Am I missing anything?

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frogneck77

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Shelton,CT
Hello All,
For the first time in 3 years Im home on a weekday trying to figure out ways to get some more work. Ive been in business since 2005 and recently had to stop working for a large contractor who gave us @40-50% of our work. I couldnt deal with waiting 90-120+ days to get paid-So here I am looking to fill the void. I am now brainstorming as to ways to drum up more work. Ive read numerous posts about SM(which I signed up for last week-no leads yet),Bidclerk, and cost analysis of telephone book/newspaper advertising. I also read a post where someone mailed out to every HVAC contractor in the phonebook. While on Bidclerk I got a list of every contractor in my area, which included alot of large reputable companies. After cleaning my saliva off the computer I realized this could be a huge opportunity if I make the right decisions. I am contemplating sending out letters to each of these companies introducing my company,stating that we are looking to expand, and giving a brief rundown of our services, attributes, and recent projects. I am sure these companies receive solicitations all the time from contractors looking to "break in". Any advice/links to how to write a letter and make it stand out?Did I miss any other methods for attracting new clients?Any help would be greatly appreciated- My worst fear is having to lay off any of my guys.
Bill
 
I'll throw out some of the ideas I have always maintained:

Besides print (newspaper, phone book) and electronic media (web sites, radio & TV), there's a lot of ways to increase your cash flow:

First and foremost, you need to create, and then spend the money on, an advertising budget. I don't think this can ever be stressed enough.

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!

Get on your local Craigslist site. Look for builders and handymen there who advertise "It's OK to contact them with other services or commercial interests." (This will be at the bottom of their listing) Drop them a short, simple email to introduce yourself.

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 drivers 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 owner(s). 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 bulliten 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.
 
Decide what you want your business to be in five years then work to that goal if you do not have a business plan you need to write one if you have an old one then update it then follow it.You have learned a lesson about having only one source of income use this knowledge and apply it to your market as it is today.When you launch a new service remember the reward phase can be many months down the road so don't get discouraged we ran radio adds for three months before seeing our first job that we could tie directly to the adds.
 
Bill,

I see you have not been in business, long enough to go thru a resession, or market down turn, you can be the best electrical company in the world, and have plenty of ad space touting your business, but when the economy turns everyone notices the loss, try no to panic, things run in cycles, in a year or two things should pick up, right now we have two or three EC's a week going bust, and laying off their workers. The recession back in the 70's lasted a few years, and i remember many EC's taking jobs, at local plants until the marked picked up, when your running a small company, watching the economy is as important as, planning and scheduling, and many other daily tasks, if your luckey and notice the market conditions sliding early on, you can down size or change tatics before the actual down turn.
 
Rewire said:
Decide what you want your business to be in five years then work to that goal if you do not have a business plan you need to write one if you have an old one then update it then follow it.You have learned a lesson about having only one source of income use this knowledge and apply it to your market as it is today.When you launch a new service remember the reward phase can be many months down the road so don't get discouraged we ran radio adds for three months before seeing our first job that we could tie directly to the adds.
Click to expand...

Good point, he needs to get busy, and plan for when things turn around, good planning is the secret.
 
I have been noticing a down turn in new residential construction around here- A market which I tried very hard to get into initially- then ran away from when I saw how little people were charging. I would love to find a way to get into more electrical maintainence. We currently have 1 account at a large shopping center and it keeps us busy at leat 2-3 days per month with random work.
 
frogneck77 said:
I have been noticing a down turn in new residential construction around here- A market which I tried very hard to get into initially- then ran away from when I saw how little people were charging. I would love to find a way to get into more electrical maintainence. We currently have 1 account at a large shopping center and it keeps us busy at leat 2-3 days per month with random work.
Click to expand...
New houses are just fill in for us we targeted the service market from the beginning I have found people will always have small jobs that need done regardless of downturns it is a tuff market to be in as most work is only one or two days which makes long term planning difficult but the steady cash flow makes up for it.
 
480's got it covered pretty well.

He's right about not being afraid to introduce yourself. I am constantly giving out cards to contractors. May be a waste most of the time but it's better to try.

I've been at home shows lately handing out cards as well.

Sometimes it's just plain luck that will do it for you. Running into the guy who's EC just screwed him on a job or is too busy when the GC needed him yesterday.

Capitalizing on someone elses misfortune has worked well for me. :D
 
very important what others have told you-----DON"T PANIC !!!! and don't go buy or spend money on an advertising package that further puts you in debt..
you and your men are better off waiting for this to blow over. the country's economy has been running on fumes for a year and now people are just realizing it and have lost faith in the present administration -- it's gonna be just like 1992, get set to wait until after the election--maybe three four months afterwords before things improve. pull your horns in and stay low overhead. that way you are still around. don't panic........
 
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