Best way to target customers

Buford T Justice

Hi

I'm currently self employed doing the work in my sig. I'm looking to try to drum up business for myself and am looking for some pointers and tips

Have also tried advertising in the local papers. It was ok for a while, but I've got nothing in the past 6 weeks from it. Not sure if that is related to the time of year or anything, but there you go.

I'm looking to target business in the local area, such as shops, pubs, restaurants and property management agencies as well as the domestic market

I need to develop a pitch that I can deliver to the managers of businesses and am looking for tips on what would be the best way to do it. I realize that it is a sales pitch that i need, but don't have a background in it, so any help appreciated.

Also with regards to the domestic market, what do people suggest would be the best media to use to target the domestic market. Obviously cost is a factor, and i have a limited budget to use currently.

I've also been give an price of €350 + VAT for signage on my van. Does sign writing on a side of a van work, and would it be money well spent? Is it worth investing in?

Any help would be appreciated here.

Many thanks

Kinetic^

Fingers McGee wrote: »

I'm looking to target business in the local area, such as shops, pubs, restaurants and property management agencies as well as the domestic market

Get to some networking events, try out the free ones first. Make sure you bring business cards. If you don't have any, get some made.

Fingers McGee wrote: »

I need to develop a pitch that I can deliver to the managers of businesses and am looking for tips on what would be the best way to do it. I realize that it is a sales pitch that i need, but don't have a background in it, so any help appreciated.

I know from my own networking group that boiler servicing/maintenance as well as energy saving is what the plumber focuses on. Try come up with something that you can discuss in detail and how it would benefit the client. Keep it short, you don't want to bore people to death.

Fingers McGee wrote: »

Also with regards to the domestic market, what do people suggest would be the best media to use to target the domestic market. Obviously cost is a factor, and i have a limited budget to use currently.

I've found for my own business that word of mouth is key for the residential market. I've also found that it leads to commercial clients provided they're happy with the work. I got a small amount of work from flyers which led to repeat business and covered the cost of them but nothing to write home about.

Fingers McGee wrote: »

I've also been give an price of €350 + VAT for signage on my van. Does sign writing on a side of a van work, and would it be money well spent? Is it worth investing in?

I used Neil at TD Graphics. I've a ford transit connect and got the front, read & sides done for €260 plus VAT. He even came out to my office and carried it out there. Couldn't have been happier with it. If you want, drop me a PM with your email and I can send you pictures.

Kinetic^

A couple of other things I've thought about.


Are you known as "john the plumber" or are you "Company Name Ltd"?(doesn't have to be ltd, can be a business name) Do you have a brand/logo?


Do you have a uniform? Jacket, shirt/polo, snickers etc


Do you have work order forms and professional looking invoices?


Carrying out the work is part of being business, looking the part is another.


If you're going to attend the networking events, make sure you're on linkedin. You can be sure that 95% of people you meet will be on there. Send them a connection request later that day and say it was nice to meet them etc.

NathanKingerlee

''I've also been give an price of €350 + VAT for signage on my van. Does sign writing on a side of a van work, and would it be money well spent? Is it worth investing in?''

I've found signage on a work vehicle is effective, especially for reinforcing local business/awareness, but it's a slow burner. Well spent money; €350 plus VAT seems a little expensive though, unless you're having something fancy done?

Buford T Justice

Kinetic^ wrote: »

A couple of other things I've thought about.


Are you known as "john the plumber" or are you "Company Name Ltd"?(doesn't have to be ltd, can be a business name) Do you have a brand/logo?'

I'd probably be known by a few people as that, but I am trading under the name of Mr Fix It Services. I have a logo, and business cards and flyers. I can post copies of them if you want. Would be good to get a second look.

Kinetic^ wrote: »

Do you have a uniform? Jacket, shirt/polo, snickers etc

Yes. I have all the work gear. Bodywarmer, Jumpers & Polo shirts with logos, standard set of colours and snickers workwear trousers. My aim was to give a professional impression to clients or prospective ones as I had all the gear.

Kinetic^ wrote: »

Do you have work order forms and professional looking invoices?

I don't have a receipt book with a logo on it or anything, but I can print off invoices from my laptop if someone needs one.

Buford T Justice

NathanKingerlee wrote: »

''I've also been give an price of €350 + VAT for signage on my van. Does sign writing on a side of a van work, and would it be money well spent? Is it worth investing in?''

I've found signage on a work vehicle is effective, especially for reinforcing local business/awareness, but it's a slow burner. Well spent money; €350 plus VAT seems a little expensive though, unless you're having something fancy done?

Not overly fancy. Its a ford transit and i was looking to get the sides front and back done, but i have my logo on the design as well.

Kinetic^

Fingers McGee wrote: »

I don't have a receipt book with a logo on it or anything, but I can print off invoices from my laptop if someone needs one.

I think you're missing an opportunity here. With word of mouth being king in your line of work, give them an invoice anyway and attach a business card asking if they knew anyone it would be great if you could pass on your details. I've never had anyone be offended when I've done this. If you don't ask, you don't get.

Buford T Justice

Kinetic^ wrote: »

I think you're missing an opportunity here. With word of mouth being king in your line of work, give them an invoice anyway and attach a business card asking if they knew anyone it would be great if you could pass on your details. I've never had anyone be offended when I've done this. If you don't ask, you don't get.

Any time I do a job for anyone I would always leave a business card with them as standard practice. I can't seem to get an invoice book for anything less than €80 + VAT as people aren't really interested in anything less than numbers less than 5.

I don't see that I'd need 5 books yet, and personally i thought it a bit steep just for one duplicate book with a logo. Am I barking?

Kinetic^

I got my duplicate books made by Tralee Printing a few months back, was happy with the work done by them. You're not going to get any less than 5 done for a custom print. You may be able to find generic books in stationary shops but I'd get them printed.

okiss

1. Get your business name, address, phone number and email address on your van. I knew 2 business that had this done and both got jobs within a days that paid the cost back.
2. Always leave a business card with your customers and ask them to let other people know about you.
3. Be on time and ring if you are going to be late.
Good luck

Rubber Print Design

There are plenty of smaller Printing companies who would print off 1 or 2 custom Invoices Books for you.

As for Vehicle signage we have had positive feedback from our clients that this works for them. It's worth getting it done right even if it costs a bit more as it will be seen by potential customers 24/7.

Finally, always carry business cards, you never know who you may meet when your out and about. We see this time and time again that you meet a customer who goes to give you a card but has run out or left them at the office and ends up writing on a piece of paper and handing it to you.

Good luck for the New Year!!!

Buford T Justice

If someone can pm me a few names of places that will do 1 custom invoice book, I'd be interested. I can't seem to get them here.

Cianos

If you're approaching potential commercial clients, the bottom line is that you need to give them something that is more attractive than your competitors. ie, your service is better, or you're cheaper. Undercutting competitors is certainly effective, but not always attractive to a prospective client in that they will just presume you'll be cutting corners.

So, if I were you I would put the emphasis on providing a better service. Plumbing is one of those problems that businesses just don't want to have to deal with. They just want the problem sorted, end of. I don't know how practical it would be, but an idea off the top of my head is that you could give a guarantee of a specified time period after work is done, that if the problem reoccurs you will call back for free. This communicates that it is both your interests that you do a good job. And for the business they know that if the problem happens again, it's solved with a phone call and no question of cost.

It would also be a good catch to focus your advertising on, and it's the kind of thing businesses would recommend to friends because it feels like a good deal.

As regards branding your van, I think it would definitely be worth it (if done properly). The value comes not only from acting as an advertising platform, but also that when you pull up to a customers place, you look more professional arriving in a branded van rather than an unmarked van. Again, the better your logo/brand identity is, the more it can work for you. Do you have an image you can link to of your current branding?

Buford T Justice

Thanks for you're comments Cianos. I thought offering something extra like that would be the way to go, but my concern with offering a timeline on some things would be like, say toilets and so on in pubs. If they get vandalised after being repaired within the timeframe, then I was wondering if I'd have issues with getting paid after returning to the job.....

Attached is the crest of my work wear, the only difference is that there is a hammer and a saw crossing instead of two saw's crossing.

Also attached is a copy of my business card. The cards were done on Vistaprint, and I checked with them, they can't give me a high res image of the background logo as they don't own the copyright on it. Some sign makers have said that blowing this up might be an issue for the side of the van.

Anyway, It wasn't possible to get the same logo as the card onto the crest so I just went with a simplified option. Which should the van match does anyone think, the card or the logo on the work gear?

Input is greatly appreciated.

Kinetic^

I'd be inclined to get new cards made with your logo on your shirt and go with the same image for the van.

Jnealon

When looking at business cards I like to see

• A land-line phone number even if it is diverted to your mobile
• An address
• A proper email and web address, no hotmail, yahoo etc

Use the back of the card and try not to cram too much info on to it
+1 for tralee print, I get all my ncr pads from them

Cianos

Fingers McGee wrote: »

Thanks for you're comments Cianos. I thought offering something extra like that would be the way to go, but my concern with offering a timeline on some things would be like, say toilets and so on in pubs. If they get vandalised after being repaired within the timeframe, then I was wondering if I'd have issues with getting paid after returning to the job.....

You'd know your business better than anyone and would have a good idea of what the likelihood of those things happening would be. Approximately what % of jobs that you do need further work done in the next 6 months? 12 months? If the % is low and you expect to get hardly any calls back, if at all, then it's a great promotional tool as it sounds very reassuring yet doesn't actually cost you anything. Then again, if the % is high then it's a bad promotional tool because it'd mean you're wasting a lot of time on jobs you're not getting paid for.

Attached is the crest of my work wear, the only difference is that there is a hammer and a saw crossing instead of two saw's crossing.

Also attached is a copy of my business card. The cards were done on Vistaprint, and I checked with them, they can't give me a high res image of the background logo as they don't own the copyright on it. Some sign makers have said that blowing this up might be an issue for the side of the van.

Anyway, It wasn't possible to get the same logo as the card onto the crest so I just went with a simplified option. Which should the van match does anyone think, the card or the logo on the work gear?

Input is greatly appreciated.

The crest logo is definitely going in the right direction but it could still be improved.

But why isn't that logo on the business card? I presume Vistaprint did the graphic design themselves? That's the bad thing about going with companies that just throw in a lot of stock images...the images don't belong to you so you are restricted in how you can use them. That and they end up looking like everyone elses.

In any case don't worry about not being able to use that background image on a van. It is too busy (even for the business card imo), and wouldn't scale up well on a van really. You need a clear and distinct image. The hammer/saw cross could look quite smart in white/cream with a nice font on a dark navy van for example.

Buford T Justice

Cianos wrote: »

The crest logo is definitely going in the right direction but it could still be improved.

But why isn't that logo on the business card? I presume Vistaprint did the graphic design themselves? That's the bad thing about going with companies that just throw in a lot of stock images...the images don't belong to you so you are restricted in how you can use them. That and they end up looking like everyone elses.

In any case don't worry about not being able to use that background image on a van. It is too busy (even for the business card imo), and wouldn't scale up well on a van really. You need a clear and distinct image. The hammer/saw cross could look quite smart in white/cream with a nice font on a dark navy van for example.

The cards were done before I had thought of work gear and was using stock images on them. In hindsight, the card is very busy with a lot of things going on but I am learning as I go here. Hence this thread.....
I like the hammer crossing the saw, but it wasn't an idea at the time if you know what I mean..... Trouble I had with the business cards, was that I wanted to show what I do on them, and didn't want to leave anything out, but then it was a bit clogged. I didn't want to have cards that were just a generic thing that didn't explain anything, with I think are pointless. Difficult Balance

@ JNealon
I agree with what you are saying, but i don't have a domain name, so I'm scuppered for anything other than gmail.

I think the reason for not putting my address on it was a space issue, but I'm guessing that it would be fine on the back yes?

Landline is a good idea too even if diverted, but cost is another factor there. I know there is always something reassuring about having a landline to contact instead of a throw away mobile, but i don't have one at home, and not sure of the cost.... any suggestions?

I'm open to all avenues here....


More I talk to people here, the more it looks like I'll be looking down the road of new cards....... Still you live and learn

RO 06

put what you do on the back of the cards. i have attached my cards and a photo of my van for you to have a look.keep it simple what you put on your van, too much info and people wont be able to take it all in

Abelloid

RO 06 wrote: »

put what you do on the back of the cards. i have attached my cards and a photo of my van for you to have a look.keep it simple what you put on your van, too much info and people wont be able to take it all in

Nice and simple, looks very professional to my eyes.

There's a 'B' missing from plumbing.

RO 06

JustinOval wrote: »

Nice and simple, looks very professional to my eyes.

There's a 'B' missing from plumbing.

that must have been one samples he emailed to me but i spotted that before it went to print

Buford T Justice

RO 06 wrote: »

put what you do on the back of the cards. i have attached my cards and a photo of my van for you to have a look.keep it simple what you put on your van, too much info and people wont be able to take it all in

I like those cards, and how the signwriting sits on the van. Its good, clear and there isn't too much going on......

Thanks for that, I may steal some of those ideas....

byrne0f56789

I don't think business cards motivate people to buy your service. If your target market is business owners you need to come at it from a different angle.

You should attach your service to something that’s trendy. Like “save money by insulating” etc. Better still if you can put together a promotion.

Call previous clients and tell them about your promotion. If they are not interested, then ask them if they know anybody who is. This works really well.

Business owners require a more detailed and balanced sales pitch. You should focus on the Return On Investment that they can gain.

You need customer case studies that include the benefits of what you do.
The bottom line is to surf a wave. Find something that’s hot and jump on the bandwagon.

I wouldn’t care too much about cards, flyers etc. They are not as important as people think. Your reputation matters more.

RO 06

byrne0f56789 wrote: »

I wouldn’t care too much about cards, flyers etc. They are not as important as people think. Your reputation matters more.

I havent got any work from cards or signage on van but it makes me look more professional and legit.All comes from recommendations which is nearly the best as the client knows somebody that is happy with my work.

TheCostumeShop.ie: Ronan

How about doing some sort of targeted promotion. Like figure out which estates in your area have old pipe work that may need replacing or where adding some new boiler insulation would provide a good return on investment. Then make a targeted letter and hit the pavement, ring door bells and hand in the letter.

In the letter offer a free check up or a free heating assessment or "post big freeze check up". IE you will give a free check up and suggest ways to DECREASE their heating bills. Also in the top right hand corner have a layout that looks like a business card and in your final paragraph ask then to tear it out and stick it on the fridge incase they ever have a plumbing emergency - that since you live in the locality you'd be near by and quick to come fix their probably.

Once you get some new business, take some time to get to know the customers. You might want to call back into some old customers. Say you were in the area and were thinking about them and you wanted to make sure they were happy with your work. Once you ascertain that you did a good job ask them if they know of anyone who needs a plumber or might benifit from a new boiler jacket etc, that you've offering a free plumbing health check limited to people within that area...

One important point, this cant be some slimy trick to get business it needs to be a genuine because i care approach. Doing some free assessments should be thought of as marketing and not working for free. If they dont need anything obviously dont try to sell them anything, they will respect you for that and probably pass on your name to others.

Best of luck with it. Jan does tend to be a quite month for everyone.

!MAVERICK!

Fingers McGee wrote: »

Hi

the best media to use to target the domestic market.

Internet virals.

TheCostumeShop.ie: Ronan

!MAVERICK! wrote: »

Internet virals.

That absolutely wouldnt work in this case. Internet virals are great but its always a very long shot to get one to make it, expensive and is completely untargeted so would miss the target audience.

!MAVERICK!

TheCostumeShop.ie: Ronan wrote: »

and is completely untargeted so would miss the target audience.

Its not untargeted if you place them on the right websites.

mikemac

I've hired quite a few tradesmen but if I was new to the area I always checked the goldenpages.

Are you in the golden pages?
Worth getting into.
Most every home in Ireland has the book and if they have the internet then www.goldenpages.ie

I'm not pimping the service here or have a connection to it.
But it's decades old at this stage and every house in Ireland has seen it
Call me traditional if you will

Kinetic^

Goldenpages is dead. Get a free listing by all means but you'd be better of spending the money you would with goldenpages on getting a website built and then putting money in to adwords.

TheCostumeShop.ie: Ronan

!MAVERICK! wrote: »

Its not untargeted if you place them on the right websites.

Your obviously missing the point of a Viral, you dont place it on a website - it spreads like a virus over the internet on blogs and social media.

Buford T Justice

!MAVERICK! wrote: »

Internet virals.

I fail to see how internet virals will help me generate local work plumbing and tiling and that sort of thing. Especially in the North West

TheCostumeShop.ie: Ronan wrote: »

How about doing some sort of targeted promotion. Like figure out which estates in your area have old pipe work that may need replacing or where adding some new boiler insulation would provide a good return on investment. Then make a targeted letter and hit the pavement, ring door bells and hand in the letter.

In the letter offer a free check up or a free heating assessment or "post big freeze check up". IE you will give a free check up and suggest ways to DECREASE their heating bills. Also in the top right hand corner have a layout that looks like a business card and in your final paragraph ask then to tear it out and stick it on the fridge incase they ever have a plumbing emergency - that since you live in the locality you'd be near by and quick to come fix their probably.

Once you get some new business, take some time to get to know the customers. You might want to call back into some old customers. Say you were in the area and were thinking about them and you wanted to make sure they were happy with your work. Once you ascertain that you did a good job ask them if they know of anyone who needs a plumber or might benifit from a new boiler jacket etc, that you've offering a free plumbing health check limited to people within that area...

One important point, this cant be some slimy trick to get business it needs to be a genuine because i care approach. Doing some free assessments should be thought of as marketing and not working for free. If they dont need anything obviously dont try to sell them anything, they will respect you for that and probably pass on your name to others.

Best of luck with it. Jan does tend to be a quite month for everyone.

Thanks for that. I was thinking that I might have to offer things for free, especially for the commercial side of things. as in, as a gesture of good will I'd do x job for free labour wise, with the understanding of work coming in the future, that sort of thing.....

Voltex

Fingers McGee wrote: »

I fail to see how internet virals will help me generate local work plumbing and tiling and that sort of thing. Especially in the North West



Thanks for that. I was thinking that I might have to offer things for free, especially for the commercial side of things. as in, as a gesture of good will I'd do x job for free labour wise, with the understanding of work coming in the future, that sort of thing.....

I think that to motivate people to buy your service you need to do a little more than just satisfy what they expect you will do.
Make your advertised offer but hold back a little. When someone takes up your offer..hit em with what they were not expecting to get from you..a simple Kano delighter!! Your trading name will go viral!! Happy days!!
Word of caution...be careful not to over cook it as it may come across as pre-concieved and manipulative;something people hate (e.g. typical salesman s hite!)

CDfm

Have you tried the Red Book for advertising because of your mobile number you wont be in the phone book.

http://www.redbook.ie/

I reckon getting the Van done will pay off.

Wats_in_a_name

First thing I would do is get a domain name. mrfixitservices.com is taken but you could get a .ie however this is more expensive. A com domain is only €7 a year and would be well worth it.

I would get your logo and image sorted and get another business card done. You could get a logo & business card done for around €40 which would mean you would have a consistant image.

Also, I would strongly consider getting a website €150 would do it for a simple 4 pages website. With a rough price list, customer reviews, list of services you provide & some before and after shots of burst pipes etc.

Send me a PM if you need links of where to get everything.

CDfm

Fingers McGee wrote: »

I fail to see how internet virals will help me generate local work plumbing and tiling and that sort of thing. Especially in the North West



Thanks for that. I was thinking that I might have to offer things for free, especially for the commercial side of things. as in, as a gesture of good will I'd do x job for free labour wise, with the understanding of work coming in the future, that sort of thing.....

I am normally against giving away things for free unless you have a firm commitment. People just do not value it.

If you are targeting commercial maybe -a free call out for an emergency. To build up business customers you try to build friendships.