How Do Electricians Consistently Promote there Business

[Designsn28]

In this digital age, how do electricians continue to build their brand and prospect for more clients. Which methods are most effective today?

1. Social Media - building relationships online with websites like FB, Twitter, LinkedIn etc.
2. Emails- send out educational or information email to your data base.
3. Blogs and Forums - Writing articles and sharing information on a regular maintained blog.
4. Direct mail postcards, flyers etc.
5. Distribute things like door hangers, business cards etc.
6. Signs on your vehicle, building, yard signs, banners etc.
7. Sponsoring events
8. Optimizing a website for local search on Google, Bing, Yahoo etc.

Maybe their is a unique thing that works for that you might want to share. I'm just curious to know what are some of the things you use now as oppose to years ago.

 

[ptonsparky]

My office help did a direct mail that landed us a good sized job and additional work from that customer since then.

Other than that, signs on the truck.

 

[cowboyjwc]

Each job you do should be promoting your business.

 

[69gp]

It all depends on what type of work you are doing and what type of work you want to do. Best method I have ever had is networking and word of mouth. My work consist of 99.9999% industrial and commercial. The other .00001% is residential work for friends and family that I just don't like to do.

The first year I went into business before the internet they had this thing called the Yellow Pages. Took out a half page add and got maybe 3 or 4 jobs out of it. Total waste of money. I did a lot of public work bidding and in MA it is usually the low bidder getting the job. Does not matter who you know. After working for several contractors I was bidding private jobs to them. I do not advertise at all other than a website. I do not use the website for advertising its more or less just used for showcasing projects if someone want to see the type of work I do. I do not do mailings, I do not advertise in any local papers and do not even have signs on my trucks. This is of my own doing since I am established.

If I was starting out and was doing residential i think that the direct mailings to high end neighborhoods might be in order. A professionally laid out flyer geared towards the homeowner listing direct numbers where you can be reached is what i would want. Might want to try postings on Craigslist its free. I don't think a website will generate any work for you. It would be more of a reference if someone wanted to check out your work similar to what I do.

It would not hurt to go and knock on a few doors of some local contractors to try and get some work. Most have a plan room where you could look at what they are bidding on.

just my 2 cents

 

[Fulthrotl]

Maybe their is a unique thing that works for that you might want to share. I'm just curious to know what are some of the things you use now as oppose to years ago.

three years ago, i did the bare bones business weekend deal.

ellen rohr provides it. it costs $10. this weekend would be an excellent one to
do it, in keeping with independence day, and all.

http://www.ellenrohr.com/catalog/the-bare-bones-biz-plan/

=======================
this is what my perfect business day looked like when i wrote it out on 8-15-11:

Commercial and Industrial Electrician
Electrical Design

Design build industrial electrical

Value added consulting

Work only with professionals

NO property management types.
=======================

for goals, i had a lot of them by 12-31-11

A/R zeroed out
40 customers total
$5k per week billing
to retire outstanding mortgage of $288k by 12-31-16
was the big one.

and a ton of other bs time wasters that aren't
worth the time to repeat here.

======================

then i put the written plan on a shelf, and sort of ignored it.

======================

six weeks ago, i ran across it, and looked at it again. i was
pretty shocked to see that i'd accomplished everything on
the list, except paying off the mortgage, and that looks to
be done by a year early.

i wanted 250k a year gross. this year looks like 700k+ net.
damned if i know how it happened. it just did. took 3 years.
i have none of the same customers, and none of the same work.

it's the start of a three day weekend. if monday comes, and
you haven't spent $10 and done the plan, then you aren't serious.

you only have one question to answer, really.
what would you do if you knew you could not fail?

enjoy the weekend.

ps- one of the changes in perception that i had, i used to freak out
if i had a lot of A/R, and everyone was slow pays. right now, i have
one invoice that is 34 days old, everything is less than 30, and i've
39,000 and i'm concerned that it's not larger. and i have zero bills.

honest to god, the only difference between now and three years ago,
was that damn business plan.

 

[liquidtite]

three years ago, i did the bare bones business weekend deal.

ellen rohr provides it. it costs $10. this weekend would be an excellent one to
do it, in keeping with independence day, and all.

http://www.ellenrohr.com/catalog/the-bare-bones-biz-plan/

=======================
this is what my perfect business day looked like when i wrote it out on 8-15-11:

Commercial and Industrial Electrician
Electrical Design

Design build industrial electrical

Value added consulting

Work only with professionals

NO property management types.
=======================

for goals, i had a lot of them by 12-31-11

A/R zeroed out
40 customers total
$5k per week billing
to retire outstanding mortgage of $288k by 12-31-16
was the big one.

and a ton of other bs time wasters that aren't
worth the time to repeat here.

======================

then i put the written plan on a shelf, and sort of ignored it.

======================

six weeks ago, i ran across it, and looked at it again. i was
pretty shocked to see that i'd accomplished everything on
the list, except paying off the mortgage, and that looks to
be done by a year early.

i wanted 250k a year gross. this year looks like 700k+ net.
damned if i know how it happened. it just did. took 3 years.
i have none of the same customers, and none of the same work.

it's the start of a three day weekend. if monday comes, and
you haven't spent $10 and done the plan, then you aren't serious.

you only have one question to answer, really.
what would you do if you knew you could not fail?

enjoy the weekend.

ps- one of the changes in perception that i had, i used to freak out
if i had a lot of A/R, and everyone was slow pays. right now, i have
one invoice that is 34 days old, everything is less than 30, and i've
39,000 and i'm concerned that it's not larger. and i have zero bills.

honest to god, the only difference between now and three years ago,
was that damn business plan.

and everyone is so proud of you

 

[PetrosA]

and everyone is so proud of you

 

[480sparky]

There is no one, single 'magic bullet' method that works for everyone. If there was, the question would not need to be asked.

The best advice I can give is to try something. And try it over a period of time.... not just one ad in tomorrow's newspaper. Marketing is a long-term commitment, not a flash-in-the-pan scheme.

Benchmark the results. After time, see if it's paying off. If not, try something else. If so, still try another method as it may be a better investment.

Eventually you'll find what works for you. Trying to duplicate the success of others rarely works as your target market may be vastly different from your competitors.

 

[Fulthrotl]

and everyone is so proud of you

it seems that you sound a little bitter.

as this is an electrical forum, i'll try to keep on topic.
electrical energy has a component of frequency.

frequency, in sound, for the sake of discussion, will
resonate to a corresponding frequency. two tuning
forks, tuned alike, will begin to hum together when
one of them is struck and held close to the other.

so, depending on what you want to show up in your
experience depends on where you set your own
frequency at. that is the point of the business plan.

you stop, take a moment, and then aim, before you
take your shot. so if, for example, you were to download
that business plan, and do it, treating your life as the
business you are trying to develop, you might find that
you have options far beyond the ones you have listed in your
other posts...

"At least you and your men were being paid the correct pw.
I worked for a crooked ec for a year who had contracts for
all fed work in NYC . The pw is around 50 plus the Frindge
benefits is around 80$..."

"I know tegu of have slot of wrk rite now eith the shop
That's turning to that local . i diff ure it's worth a shot,
I have nothing to lose"

or, you could just ridicule this post, and see what that does
to improve your life. whichever you choose, good luck with
that....

 

[Cow]

honest to god, the only difference between now and three years ago,
was that damn business plan.

I remember you mentioning Ellen Rohr's business plan a while back. I had been meaning to ask you how it was working for you since I hadn't seen you mention it in a while. Sounds like it was $10 well spent!

 

[ActionDave]

I'm glad to hear when someone is doing well.

There is a sports radio host I like to listen to. One time I heard him pass on some advice that helped him in his career, "If you resent the success of others you'll never have your own."

 

[liquidtite]

it seems that you sound a little bitter.

as this is an electrical forum, i'll try to keep on topic.
electrical energy has a component of frequency.

frequency, in sound, for the sake of discussion, will
resonate to a corresponding frequency. two tuning
forks, tuned alike, will begin to hum together when
one of them is struck and held close to the other.

so, depending on what you want to show up in your
experience depends on where you set your own
frequency at. that is the point of the business plan.

you stop, take a moment, and then aim, before you
take your shot. so if, for example, you were to download
that business plan, and do it, treating your life as the
business you are trying to develop, you might find that
you have options far beyond the ones you have listed in your
other posts...

"At least you and your men were being paid the correct pw.
I worked for a crooked ec for a year who had contracts for
all fed work in NYC . The pw is around 50 plus the Frindge
benefits is around 80$..."

"I know tegu of have slot of wrk rite now eith the shop
That's turning to that local . i diff ure it's worth a shot,
I have nothing to lose"

or, you could just ridicule this post, and see what that does
to improve your life. whichever you choose, good luck with
that....

Hey easy buddy I didn't know you were so sensitive I was just joking with you .
and to be totally honest with you my life is fine I make 30ph benefits medicale pention ,
and I don't have the stress of owning my own business .
witch gives me more time to spend with family . So I'm happy were I'm at .

 

[John120/240]

honest to god, the only difference between now and three years ago,
was that damn business plan.

I remember you mentioning Ellen Rohr's business plan a while back. I had been meaning to ask you how it was working for you since I hadn't seen you mention it in a while. Sounds like it was $10 well spent!

If I remember correctly one of Fulthrotl's big motivators was his expected monthly gross income, written in magic marker on his van's windshield.