Film, Media & TV1 min ago
How to get you intrested
Hi I'm starting up on my own and I am a Carpenter based in uxbridge. what is the best way to get people intrested in my services. I was thinking flyer droping just walking around my area and droping them in the post? Any Ideas would be great thanks
Rob
Answers
No best answer has yet been selected by BobbyLove01. Once a best answer has been selected, it will be shown here.
For more on marking an answer as the "Best Answer", please visit our FAQ.Sorry to disappoint you, but I think you would find that most people will chuck away the flyers. We always do. It would be a lot of work for very little return and the paper and printing would cost you quite a bit.
Get yourself in the Yellow Pages and Thompson Local directories. Use the community services at the larger supermarkets - they have business card holders where you can leave your card for people to take if they're interested. Ask people who you do jobs for to recommend you to their friends and family.
Do you have a local free newspaper you could advertise in? Sometimes small ads work better than big ads. Also I WOULD do a flyer and put it through doors. Even if people only glance at it and throw it away, they will have the fact that you exist in their consciousness. some people will keep the flyer. Make sure you are also in the Thomson directory, Yellow pages and yell.com, which is the first place many people look. If you only advertise in the free places you will seem like small fry and people may not trust you as an established business.
I also think consistency is important. Advertise EVERY week, even if you have lots of business, so people know you are still going. If you can think of a name too that may help. I currently use "Clean as a Whistle" cleaning services because they sounded so friendly! Much nicer than "A1 Cleaning Services" or something. You could also get yourself a logo and use that on all your promotional material. There is a fine line between too low key and simply friendly/accessible/good value.
If the type of work you're looking for is building related, I suggest keeping an eye on planning applications in your area (look in the local paper) and sending a leaflet to everyone who is planning extensions, etc.
If you (or sorrounding neighbourhoods) have a local community magazine it could be worth advertising in it. Where I live, we get a free magazine each month which (unlike flyers) many people actually read. Most people keep the latest copy (even if they don't actually read it) specifically because it serves as a reference point for finding the phone numbers of local taxis, plumbers, carpenters, etc.
Just one last thought: Why not contact other local tradesmen (plumbers, electricians, etc) and ask for a small supply of their business cards to hand to your customers who might want other services, as well as carpentry, carried out. In return, you could ask that your fellow tradesmen take some of your cards to pass to their customers who might also need the services of a carpenter.
Chris
Hi Rob,
I would not do a flyer - I live in an area that is targetted by flyers and it becomes too much - everything goes in the bin. Plus, because you are offering a service that most people will only require infrequently, its not likely to stick in their mind now if they need you in 6 months.
In addition to what everyone else has said, in my experience (renovated 2 houses from wrecks, not being in the building trade) I have always:
- Gone on personal recommendation/word of mouth
-
Looked for tradesman in clean, well maintained vehicles, with a sign and a phone number - on one occasion I booked a plasterer because I was sat behind him in traffic and could read his number in front of me - his quote came in best, so he got the job! -
Always carry a few cards with you - you never know when you may want to give one out. -
cheap small ads in local paper
Also, consider getting in touch with many of the big companies in Uxbridge who will all have internal staff (email) noticeboards. A quick Word document sent to them ("10% discount to employees of XYZ Plc") often works wonders - even if what you effectively charge them is your going rate +10%. We get lots of that where I work in Berkshire, and some people have become very busy from it.
...more on next post...
continued...
Finally, do you have a unique selling point, such as Saturday hours for small jobs? The amount of people who hate taking time off on a weekday to let you in etc must prevent a lot of chippies from getting work - if you are planning on offering work outside of 9-5, let it be known, I'm sure people will take your arm off. We also get lots of 'does anyone know a reliable chippie/sparky/brickie etc..' emails going round a company of 500 employees - a job done well for one of them gets you to network into all their colleagues you would not be able to reach otherwise.
All above is simple but gained from someone who has used the building trade a lot in recent years. I would also say I favour those who actually phone up after giving a quote to see how they match up, and are willing to negotiate if they are a bit high on the price, and genuinely appear to want the job, rather than the 'take it or leave it' approach some people have.
Hope it all goes well for you.
Cheers
Steve