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i was just curious on as to how a lot of you advertise to increase workload or if you have certain methods you use to gain contacts.
I have being contacted by yell who want to sell me sponsored ads for certain areas. (Any one got any experience on weather this is worth it).
 
I have heard nothing but bad about Yell and their methods. I think it pays off if you spend thousands per year but there is no room for the small fish. They tapped me up once but could promise nothing but smoke and mirrors.
I have only ever used free internet marketing methods and seem to do ok, but it takes a while to build up.
 
as above.with yell just take a free entry. same with all the others.

before internet, once was approached by yellow pages, rep offering a £800 years ad for £600, saying that i'd recoup the cost within 3 months. ( bear in mind that was a lot of wonga in 1985). i recorded this conversation and signed up on a monthly DD. needless to say, in 3 months i had had only 2 enquiries. 1 was useless and the other was a £20 call-out. so i cancelled the DD and told them to take me to court and i would countersue for breach of contract. end of dispute.
 
When you started out did you rely on word of mouth mainly to get you by.
I’m just curious on best way to get yourself known weather it be cold calling business/letting agents offering your services or just advertising on the internet and wait for the work to come in.
 
5000 colur leaflets round you local area is a cheap start, but don't rely on some scroat of a teenager to deliver for a tenner. they'll go straight into the nearest bin. do it yourself and help from family and friends.
 
When you started out did you rely on word of mouth mainly to get you by.
I’m just curious on best way to get yourself known weather it be cold calling business/letting agents offering your services or just advertising on the internet and wait for the work to come in.

Totally depends on your marketing budget and needed workload.
There are endless paid options waiting to take your money, middlemen sites, local papers, social networking sites, listing sites etc.
I explored the free options first coupled with a box of flyers for £60. I pushed them out with help from my kids. That's still the only paid marketing I have forked out for in 6 years. I started getting work and things have never really been sparse enough to worry at all. Having said that I know that a marketing budget would see me busier, I just don't want it right now.

Reviews gained and displayed on the internet (all free) get me a fair amount of new work these days and I have a good network of repeat customers and referrals.
 
Only around 6months now. I know it will take a while to get established and get regular work but just wondered when starting out what people did to generate work that’s all and what works for them. Dont want to waste money on a load of rubbish really.
 
I took a free listing with Yell. I wouldn't touch them with a barge pole. They could only offer exorbitantly priced paid listings which I can't afford. After that, they kept phoning me, sometimes months apart, sometimes days and getting them off the phone without being rude was also a chore. Eventually I lost it with them and basically told them to delete every detail they had about my business... I never contacted them in the first place (I was advised by a number of tradies to avoid them before I started).

All my advertising is local business directories that cover Newport, my side of Cardiff and the area in between. They generate a constant stream of enquiries. Now, nearly 2 years in, word of mouth is going quite well.

But as the guys have said, it takes time to build up.
 
Im sponsoring a local school newsletter now, It works a treat, School reckons its got no money but just bought a load of new laptops for the teachers!
I pay a small fee to cover some of the weekly printing costs which they do in house on the schools printers/photocopiers and get my company details centred at the top and on the back at the bottom.
So far after 5 weeks I have got several jobs from it and is working well, got a couple of quotes to do. It really amazes me just how little people feel confident doing themselves. It reaches the yummy mummy brigade and gets the business out there. It works out very cheap advertising compared to printing and distributing leaflets yourself.
I am having talks about putting the company logo on other things, they are getting the kids sports teams kit sponsored. the minibus, signs on the gates and are even doing leaflet distribution now, business can pay x amount per leaflet to be given to each kids parents. cant recall price now but its far cheaper than royal mail! you just provide the leaflets. head teacher reckons they are struggling to balance the books!
You just have to think out side of the box.
 
If works slow, offer a free visual inspection/safety check as a way of getting your foot in the door, from this you could generate EICR's and obviously pick up any remedial work. Just be honest and fair on your prices.
 
This is what i did from a standing start.
1. Printed A5 flyers using my own printer, hand delivered them to my target market, i.e. knock on doors (very effective)
2. Paid shed load to Royal mail to deliver 5000 flyers i had printed professionally, not so effective but did get me 1 lead that changed the course of my work . (so lucky really)
3. Sub-contracted to a couple of organisations that were temp short of labour, enjoyed it but no future.
4. Word of mouth took over and constant repeat business
5. I now hide from word of mouth, ask people not to refer me as i am too busy to enjoy life.... lol
 
If you want to generate work and leads, try the mess that is Facebook. Throw up a little competition to win something as simple as say a USB Double Socket Installed. Share and Like to be entered into competition.
 
If works slow, offer a free visual inspection/safety check as a way of getting your foot in the door, from this you could generate EICR's and obviously pick up any remedial work. Just be honest and fair on your prices.
TBH I think everyone see's that kind of thing as you are fishing for the remedial works...even if you are honest with your assessment of installation, the customer most likely still may not trust you much and fish elsewhere or do nothing.
 
TBH I think everyone see's that kind of thing as you are fishing for the remedial works...even if you are honest with your assessment of installation, the customer most likely still may not trust you much and fish elsewhere or do nothing.
There are firms out there whose whole business is based on this model so it must work to some degree.
 
Loss leaders are common practice for just about every industry.

I must admit I'm not keen on the free visual inspection idea but it is only dodgy if you use it as a way to invent work that doesn't need done.

I hate PAT testing but do it for customers I want on my books to get a foot in the door.

It's no different to doing a favour for someone you get a lot of work from.

By far the best advertising is word of mouth as others have said put every effort in to every job.
 
That particular doesn't sit well with me. I can only see an offer of free anything attracting the customers with very tight budgets who are less likely to spend on improvements.
I can see how some companies make it their business model and do very well out of it, but I don't see how I could without being misleading to some degree.
 

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