Getting Quality Leads? Need Some Help?

[mhpoole]

Hello, let me start off by saying I think this is a great place for us all and we are lucky to have the internet along with this great power washing board. I am a family man with a baby boy ( Gavin) on the way. I have been reading these message boards for a few months now and I have to say its great to read about everyone and learning DO's and DO NOT's. I have a question for all of you who are advertising your company. Are you spending your money and time the best way possible and getting maximum results? I have read all kinds of advertising stories, people placing flyers inside plastic bags with rocks for weight then tossing them out onto the driveway of homeowners. Let me personally say I don’t know any homeowner who would be happy at that idea. Roller blading around passing out flyers. Driving around the neighborhood writing down some address to send flyers too. If these advertising ways work for you then that’s great. But I know I dont have time to advertise that way. Let me fill you in on some ideas I run thru my head when I think about how to advertise for the next season.

1. Money, Time, Coverage, Quality Leads, Exposure
2. Weigh Time spent -vs- Money Spent
3. Money Spent - vs- Coverage
4. Coverage -vs- Quality Leads
5. Exposure = Making the right choices
6. The right choices are the key to success
7. YOUR TIME IS NOT A TAX WRITE OFF !!!

Now I know most everyone is really tight lipped about how they run their business, and I am too. But let me tell you this and listen well everybody. Advertising is the key, it gets you jobs, it gets you exposure, lets you be as busy as you want and lets you be your own boss. But how to advertise and where to place your hard earned money can either make you or break you. A few mistakes can cost you tens of thousands. Lets say keep advertising your way, not wanting to learn or ask questions, just working at your pace. " Oh I don’t want to be that busy" you say. Well let me tell you can still be as busy as you want. You don’t have to accept every job you get. Getting lots of leads lets you CHOOSE which jobs you want to take. Would you rather take 50 jobs a month paying 100 bucks a job. Or take 10 jobs a month paying 500 bucks a piece. When you get lots of quality leads it gives you the ability to choose. You don’t have to hire workers, keep it simple. But the key is your TIME is worth more money per hour worked. Please email me and we can talk further.

Mark Poole

waterworksnw.com

 

[Dan S]

I must be in another part of the world ........... I never advertise... My boy's tell me all the time " boy DAD it's a good thing you dont advertise we would be so busy that we wouldnt have time to do anything else"..

I believe word of mouth is the best and FREE advertising out there .... you say that time is money............... I agree but I also say that I have all kinds of time ......... and I can choose any job even when a competior bids on it they call me to see if i can beat there price.........

what you said makes since and Im not knocking it.............
I just gave you an example of no advertising........

thats how I run a sussecfull business..... it's a good thing I dont have to spell when I go and talk to 'em.........I probably wouldnt have any werk.....

 

[mhpoole]

Where do you live, Im Moving There

WOW, you must be the luckiest guy on earth! I wish i didnt have to spend all this money on advertising, how long have you been in business? Tell us all your secret so we can have a great year. I dont know anyone who isnt hurting because of the economy. share with us please...

Mark poole

 

[Vrollingthund]

If we did not advertise we would not make customers or keep the old ones. We use the local paper in the classified section. It only costs $75.00 per month for 7 days a week. I think it is well worth the price. There is a lot of competition here. People look at price first and what you offer. Of course if you do a good job they recommend you to their friends. Here they do not like you putting flyers on doors or driveways no solicitation rules. If you do you are reported to the sheriffs office. This is a slow time around the Holidays but hopefully next week they will be calling us to clean their carpets. I am glad we have something else to fall back on. Thanks for all the ideas keep them coming. Anna

 

[Beth]

The American Marketing Association defines marketing as "the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion, and distribution of ideas, goods, and services to create exchanges that satisfy individual and organizational objectives."

There have been some wonderul points made in these posts. But advertising is one piece of a plan - your marketing plan. Advertising is a vehicle designed to:

1. generate leads
2. promote company/brand awareness
3. inform the consumer of new goods or services being offered

I'm not going to get into door to door flyers vs. cold calls vs. any other method. The point I would like to add is that consistancy and a professioanl clear message put before the consumer in a way that is not confusing or unclear will make the difference between a successful ad and an ad that draws very little response. You could run the same size ad in the same publication going to the same homes, and the difference in the results would be in the layout of the ad, its clarity, how easy it is to read and understand, and how comfortable and inviting it makes the consumer feel.

Many people overlook referrals and do not see them as a part of what successful marketing will do. When you advertise, get the leads and the jobs, and deliver a superior job, you will get referrals. These referrals would not have come had it not been for the marketing, for that componenet of it called advertising, or for the follow up called sales. Had you then not gone out and delivered the services as ordered, the referral would not have happened. Marketing is about creating the good or service you want your comapny to sell and positioning it in an attractive way designed to get the most favorable response. Placing the ad before the consumer does this for you.

Different advertising media have different shelf lives. Magnets may seem like a waste of money now, but in a couple of years, the phone will ring and voila! Magnets are long term. Newspapers go out with the recycling. They are good about a week. Coupon mailers will last you about as long as the coupon is good for. The phone book is there all year long. Glossy magazine type of mailers have a longer life since many people tend to keep catalogs around a while.

Never let anyone off the phone without capturing:

name
address
telephone
if you can get it, go for the fax or email when appropriate

Continue to market to them regardless of if they buy the first time. WHY? Because they liked you enough to call. They are warm, not cold.

Ok, I'll get off my soapbox....

Beth

 

[Scott Stone]

Dan, you should be ashamed of yourself. Letting these guys think that you don't advertise, and that they don't needs to ether. You all are comparing apples and oranges. Most of the guys that have to advertise are in Residential work. Part of the beauty of fleets is the lack of advertising, and the realization that it is basically useless to try. I can see the necessity of advertising for residential stuff. Fleets it jsut doesn't work. All of us fleet washers are so hansome, (except Bigboy) that everyone wants to see our bright smiling face.
WARNING: I got a digital camera for Christmas. That means I get to be just like the rest of you and posting all sorts of pictures to show that I can wash trucks, and cars. I just have to figure out how to do it.

Scott Stone

 

[mhpoole]

Great Posts

Beth your post could not be more right. The better quality leads you generate from the start, the better quality customers you will have for the long run. A couple of months ago, i went to do a gutter job. Customer didn't have an estimate yet, I was in the area they wanted a estimate, and me to do the work while I was there. The estimate was about Twice what she had paid before, but she was convinced she needed it, and hell im a nice guy so she said go ahead with the work. While I was up there I noticed not a thing in her gutters, just here and there. Now most people would probably have wasted time, and spent a couple of hours doing nothing, get their money and go home. I came down from the roof and told her, she had a clogged downspout, and some debris on one side. I was only going to charge a small amount instead of the original estimate. She was so suprised that I was that honest. I said just keep me in mind for future work you may have. She called yesturday, for her father, now I have $ 500 dollars worth of work for about 4 hours. Quality customers, Being honest will get you everywhere.

Mark Poole

 

[Walt Graner]

Hey Mark do you have a business plan?

 

[mhpoole]

well i dont know if i would call it that

I have some idea where i am headed and i have set some goals for myself it thats what you mean.

 

[Jon]

Mark,

My advertising is mostly getting out and meeting the prospective customers.

I am going into 3 local phone books, NO not the phone companies books, but city books and I will see how it goes.

I do mostly flat work, industrial/commercial and like fleet work I feel it would not pay for me to be in the papers. Besides I enjoy seeing what kind of job the competitors are doing before I walk in. Most cases there is enough damage I can bring that up as a sales point.

Now Dan S. He works, he advertises, word of mouth is still advertising so even if he does not have an ad running in a phone book or newspaper his work speaks for him.

Bigboy is so well known where he lives the trucks pass his name around on the CB before they ever arrive in his neck of the woods.

 

[Dan S]

I wish I can talk like Scott .... he said it all for me....... shame on me ..............

 

[Walt Graner]

Mark

No, you will see what I mean when you got to this site:
http://www.sba.gov/starting/indexbusplans.html

It tells all, when folks just jump into somthing for the first time they need to use existing resources, Don't reinvent the wheel, don't make the same mistakes that others have made before you. All a business plan is, is a fully documented lay out of other folks failures and how not to make them.

PS

No I am not advocating SBA's just the plan lay out is very nice

 

[PressureClean]

Originally posted by mhpoole

1. Money, Time, Coverage, Quality Leads, Exposure
2. Weigh Time spent -vs- Money Spent
3. Money Spent - vs- Coverage
4. Coverage -vs- Quality Leads
5. Exposure = Making the right choices
6. The right choices are the key to success
7. YOUR TIME IS NOT A TAX WRITE OFF !!!

Mark, about #7 - it isn't? I've got to introduce you to my CPA!

BTW, good post. Advertising is key to any business success. The key difference between commercial and residential work is this: Residential work is harder to find, easier to close, and more profitable. Commercial is easier to find, harder to close, and less profitable BUT more volume from repeat business. Thus, a good mix is to keep everybody working and build the business with the commercial work but make sure you have those nice high margin residential jobs to pad the cash flow any chance you get.

 

[Bill B]

Very good posts. To restate, the type of salemanship and advertising you use depends on the market you are going after. For example, my core business involves doing work for home builders. So my target is those persons (for example members of the home builders association, which I belong to) and suppliers of masonary products to those clients. I get all of my work via referrals from other builders, and through the suppliers. Also get some flat work/sealing work/house cleaning/deck restoration through these same contacts (and by people seeing me in neighborhood).
Am in the process of evaluating second "core business", and in fact have learned a lot on this and other boards. To me the two major keys to growing business in new area will be: (a) getting good people, and (b) method / cost of marketing. That's why the business plan mentioned is so important.