Successful Commercial Advertising

Marketing Commercial Business (What works for you)

  • Personal Mailings you do yourself? If so how many at one time?

    Votes: 1 7.1%
  • Using a mailing house?

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Yellow Pages

    Votes: 4 28.6%
  • Cold Calls by phone

    Votes: 3 21.4%
  • Cold Calls by visiting the place of business

    Votes: 6 42.9%

  • Total voters
    14
  • Poll closed .

Clean County

New Member
Finally after all these years where just now killing off the yellow pages. Like Tony said above we also were in the range of almost a $1000/month back around 2005. The last couple of years I had probably the biggest advertising ads still in the yellow pages which was more ad space then in 2005 but it cost about a third the price. We did get some good commercial jobs over the years thru yellow pages but now it's just not worth it..

Last year our yellow page ads in just about all of the long island main books we made less then $2 to every $1 spent.. Send the guys out and figured the cost of it all and the yellow pages actually cost me money.

It's a shame but it's the sign of the times. Also I had the nicest sale lady in the local papers for my first 14 yrs in the business and we cut her off now going on 3 yrs.. That one sucked because she was the nicest advertising person I ever dealt with but it's the sign of the times..

I use to always over advertise to stay busy all the time.. Today besides of course my regular customers and referrals the Internet dominates.. For every $1 spent there we gross over $900 in new business.. For you math wizards my website cost $116 to host it for the year..
 

Chris Apple

New Member
I spent around 15 or 20 bucks on our first website. It looked awful, but within the first few weeks it pulled down a $1500 job. Websites rock if someone is already searching for our service.

On a slightly different note. I lol when I get calls from SEO companies guaranteeing a ton of website leads and a first page spot on Google. I tell them ive already got most of the slots on the first page and I know good and well there aren't that many searches for pressure washing around here!
 

Clean County

New Member
Yea that one gets me to.. I get calls and emails all the time that some SEO person will get us on the first page of google line of shizz.
I just paid a small fee for someone to make this last website for me because I have ZERO interest in computer stuff and he knew how to do it where I had one of the public speakers at these roundtable events check my site and it ranks a 3 on google which is considered pretty darn good for google.. Charlie Caldwell I think his name was that checked it and he is a computer wiz..

The next question is what to spend money on to keep the calls coming in all the time?? I deal with much better being over booked then having to tell my guys we have to take Saturday off....

What I have to do is stop booking jobs when we get busy like for 14 straight days.. That has to come to an end so I have to get over the fear of not having enough work.

Where doing another big job that requires us to be there at night but we can work day on Saturday and all day on Sunday because the Bldg is closed and that's what where doing... Not complaining but I can really fast get to into work now that I have one job and boom... No life..

Fun problem to try and figure out like maybe I should say... Noo we can't do that..lol. And they say ok we'll get someone who can.. DOH!
 

Chris Apple

New Member
Thats a great problem John. We're no wheres near that, but I know what you mean about no life. I think my wiFe is ready to skin me!

Its time for me to get some more help for sure.
 

Clean County

New Member
When I worked alone Chris the first few yrs in this business I worked whenever I was off... I love the physical part of working.. But.. Here's a trick for ya.. Save ur money where u can start to market more.. I use to call it over advertise because I could pick and choose and stay busy.. But when u get busier hire a guy.... Do that for awhile and keep marketing..

I have small goals so I'm not the best guy to talk to in business. I like things KISS.. Keep it simple stupid. I want to make x amount of profit and I'm happy so I can do other things but in this I have to keep my two main guys busy at least 8-9 months a yr.. When we get slow sometimes our work is enough to pay them which sucks but I have to keep them busy.. Other times I make good dough where we can make in the $5000 range per day because I have the right equipment and the resources to rent what I need.. Those days happen a few times a yr but you have to have rock solid workers and the type of work to do it...

To find that... Start with Marketing and networking even if your a lone warrior like I was for yrs..

I'll post a neat job where doing soon which I could never do... By myself... But now I no longer do it at all except the parking garages.. Cause I like to do physical work still even though the body is now starting to say otherwise.
 

Mark

Moderator / Sponsor
Just tell the next SEO sales person that calls, that you are already at # 1 spot with Google,
they usually just hang up, not knowing what to say.

Not saying SEO is not important, but there are many claiming they can get you to #1 spot
that do not have a clue..............

John how is retired life? Congratulations on your retirement from the force.:)
 

Clean County

New Member
Just tell the next SEO sales person that calls, that you are already at # 1 spot with Google,
they usually just hang up, not knowing what to say.

Not saying SEO is not important, but there are many claiming they can get you to #1 spot
that do not have a clue..............

John how is retired life? Congratulations on your retirement from the force.:)
Retired life is kind of like it never happened. Where Powerwashing again and it's like nothing changed except I don't have to run off and go to my "other" job at night. I am so happy to be able to sleep at home every day night of the week.. First time in pretty much 29 yrs that I haven't been able to do that more then a few weeks because I was almost always nights.... Just have to get used to being the lowest ranked one in my house between my wife and 2 girls but it's good to be there all the time now..
Thanks for asking Mark.
 

Pocketarnie

New Member
I can’t believe yellow pages has gotten 5 votes and is even close to leading the pack. come on, that’s ridiculous.

I agree, we have an ad with Dex One and have just received one call for a small job since Oct 2011.
We will not be going with them next year, complete waste of money, nobody looks in the yellow pages anymore
 

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