Advertising advice needed... vent too...

DeeVeeEight

DeeVeeEight

Fast Pedalphile
Joined
Nov 3, 2008
Messages
2,284
Location
Southern New Jersey, USA
OK - this damn recession/depression thing is starting to kick my ass too. I will fully admit that I have been severely depressed since we lost our Greyhound "Blue" shortly after moving into our new home. I lost my Dad about a year and a half ago, then his brother, my Uncle about 5 months later. That now makes me the oldest male member of my family, I have no son to carry on the name....my cousin's kids are girls too... This Friday, October 8, 2010 was the 10 year anniversary of my late wife's death. That kind of weighs on me too - I still grieve for her - I thought I'd be over it by now. Mortality creeps into my thoughts, what does the future hold?

So I have been sitting in my recliner for the last few months, self medicating and feeling like shit and generally letting things slide - not good considering the economic climate.

My business has suffered badly since we moved. I lost my business phone number that I had for 12 years due to LIES AND INCOMPETENCE from both comcast and verizon. 12 years of my customer's being able to find me - gone. The message provided by comcast directing people to call my new # only lasted 30 days - they are not able to extend it any further - great service huh? 30 fucking days ain't worth jack shit. On top of that about 2 years ago someone working for me ripped off several of my customers and damaged my hard earned reputation. I feel like that is catching up with me too.

So I have finally gotten off of my sorry ass and motivated myself to action. :banghead: I have NO MONEY for print advertising, something I relied heavily on for over 10 years. It got to be like another mortgage payment, close to $1000.00 per month. With Marck's help I put together a website a few months ago and today I am sending a letter via e-mail to all of my customers. I am offering 20% off any one item on any current estimate for work dated October 1st, 2010 or later. The offer has an expiration date of December 31st, 2010. I also use "lawn" signs when I can as I find them to be effective and affordable.

Do any of you have any other ideas for me? I have a Handyman business. I am fully aware that I need to advertise but I am cash strapped and can not afford to.

I look forward to hearing your ideas!

Thanks in advance!

Lee
 
I was talking to a guy that does kitchens and baths last year that told me he got a lot a business from Angies List and Craigslist. Not sure if Angies List is in your area but Craiglist is a good deal. Free!

If you put an ad on Craigslist, do it every other day and change the ad so that it will look "new" to people (they won't read it if they recognise it as the ad from two days ago). Also refer them to your website and put pictures and testimonials on your site.
 
BBShark said:
I was talking to a guy that does kitchens and baths last year that told me he got a lot a business from Angies List and Craigslist. Not sure if Angies List is in your area but Craiglist is a good deal. Free!

If you put an ad on Craigslist, do it every other day and change the ad so that it will look "new" to people (they won't read it if they recognise it as the ad from two days ago). Also refer them to your website and put pictures and testimonials on your site.
Click to expand...

I tell you all that is SO strange, and fucked up, here is Lee/DV8 living the exact same/damn close enough shit, same business, same life/personal story as me, ~25 years ago......

I burnt out after 20 years of electronics, followed a old tech friend into the home remodeling/handyman business.....BIL died from cancer/emphasima crap on TGiving day '85, the following winter, my old anniversary, Feb 9th, my father passes on....age 79......

with ZERO to no support from any family left, I just went to work, nothing else to do really.....wife took kids and left in Nov '88,
divorced in '90, I moved south and just worked for Handyman Connection, and then some investors.....now it's all dead except for some pickup work here and there....retarred, hell with it....

my sis is 13 years older than me I"m 66 she is 79....

and YES, the Craigslist/other one are the way to fly, not that I have tried it, but the above advice is really good....you should try some humor in your addy's......say pitch kitchens one week with some line about cooking grease to slick the stove slides right down the driveway.....so it's time for a new one.....or refr so black on the INside, it's time for a update, but it makes those cabinets so shabby looking.....etc......

bathrooms so sick the toilet rocks, and the tubs dont hold water anymore.....Windows so thin you can SEE the air though them.....

'Lectrickery to dark you gotta strike a match to see the bulbs.....

Paint so god awful it makes jail bars look good???

STILL convinced to this day, IF you can conjure up a smile/grin or better from a customer, they will sign on the line....

:banghead::banghead::hissyfit::beer::beer:
 
Maybe it's just me but if I see businesses advertizing too much it's just getting annoying.... I also wonder how much money they spend on advertizing that eventually is getting charged back to me the customer.....

Now... when I needed a local company for my house AC I simply googled "Orlando AC" and looked at reviews.... put "review handyman southern NJ" in google or search.com and see what you get....

I kinda do advertizing "backwards"... :lol: I look for the company when I need IT...


word of mouth is the best and cheapest advertizing you can possibly get :thumbs:
 
You could do an old fashioned letter box drop. Get something professional looking printed off, then walk around your area slipping them into letter boxes.

I'd knock something up for you if you weren't good at that sort of thing. Then you'd only have the cost of getting them printed off - what would Officeworks (or similar) charge to run off a ream of A4?

Just a thought...
 
There are a couple of local family painting companies here. They do the flyer in the mailbox, the sign in the lawn while they are working and simple advertising in the local paper including the classifieds.

I always see them around doing some job or another.....actually hired them to do some major house and outdoor job...word of mouth was that they were good and reasonable.
 
saudivette said:
You could do an old fashioned letter box drop. Get something professional looking printed off, then walk around your area slipping them into letter boxes.

I'd knock something up for you if you weren't good at that sort of thing. Then you'd only have the cost of getting them printed off - what would Officeworks (or similar) charge to run off a ream of A4?

Just a thought...
Click to expand...

:shocking::hissyfit: Letter box drops are ILLEGAL in the USA, I had a back neighbor some years ago with a barking dawg, and so after enduring it for a few months, I put a note in his mail box.....can you believe that chicken shit bastard called the COPS?? and wanted ME arrested for interfearing with the US POSTAL service....for putting a fucking note in his mail box at the curb???

serious as heart attack....but the dawg eventually shut up, and died....

:hissyfit::censored::beer:
 
Putting flyers in the mailboxes is illegal but sticking them between the storm door and door frame is not. I have a nice B&W laser printer that will produce lots of clean copies affordably, I will print up a flyer to use as a handout and get them out on the street. As far as selling my toys - I am getting rid of all of my extra's - parts I have been saving for a rainy day. If anyone is looking for some cool vintage stuff for a SBC let me know. If I sold the boat, the 'Vette or the Skylark I would take a big $$$ hit as well as an emotional one too. My toys are hard earned, they stay. I am affiliated with the local hardware store and I do get a fair # of referrals from them - it goes both ways - I send people to them too. I'll try the Craigslist and Angies list and see if they help too....

Thanks for your ideas! Now it is time for me to get busy!

Lee
 
DeeVeeEight said:
elevatordude said:
How about fliers on cars at places like home depot?
Click to expand...

That and the local hardware store too, Thanks!
Click to expand...

Lowes Despot uses subs to install much of their gear, kitchens to roofs....and so addy work on their 'campus' maybe cause you some problems......

I used to be a installer a olde tyme Mid Atlantic region chain known as Hechingers....you maybe know them from daze gawn past....

Edith and John got royally screwed in the chain's folding....

they used to hand out my card as a installer.....hard to keep everyone happy, because any complaints not taken care of and we installer got dropped....cool with me, just do it right....



:cool::thankyou:
 
mrvette said:
DeeVeeEight said:
elevatordude said:
How about fliers on cars at places like home depot?
Click to expand...

That and the local hardware store too, Thanks!
Click to expand...

Lowes Despot uses subs to install much of their gear, kitchens to roofs....and so addy work on their 'campus' maybe cause you some problems......

I used to be a installer a olde tyme Mid Atlantic region chain known as Hechingers....you maybe know them from daze gawn past....

Edith and John got royally screwed in the chain's folding....

they used to hand out my card as a installer.....hard to keep everyone happy, because any complaints not taken care of and we installer got dropped....cool with me, just do it right....



:cool::thankyou:
Click to expand...


I occasionally get calls from outfits like service magic and the container store to do installations and other work but they are so full of shit regarding what they will pay and what they expect - I have learned to ignore them. ALSO - The installers from places like homely despot are Rooskies for the most part (at least around here, probably coobanoes by you) - no english and rude and crude as hell. I wouldn't let them work on my house - I have seen what they do.... It all comes down to what the stores are willing to pay - not much. I at least have some self respect.
 
DeeVeeEight said:
mrvette said:
DeeVeeEight said:
elevatordude said:
How about fliers on cars at places like home depot?
Click to expand...

That and the local hardware store too, Thanks!
Click to expand...

Lowes Despot uses subs to install much of their gear, kitchens to roofs....and so addy work on their 'campus' maybe cause you some problems......

I used to be a installer a olde tyme Mid Atlantic region chain known as Hechingers....you maybe know them from daze gawn past....

Edith and John got royally screwed in the chain's folding....

they used to hand out my card as a installer.....hard to keep everyone happy, because any complaints not taken care of and we installer got dropped....cool with me, just do it right....



:cool::thankyou:
Click to expand...


I occasionally get calls from outfits like service magic and the container store to do installations and other work but they are so full of shit regarding what they will pay and what they expect - I have learned to ignore them. ALSO - The installers from places like homely despot are Rooskies for the most part (at least around here, probably coobanoes by you) - no english and rude and crude as hell. I wouldn't let them work on my house - I have seen what they do.... It all comes down to what the stores are willing to pay - not much. I at least have some self respect.
Click to expand...

Hechingers did not EVER take any of my fees, they'd hand out maybe 3-4 cards, surely on a rotating basis, and I"d sell the work/install on maybe 1/2 the clients I called on.....booked 3-4 months in advance.....but that was in the mid/late 80's in the DC area...a .gov town with higher end folks and MONEY....

I know that Lowes Despot are on the lower end with their installers, and never considered working through them....

most of them demand 30% or MORE of the labor rates, and then they tell what to charge.....at least Sears installers were paid a bid rate less the stores 30% THEY did the sales calls....I just went and did the work...easy tripled my high salary of the electronic industry in ONE year with Sears.....

but then the shit hit the fan in their operation, right there in the Monkey Mall store....Ed, the HVAC sales dweeb was a crook, and there he was #2 leading sales dweeb for Sears, NATIONWIDE....

they shut down the entire home improvement/installed sales dept for the region that along about '86-87 or so....

the scam was interesting to say the least...cost Sears some seriously large bux....

:gurney::drink:
 
this may piss off Cajos :D .....

put on that you speak English as a native & understand what people want when you quote their request for services - unless you're in Newark, AC, Philly, Bronx
 
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