Phone calls in the last week

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LarryFine said:
Want a sub-contractor instead of employees?
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I sometimes do that and one of our members made the offer also. I believe I need to get someone so I will try that route first. It is getting harder doing it all by myself, esp. those big homes.
 
aline said:
Are you saying if no one is calling you, you should be calling them? :)
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Yes, on one PR call I picked up at least a weeks worth of work for two guys, plus this place usually adds "while you are here..."

That work may have been coming anyway but now I know it is there. Much better feeling than waiting for the phone to ring.

The average farmer in NE is supposed to see an increase in profits this year of 20% so, right now, the bailout plan hasn't seem to have had much affect locally. This all might change once I check the news this morning.
 
mdshunk said:
Anything besides sitting around complaining that your phone is not ringing. Go out and make it ring. Go out and see people. Pick up the phone and call people.
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In my town, there are 118,000 people. When you say "people", who are you referring to? GCs? Door to door?
 
If I were to gauge my business on one week worth of phone calls I might get worried a lot. I have been in business long enough to know when our slow times will occure. We just got out of one of them 2 weeks ago and the calls are comming in great now. When things are slow I have my guys work on my house.
 
bth0mas20 said:
Has anyone else noticed a lack of phone calls in the last week since the talk of bush's buyout plan. My phone hasnt rang all week.
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No shortage of phone calls here. If you want that phone to ring, niche market. Expand your horizons to new area to make yourself more valuable to the consumer. Electricians are a valuable commodity. But the guy who can provide a single source for electric, VDV, Fire alarm, Security, pro audio, etc, etc... will always get more leads. Customers love one stop shopping. Mind you, this works better in the commercial market, where special systems are much larger scale and often more complex. But, it does work in the residential market as well. I know of a contractor that is strictly residential here, and while the resi market has gone soft and companies are struggling he is dragging in more work than he needs. His secret? He is a certified installer for ADT. He gets calls for bid on security / fire systems, points out he is also a full scale electrical contractor and gets an invite to bid that part of the job as well.

The reality is, the market has changed and will continue to do so. Basic plug and switch electric will always be there. But the real market upticks are in other niches of the industry. The future lies in such things as photovoltaics, security, energy efficient lighting controls, auxillary power, high end VDV and such. Follow the technology, follow the trends, adapt and conquer.
 
Im just recently starting in business and dont have the client list that most of you may have. Ive tried many different advertising ventures and only found sucess with "word of mouth". Im just saying that it has seemed slow lately.
 
mdshunk said:
Anything besides sitting around complaining that your phone is not ringing. Go out and make it ring. Go out and see people. Pick up the phone and call people. Buy a billboard, put an ad in the paper, anything... something... Go out and kill it and drag it home if you have to.
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Hey Marc have you had any success with the news paper? I think I'm going to try that next week to drum up some business? I'm also reading Guerrilla marketing.
 
I have decided to stop with newspaper ads. They run $350 per month and have a handfull of calls with no jobs. This may also be because I live away from any major cities.
 
jmsbrush said:
Hey Marc have you had any success with the news paper? I think I'm going to try that next week to drum up some business? I'm also reading Guerrilla marketing.
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The Guerrilla marketing book is realy good book to read, It show that marketing should be an everyday thing with you company and with everyone that see you or talks to you.
 
bth0mas20 said:
I have decided to stop with newspaper ads. They run $350 per month and have a handfull of calls with no jobs. This may also be because I live away from any major cities.
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How many times did you cold call back the potional client a few days later? : )

Look at the smaller regional magazines and weekly fliers... ? ?
 
bth0mas20 said:
What do you mean by cold call back?
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Call Back the customer that called you and took up your time, just return the favor. : ) Granted phone call's can go in various directions, but if it was a left up in air, by all means refresh their memory!

Peter, You keep questioning the questioners !!! I like my ASCII ...
 
bth0mas20 said:
I have decided to stop with newspaper ads. They run $350 per month and have a handfull of calls with no jobs. This may also be because I live away from any major cities.
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How many people live in you're town?
 
Brandon:

Sorry about the sharp quip yesterday. Had to listen to a Ralph Nader POCO inspector babble on for 30 minutes before I got my clearance from him . . . Aaaaagh! Had to play nice until I got my tag. ;)

We have done Customer Service letters. (Hi how are you doing? Has everything worked out? Call us if you need anything else.) You can print those out on letterhead and mail them.

Call clients you have given bids to and haven't heard from.

Don't use Service Magic.

Have you tried neighborhood newspapers?

Read some of the books mentioned?

Another thing. Are you doing only residential? Can you / are you able to expand into commercial? Sometimes when the Resi market is slow the Commi market is moving.
 
Chamuit said:
Brandon:

Sorry about the sharp quip yesterday. Had to listen to a Ralph Nader POCO inspector babble on for 30 minutes before I got my clearance from him . . . Aaaaagh! Had to play nice until I got my tag. ;)

We have done Customer Service letters. (Hi how are you doing? Has everything worked out? Call us if you need anything else.) You can print those out on letterhead and mail them.

Call clients you have given bids to and haven't heard from.

Don't use Service Magic.

Have you tried neighborhood newspapers?

Read some of the books mentioned?

Another thing. Are you doing only residential? Can you / are you able to expand into commercial? Sometimes when the Resi market is slow the Commi market is moving.
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Great ideas Chamuit. A few years ago I put flyers on local bulletin boards..cost me 85 cents and kept me busy all year.

Last week I installed a tankless water heater (fun soldering). The HO loves it and is my best commercial. She lives alone and we tried a 2 GPM model for the whole house. As long as she doesn't start the dishwasher before he gets in the shower she loves it!

Have a res remodel that can't seem to get started...they're trying to wave it in but change their mind every 5 minutes. So, I took measurements and CAD up a plan drawing for them in addition to my wiring scheme. Could backfire ..but no guts..no glory!
 
Chamuit said:
Brandon:

Sorry about the sharp quip yesterday. Had to listen to a Ralph Nader POCO inspector babble on for 30 minutes before I got my clearance from him . . . Aaaaagh! Had to play nice until I got my tag. ;)

We have done Customer Service letters. (Hi how are you doing? Has everything worked out? Call us if you need anything else.) You can print those out on letterhead and mail them.

Call clients you have given bids to and haven't heard from.

Don't use Service Magic.

Have you tried neighborhood newspapers?

Read some of the books mentioned?

Another thing. Are you doing only residential? Can you / are you able to expand into commercial? Sometimes when the Resi market is slow the Commi market is moving.
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I have lost my money to service magic already.

My strong field is Industrial electrical. I have been working as an Industrial electrician for my whole career. I also did my share of commercial and residential. Im well rounded as far as that goes. The only work that Ive been able to get is 90% res and 10% comm.
I would like my whole business to be geared towards industrial....breakers, switchgear, motors, movs, generators....and not just installing them but maintenance. That is my goal.

This is a small town for industry though so I will need to start working 1.5 to 2hrs away for the work.
 
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