every 9 months, and they need an electrician every 36 months. So while 80% of the customers use the YP, there are just less of them looking. That being said, if you want to do serious electrical service, a nice YP ad is a must. Simply because when people do NEED an electrician, they go to the YP. Direct mail, Newspaper, TV, Radio etc are all good for building name recognition and getting the ability to go give estimates to people who are thinking about adding recessed lights. But Service work comes from repeat customers, yellow pages and some referrals. There was a fairly successful man (I can't remember who right now) who once said something along these lines : "1/2 of my advertising is wasted, I just don't know which 1/2" We can measure all we want, but 80% of the people will tell us yellow pages, but they chose our ad because they - saw our trucks, saw our TV spot, saw our newspaper ad, saw a direct mail piece, etc. But when they needed us, they went to the YP. Think Verizon is hiring sales people? |
| wilkie | I agree with you 100%. What I meant by the 80% rule was that when a person needs an electrician 80% of those needy people will turn to the YP, not that 80% of people having the book will need an electrician. Those are the facts. As to being a Verizon salesman, that was funny. LOL. Truth be told, i have quite a distaste for all of our YP reps. I have found them to be nothing more than a bunch of lying theives that are getting paid a commission to help me part with as much money as they can get. I am sure there exists an honorable YP rep, I personally have not met him/her yet. I also didn't mean my last post as derogatory as it came off. My apologies. I am learning to get better at listening versus talking. |
| kiwisholland | Thanks for the info wilkie. So do I take it that when someone is ready for service, they look in the YP for the number of an electrician that they already know? If so, wouldn't a box listing or bold listing serve the same purpose as a full page ad? If they already know the name they are looking for, how did they become familiar with that name? Aren't there better, less expensive and much more effective ways ways of reaching a target market? Does the premium customer look through yellow page ads price shopping? Aren't you more likely to get price shoppers via the YP? I use the yellow pages much more than my wife does. But if the coupon clipper fliers come in the mail, she reads through those, and notices tradesman. She reads all the home sections in the paper. quote: Why is this a must? I keep hearing this mantra, but please explain why? Are we talking about emergency service? How many times have you guys been refered by a happy customer, and that new person is so happy/relieved to have found someone they can trust? Do the people use the YP because they feel they have no other choice? I would pay for a full page ad if I saw some solid independent numbers showing me that it is worth what they charge. YP ad reps get 100% commision right? If you don't get a bigger ad every year, they lose money right? The ones I have dealt with were smarmy young kids. When we had trouble with one of them, my wife insisted she speak to his supervisor. The supervisor offered my wife (who works in sales) a job. Its seems revolving door around there. |
| mahlere | quote: Quite simple, what is the name of the plumber you saw at your neighbors house3 months ago? What is the name of the pizza delivery place that you called 6 months ago? Most people do not remember the exact name. However, they usually remember logos or the way a name looks. A bigger YP ad will allow you to get your name and logo in front of them right away. If you only have a bold listing, you are relying on them to remember your exact name. I also hate the YP (especially since there are now 2 companies covering our area - I now need two ads, in case people pick up the wrong book) But when people see our trucks, they see our display fliers, they see our newspaper ads, they here our name, etc, then they go to the YP and there we are big and bold. Easy to find. Hopefully that makes a little bit of sense. |
| kiwisholland | Thanks, mahlere, well put. |
| Scott Vickrey | Each time someone sees your logo, truck or ad, this is called an impression. This is what Coca-Cola is doing when the advertise on TV. They don't expect you will see their ad and rush right out and buy a can of coke. They are making a name/feeling impression on you. Repeated positive impressions are more effective than most would think. While your ad seemed to fail it does have a lasting impact. |
| mahlere | just as an addition, studies have shown it takes approximately 17 impressions before a customer will actually remember your name. |
| Romex Racer | This is all very good stuff. Is a half page YP ad ok? Or is full page the only way to go? |
| mahlere | RomexRacer, It depends on your area. Any full page ads? 1/2 page ads? If you are just getting into service, and you don't have a qualified service tech available, I wouldn't want to be #1 in the book. You'd just be generating a lot of calls that you either could not get to or that you couldn't service if you did. Try to go #3 or #4 in your book. This will give you enough calls to build. Some will say go smaller or bigger, really depends on how much money you want to throw into it. Since you still have your new construction business, how much time & money do you want to invest in service? That is a really simplified view, but it should give you an idea where to start. Erik |
| BASE | These posts are all great, but one thing that was not said is that in advertising, WHAT you say is very important. How the ad looks is also important. Look in the YP for say a HVAC contractor and pick one that you would let do your needed work, note what makes you pick the one that you picked. Was the fact that he specialized in YOUR particular problem, that he can handle EVERY problem, does he emphasize insurance, bonding, color ad, or what? If there were 2 ads there you would pick one or the other, why? |
| devo | INTERNET...everyone is online today and the return off of it is HUGE...you can pay to be at the top of the search for yellow pages, the closer to the top, the more you pay. The first listing in the search will cost a little over $1.00 for each time someone hits your site, with about a 2% return it will cost you $98 for two service calls...how much will you make off of two calls? As far as mailings... garbage, that's where I throw the ones I get how 'bout you |
| kiwisholland | quote: Does this mean you think direct mail is worthless? Please expand. |
| devo | quote: Maybe not worthless, but for the amount of money spent the return is not typically worth the time and $$ spent. My girlfriend's father is the Pres. of a multi-million $ company and we've discussed this in depth...he agreed |
| kiwisholland | VERY INTERESTING, thank you. I am about to embark on a large direct mail campaign, and would love your input. What do you feel is a GOOD marketing avenue? I am unimpressed with the Yellow Pages. Please expand, for all of us. Thanks! |
| devo | I'm sure you have a phone number, so call your service provider and ask them about the sites like yellowpages.com, as so many people are going directly to the internet to do EVERYTHING. The web site can be costly to set up if you would like to do it right, but as they say, "you've got to spend money to make money". I've also done a TV commercial but the return on that really wasn't as expected, it was neat to see myself on the tube but 52 spots a week for a year stretched out the budget further than the profit returned. |
| plnienaber | quote: Please let us know how the direct mail campaign works out. I have considered the same thing.Are you in a large metropolitan area? I am equally unimpressed with the YP. Paul |
| BASE | $100 would get me 3 weeks in the local paper... how much I would benefit from that that I don't know, but I can't see spending the money on a web site when you can get one for free. AAANNNNDDDDD, most people don't have computers to reach the wed site.... |
| MONOLITH | quote: Perhaps it's in the way the mail is presented. My direct mailings have worked out very well for me. I'm not talking about one of those cheesy coupon flyers mixed in with everyone else's coupon flyer, and the whole pack gets thrown away. I'm talking about an actual letter, professionally printed with color logo, etc; describing my company and the services we offer, without any of the usual sales gimmick verbage everyone else has. It comes right to the house of all of my 'neighbors' (countywide) in a printed envelope (color logo again), and has an extra message inside about supporting your local businesses, not the ones in the yellow book that travel from another county and charge you for it. Does it cost a little more? Yes it does. But, I know for a fact a large percentage of my mailings are sitting in a desk drawer, and when electrical work is needed, instead of looking in the yellow pages, you hear "Honey, where'd we put that flyer from that electrician". It's working. I've done no other advertising yet. And for what you pay for a decent yellow book ad, you may get more views, but many of those views call a different ad. I get less exposure, but much greater impact and name recognition with the potential customer. Everyone has a YB ad. Everyone has a Newspaper ad/flyer. But I have had many people tell me they were were very impressed by what I mailed to their home, and knew I was someone 'different'. Give it a try Kiwis. But stay in your own damn area.  (Kiwis and I live fairly close together)EDIT IN: By the way, I just returned home from mailing out 200 this morning. To me, that is 200 people that if they needed to reach for the yellow pages tomorrow, they'll think of my mailer instead. Makes that $300 a month YB ad almost a waste for my competition. Also, you get the added bonus of, when people get the mailer, read it, and it says things like 'ceiling fans, landscape lighting' etc, it makes them think "oh yeah, I've been meaning to get that done". Now they are picking up the phone, where they would not have been before. Just my opinion. Your results may vary, but I'm building a company on it and it's working. |
| kiwisholland | Monolith, Thanks for the input! Don't worry, I have no interest in driving down there unless I'm going to an Eagles game, HEEHEE. Anyway, more info on your mailers please: Presort or stamp? Envelope or postage on body of mailer? do you stuff them yourself? Where do you get your leads? Any more tips would be appreciated! |
| aline | Monolith, Do you include a fridge magnet in your mailings? I think this would be beneficial because they would put this on the fridge and see it everyday. I have a couple on my fridge for carpet cleaning. |
| MONOLITH | Presort or stamp? Right now it's a 37 cent stamp. I'm looking into how to get bulk mailing rates. Envelope or postage on body of mailer? No postage on mailer (ala post card style), that would be same MO as any other flyer mailed. I put them in a regular business envelope, and the envelope has my printed logo in the return address corner. I made the logos and such on my own computer with Photoshop, and I print them myself on a standard printer. I cranked up the print resolution, and they're better than anything you'd get at Kinko's. By the way, Kinkos charges $1 per color copy, I print my own for pennies each. A $30 ink cartridge and $5 of paper gets me 500 flyers. My logo design can be seen here. Looks really sharp on the corner of an envelope...  do you stuff them yourself? Yep. Sit in front of the computer, play some MP3's, surf the net while they print, and stuff along the way. Where do you get your leads? I literally drive around my neighborhood, and find those big clusters of housing developments...you know the ones I mean. I write down the street names, and my wife found a website that will list for you all the street names and house numbers. I have lists of hundreds. I mail to a different development each week. Another good thing is there are at least 4 post offices in my immediate area with 500 or so PO boxes each. I simply mail to each PO Box. Any more tips would be appreciated! Make the reciever of the letter feel like you specifically targeted them, and it's not just a random thing sent to everyone. Now, obviously that sounds funny, but I make sure to personalize myself as a resident of the same area... 'my family lives and works here' 'my children go to school in this area' 'I'm trying to improve our communities' 'yellow book ads are deceptive' 'let's support our local businesses' My flyer starts out with a paragraph about my company. 'a growing company in this area', then it lists my qualifications '23 years of experience in this, that and the other'. Then a comment about seeking to establish long term relationships in the area with our peers in the industy and our clients. Avoid the usual cheesy verbage, sound professional and personal. Then is a list of services I provide, the usual residential stuff; Ceiling fans GFCI's, added outlets Finish basement and attics House additions Kitchen remodels Landscape lighting Free safety inspections, 24 hour service, etc. Then in the closing is something about 'give us a call even if you just have a question about something. We're here to help'. And, I personally sign each one. That's right, I sign each one, in blue ink so it stands out against the black print, and you know I actually signed it, it's not a scan. Crazy? Maybe, but it looks great. Type the bottom like this... "Sincerely, Joe Schmoe Schmoes Electrical services" Then in that space just below 'sincerely', actually sign your name. It looks great, and it makes it personalized. People feel like you actually made the effort to talk to them, and it's not just some typical coupon flyer. Remember what ESI teaches...go the extra mile in your presentation. My stationary that the flyer is printed on has this very cool effect where my logo is transparently introduced in the center of the page. You know when you buy really fancy schmancy paper, if you hold it up to the light, you see the company name in a watermark? it's like that, only bolder. It's very cool looking. And I make all this myself. My envelopes have the logo sharply color printed in the corner. The envelopes are addressed to "Our Neighbor". In it's entirety, it's a very professional looking package, and it stands out. The details count; the color printing, the personal signature, the printed envelope, even the actual stamp, shows a personal touch and effort. I know some of you think I'm nuts, but this is really working for me. I have sustained my fledgling business, started from nothing, entirely on this method. Kiwis, if you want, I'd be willing to help you out with setting up the stationary style and such with my software. It would simply be a matter of me sending you a MS Word file with graphics already inserted. You just print them out. PM or Email me if your interested. I'll even send you one of my packages. But if you use my own ideas in my neighborhood I'll break your legs. EDIT IN: A quick comment on costs; each flyer mailed cost me almost 50 cents (mostly in the stamp). So 1000 mailings is $500. Sounds steep at first, but when you consider I can make near $500 off of one phone call, and 1000 people see my name before they hit the YP, it's well worth it. |
| MONOLITH | quote: You're absolutley right. And I never thought of that. I will look into it, I wonder what 5000 fridge magnets costs? |
| MONOLITH | looks like .28 cents each. http://www.promotional-items-direct.com/laxpid_1095-view-magnet.html So, $140 per 500. Not too bad in my opinion. I'm willing to pay to be remembered, and cut in front of the big Yellow Page add'ers. It would pay for itself over time. |
| John A. Peters | Monolith, Now you are talking! THANKS! p.s. You can start with a pack of 50 magnetic business size magnets that have removable covering on sticky back. You can stick your business card to the magnet. They are available at most stationary stores. |
| MONOLITH | Thank you John. I still owe you a few.
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| John A. Peters | I guess I am lazy. I just have these. 1) a 3/5 page yellow page. (I require any advertising to return at least 10 times the cost, i.e. $2K/mo cost and 20K sales/mo.) 2) a hardware store with a home repair referral service who is also licensed as a GC who charges 10% for referrals. (same ratio here.) 3) An add in the local gay newspaper. (Double income no kids) 4) A long history of being in business. 5) a special niche (Old houses.) 6) a 16 page booklet that is shown and then given at each bid. ("Let's go to a table, I have a booklet for you that helps the consumer. I will give you the 65 second "executive overview", so even if you don't have time to read it will seem like you did, since you will have seen each page, and know what is in there. 7) a program that prints out an individual price for each item on their wish list. It gets emailed. It is kind of like what the ESI plan uses in the sense that there are a bunch of add-ons on the list. I offer GFIs (a no brainier if you have tenants or kids) and so on. This wish list concept, frees them from the "how much is this all going to cost" syndrome and gets them thinking of what they wish they could have. It makes the price secondary at that time, and saves me from the "Now that we see you know what you are doing, we want more work, can you come back and take another look?" 8) I bought a huge amount of red, white & blue business cards, I give 1 to the customer, at his front door on the way in, and one at the end of the service call with the total written on the back, so they can start writing the check while I am finishing writing the invoice. :-)Saves time ya know. Some times I get the check before I am finished writing the invoice, and so I ask them can I put the receipt in you mail slot when I am done. I sit in my vehicle with the radio and do a nice job of writing in comfort. :-) |
| stedder | Hey guys this is good stuff, I've been so busy with word of mouth that I haven't had time th think of this kind of advertising. How do you feel about targeting architectural / engeneering firms? |
| MONOLITH | I target 3 specific categories, and adjust the mailer for each. 1. Residential Homeowners 2. General Contractors (new construction/remodels) 3. Property Management Companies (retail store maintenance, restaurants, apt. buildings, etc) |
| jfls40 | I would hesitate to start hugging my customers in certain "communities" hehehehe |
| Romex Racer | Some service techs use those paper booties to communicate respect for the homeowner's carpet. I take my hands and push my toolbags against my hips when going through doors so as not to scratch the door frame, I do it discreetly but make sure my customer notices. |
| anne | I think Monolith has the very best advice for any service business (page 2) looking to gain customers. His superb attention to every detail is what makes him stand out from the rest, and what will bring him new cusotmers. If you have time to follow his advice, or you have someone to help you - do it! Try to make some time - it really is those little things that will continue to make you stand out. And by the way Monolith, adding a "real" signature and personalizing your letters are PERFECT! Don't forget to "hug" your customers after the job too - show your appreciation for the business. "Hugging" your customers can be as simple as thanking them sincerely with a smile, following up with a phone call, writing a personal thank you on the paid invoice, telling them they have a beautiful home, etc. Do "something" extra - HUG your customers! And those referrals will come! (and don't forget to WIPE YOUR FEET before entering the home! haha....) Anne www.technotetime.com |
| jfls40 | [quote]Originally posted by John A. Peters I guess I am lazy. I just have these. 3) An add in the local gay newspaper. (Double income no kids) Hey John, do you advertise with the catchy phrase "We'll fix your shorts"? Do these customers smile when your climbing up a ladder? :) |
| MONOLITH | You might want to keep in mind political correctness. You can never be sure of the actual orientation of the person you're speaking too. *Just thinking out loud.*
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| Romex Racer | When I first started out, I advertised in the local gay community, did a few jobs here and there, then met a very busy and upscale gay interior decorator. I did custom wiring for dozens of hollywood celebrities through this guy. I charged huge money for these jobs but they had to be perfect. I even had lunch with Dolly Parton after I wired some makeup lights in her dressing room at the Hollywood Pantages Theater, I could go on and on... By the way, she is as nice and as much a lady in person as she seems on TV. OK, back to the gay community thing, I wound up wiring 2 gay bars, not seedy bars mind you, but very nice, very upscale restaurants with cocktail lounges. I then sent direct mail advertising pieces to licensed interior decorators, I forgot where I got the list, but this turned out to deliver amazing results! For a time, I really did become the "Electrician to the stars". LOL. All my buddies loved to goof on me and laugh at my display ads in the gay magazines, but gay people really appreciate being marketed to and will support you with referals, etc. Anyway, that's my story and I'm sticking to it! Whoop! Whoop! |
| jfls40 | When they paid you in cash, did any of the money stick together? |
| Romex Racer | The only thing I noticed about the cash, was there was lots of it!
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| mahlere | going back to mailings. i believe the postage is along these lines: upto 1 ounce is $0.37 1-2 ounce is around $0.60 (it's a small discount for the second ounce) if you add a magnet, it may put you over the 1 ounce weight, but it may be worth the extra cost. bulk has a yearly permit fee - I think around $175 plus your postage. In addition, there is a minimum # that can be mailed at 1 time to get the bulk rate. personally, stick with the regular stamps. Makes the mailing seem more personal and the extra cost (if there is any after the bulk fees) will be minimal and made up by just 1 person calling due to the personal feel of the letter. most of the information can be found at your local post office or www.usps.com |
| Romex Racer | When I do direct mass mailings, I use postcards, the postage is .23 so you have to add printing costs and the mailing list costs to that. The company I buy the mailing list (in excel format) from also directly prints the addresses on each card with their inkjet printer. |
| MONOLITH | Thanks Anne. |
| northpowell | Hi Richard, Congrats on your new venture. Indeed the service end of the business can be very lucrative, however, you need to be prepared to streamline your operations and eliminate potential headaches. In regards to your questions: Must a service technician be able to do anything, anywhere, anytime without visiting the supply house? You should stock your truck with those supplies that you use regularly. However, it is impossible and in anyway not cost effective to have every part you may need for any potential job. Running to the supply house is a requirement for any service related business. The key is to minimize the trips by getting organized. Make sure that, at the beginning of every day or the end of the previous day, you examine every up coming job and make a list of the parts you will most likely need. Try to gather them in one visit and distribute accordingly. This will not entirely eliminate the trips to the supply house but should help minimize them. Get a good inventory tracking program, whether it is part of your dispatch system or not. Make sure you can easily identify the parts you already have and produce a list of the parts you need to get. Assess the time you spend getting parts. I had a customer yesterday that was averaging 1 hour per day per tech for trips to the supply house. After we calculated how much more money he would make if the techs spent that time working on a job, we had enough money to hire a full time parts runner and were still left with 10K at the end of the year! Make sure your tech uses Flat Rate pricing and has a grid to price non-standard jobs (A grid being something that has columns of time and rows of parts costs so all he needs is to intersect the time and parts costs to get the price of the job based on your breakeven). The ability to price in the field without assistance combined with the credibility exuded by streamlined pricing is essential for a good service shop. Moreover, flat rate pricing creates a perfect sales environment to identify potential add on work as well as sell safety inspection agreements while providing your customers better value and discounted pricing. What should be included in the yellow pages ad? Are the yellow pages the best advertising vehicle? A yellow page ad should include the "triggers" required for the prospective customer to choose you over your competition. Make sure that the ad is not a replica or repeats what other ads have to say since this nullifies their meaning. Make sure your ad sticks out of the page so it is read by the majority of prospects. In a nutshell, try to put yourself in the place of the potential customer, what is important to you in a service shop? What would you be looking for in a plumber for example? Keep in mind you may be biased, so ask others their opinion as well. Yellow Pages are not the only good advertising venue by far. Local publishing, cross marketing, direct mail, reference plans, etc., are usually more cost effective and yield good results since you are targeting the people in your community as opposed to Yellow Pages that make you pay to reach many customers that are out of range. It all depends on who you are targeting, what services you are providing, etc. to better determine you specific marketing choices. I don't want to include language that says my technicians are tested for drugs, I think the drug scare is over and it carries negative connotations. Very true. "Professional Service" "Reliable Technicians" "Serving our community since 19XX" are all better ways to let people know they can trust your shop! What is your advice for starting a service business on a shoestring? You need to make a good plan so that you can start off small, gather income, reinvest in the business, get a little bigger, reinvest again and so on. This way you can control growth and quality while making sure you don't break the bank. The best advice is to provide very good service and follow-up (referrals are key at this time), capitalize on calls while providing good value and take advantage of your marketing dollar. Make yourself a plan of action and follow it well. Think of what issues may arise and find solutions before they happen. This is the best time to do so as opposed to having to make decisions under pressure. Keep a positive outlook on things, it will not happen overnight. Continue using resources such as this forum, don't reinvent the wheel! "Luck comes to those who are best prepared" and "Plan for the worst and hope for the best" are probably the two best quotes I could offer. I hope this helps a little. If you have any questions in regards to Flat Rate Pricing, Numbers Crunching to permit you to price properly, marketing advice or business consulting, feel free to give us a call. We would be more than happy to help you get on your way! Marc Blanchard Service Doctors International Inc. (877) 782-3627 ext. 21 marc@servicedoctors.com |