Advertising
- Thread starter chris1971
- Start date
- Status
jumper
Senior Member
- Location
- 3 Hr 2 Min from Winged Horses
I do not work for an EC anymore, but when I did, I and every employee carried business cards at all times. Any time anyone asked a question or even stopped to talk, we gave them a card. Boss said it got enough jobs to justify the small cost of cards.
On a personal note, I rank a real nice website as a sign of professionalism. 480 has a nice one.
On a personal note, I rank a real nice website as a sign of professionalism. 480 has a nice one.
Cards are about the best form of print advertising there is.
Two days ago, I stopped by at the grocery store on the way home. The worker who helped me out with my goods looked at the vinyl on my van. I handed him 3 business cards.
NEVER give out just one card. Three minimum. You never know who they'll give one to.
jumper
Senior Member
- Location
- 3 Hr 2 Min from Winged Horses
My canned response
My canned response
Best advice I can give:
First and foremost, you need to create, and then spend the money on, an advertising budget.
Join your local builders associations. Attend the meetings and other events.
Visit home shows and expos, with a wad of business cards in your pocket. Don't be shy about introducing yourself. And don't give out cards one at a time.... give each person 3 or 4: they're cheap, and you don't know who those people know!
And my favorite method: whenever you go to the Big Orange, Big Blue, or even the local hardware store (Ace, True Value, whatever) look for the trucks and vans that have "Fred's Home Improvement", "Handy Dave, Dan's Older Brother" or "Quality Construction" on them. And not just 'builders', .... landscapers, painters, roofers, drywallers, plumbers.....ANY construction trade lead can pan out. Stick a business card in the driver?s window. The worst that can happen is they throw it away.
Real estate agents are another 'forgotten' source. Many people who buy an existing home immediately want to change it, so if you buddy up with realtors you can be 'first in line' when it comes to the new homeowners' upgrades.
If (or should I be more positive and say when) you do find a builder, remodeller or flipper, be sure not to forget the person or people who are paying them.... the owners. Make contact with them, introduce yourself, and by all means, give them a card.
Want to start doing commercial? Drive around town and find all those little strip malls and see if there are any empty bays. Contact the name & number on the sign (after all, it is for rent, isn't it?), and find out who owns the property. Contact that person, introduce yourself, and simply ask if it would be possible for you to submit a bid when a new tenant is found.
Many local stores have bulletin boards you can put a small print ad (easy to do today with computers and printers) or a business card. It's free, and you never know.
Be persistent. Be sociable. Be friendly. You will not get every lead, you will not get every bid. And you will need to learn to deal with rejection.
But most important: create an advertising budget. And stick to your advertising plan. If one method doesn't seem to work, drop it and spend your money on other ideas. Business cards are the cheapest form of advertising, and the easiest to use. They fit in your pocket, so there is no excuse for never having a card to hand someone.
It WILL take some time, but if you do quality work at a reasonable price, you'll keep busy. And by reasonable, I mean fair and profitable. DO NOT try to compete on price alone. DO NOT promote yourself as Wal-Mart Electric. If you do, you WILL fail.
My canned response
Best advice I can give:
First and foremost, you need to create, and then spend the money on, an advertising budget.
Join your local builders associations. Attend the meetings and other events.
Visit home shows and expos, with a wad of business cards in your pocket. Don't be shy about introducing yourself. And don't give out cards one at a time.... give each person 3 or 4: they're cheap, and you don't know who those people know!
And my favorite method: whenever you go to the Big Orange, Big Blue, or even the local hardware store (Ace, True Value, whatever) look for the trucks and vans that have "Fred's Home Improvement", "Handy Dave, Dan's Older Brother" or "Quality Construction" on them. And not just 'builders', .... landscapers, painters, roofers, drywallers, plumbers.....ANY construction trade lead can pan out. Stick a business card in the driver?s window. The worst that can happen is they throw it away.
Real estate agents are another 'forgotten' source. Many people who buy an existing home immediately want to change it, so if you buddy up with realtors you can be 'first in line' when it comes to the new homeowners' upgrades.
If (or should I be more positive and say when) you do find a builder, remodeller or flipper, be sure not to forget the person or people who are paying them.... the owners. Make contact with them, introduce yourself, and by all means, give them a card.
Want to start doing commercial? Drive around town and find all those little strip malls and see if there are any empty bays. Contact the name & number on the sign (after all, it is for rent, isn't it?), and find out who owns the property. Contact that person, introduce yourself, and simply ask if it would be possible for you to submit a bid when a new tenant is found.
Many local stores have bulletin boards you can put a small print ad (easy to do today with computers and printers) or a business card. It's free, and you never know.
Be persistent. Be sociable. Be friendly. You will not get every lead, you will not get every bid. And you will need to learn to deal with rejection.
But most important: create an advertising budget. And stick to your advertising plan. If one method doesn't seem to work, drop it and spend your money on other ideas. Business cards are the cheapest form of advertising, and the easiest to use. They fit in your pocket, so there is no excuse for never having a card to hand someone.
It WILL take some time, but if you do quality work at a reasonable price, you'll keep busy. And by reasonable, I mean fair and profitable. DO NOT try to compete on price alone. DO NOT promote yourself as Wal-Mart Electric. If you do, you WILL fail.
jumper
Senior Member
- Location
- 3 Hr 2 Min from Winged Horses
Show us your website.[/QUOTE]
I do not work for an EC nor am I an EC. I merely stated that a nice website is a sign of professionalism in my opinion. We live in a internet world and people will want to see a website more often than not in many cases. As I stated, check out 480Sparky's site. It shows a real nice site of an an established contractor. A nice website is not a guarentee of success but it helps. A bad one is a death knell to the average consumer, like me.
dmagyar
Senior Member
- Location
- Rocklin, Ca.
Get a web site
Get a web site
I've had it with Yellow page style advertising, & small run neighbor hood magazines. It's very expensive and doesn't get you any work.
Get a web site up and running, be prepared to do some learning and spend some time to update it otherwise you'll be on the hook to someone else to do that for cost for you.
When you get your site running, find someone local who can actually get you included in the various web search engines. I pay my local advertiser from $30 to $100 a month. That gets me in the top 3-6 in a search for Electrical contractors in my area. Don't get hooked by the unsolicited emails you'll get from everyone and their brothers saying they can get you noticed, those are mostly rip-offs.
I like Tri-folds also, but you need to keep those current with your business plan and that may force you to publish (print) them yourself, which is a good thing. It will give you something to do instead of sleeping at night. Just joking. I don't like the pricing I get for someone doing things for me, my results are fine, and I get to change them whenever I need to. Besides being in business for yourself you should be used to long hours.
Get a web site
I've had it with Yellow page style advertising, & small run neighbor hood magazines. It's very expensive and doesn't get you any work.
Get a web site up and running, be prepared to do some learning and spend some time to update it otherwise you'll be on the hook to someone else to do that for cost for you.
When you get your site running, find someone local who can actually get you included in the various web search engines. I pay my local advertiser from $30 to $100 a month. That gets me in the top 3-6 in a search for Electrical contractors in my area. Don't get hooked by the unsolicited emails you'll get from everyone and their brothers saying they can get you noticed, those are mostly rip-offs.
I like Tri-folds also, but you need to keep those current with your business plan and that may force you to publish (print) them yourself, which is a good thing. It will give you something to do instead of sleeping at night. Just joking. I don't like the pricing I get for someone doing things for me, my results are fine, and I get to change them whenever I need to. Besides being in business for yourself you should be used to long hours.
ceb58
Senior Member
- Location
- Raeford, NC
I have found that signage on a vehicle is really a waste of money ( unless your state requires business name and lic.#) I spent several hundred dollars for lettering and graphics on my first job trailer. The only thing that came from it was a lady called me to tell me I had a break light out. She was behind me in traffic. and some guy trapped me in a parking lot trying to pump as much free info as he could on an install he was doing at home with used equipment he removed from a home that was being torn down
. The best, as said, is cards and word of mouth. If a local restaurant has a business board leave several cards on it.
. The best, as said, is cards and word of mouth. If a local restaurant has a business board leave several cards on it.
readydave8
re member
- Location
- Clarkesville, Georgia
- Occupation
- electrician
They have to keep seeing your name, thats why the truck lettering is important. Even very happy customers may forget you if years go by before they need an electrician again. Repetition is the key.
I need to restart my mailing list, I let it go a few years ago when 911 came and everyone's address changed. I've thought about satisfaction questionarres and Christmas cards.
I need to restart my mailing list, I let it go a few years ago when 911 came and everyone's address changed. I've thought about satisfaction questionarres and Christmas cards.
- Status