Radio Radio

[huggytree]

i ask every customer.....its about 90% referral and 10% internet

sorry to hear radio didnt work for you.... i often hear new businesses advertise on the radio....most dont last more than a few weeks/months...it works for some businesses for sure...its just got to be the right business and the right commercial

[Steve B]

I envy you and lots of other trades like yours. Most of them don't need to advertise. I spend lots of money and lots of time thinking about what to try next. I also get lots of referrals - but not enough that I don't have to find customers in other ways.

[huggytree]

the majority of my work is from builders...they find the work...i just tag along.....after years ive gotten it down to a good group who pay on time and know how to work with me to get the job done efficiently....the vast majority of my work and highest profit is from builder work. i have $5,000-$10,000 checks coming from builders all the time..while homeowner jobs are typically $200-$1000.....add up all the drive time to make $200 per person...vs going to 1 job site all day for 2-4 days in a row and getting a $10,000 check at the end...

most homeowner projects are small and medium level profit...service work is filler....

i am in 1 phone book for $800 a year and a church bulletin for $1,200....thats it.....the church bulletin is more of a donation...if i get $1200 in business from it im happy...otherwise ill drop it next year....the local phone book just became crowded and im not getting much from it anymore....

next year my advertising budget may be $0

ill put $2000 into internet marketing then.....my internet sales have really become good...i have a very small Adwords campaign..$7 a month....i get 1-2 calls a month that i can directly attribute to that $7..........now if i knew enough to expand on that i could be rich......thats what i need to pay someone for(and probably will)

your not really a subcontractor...your always the PRIME contractor Steve....your way of finding customers is very different than mine.....but the size of the project is probably similar...i wouldnt want to be you.....when a Prime contractor wins a remodel or a new home he only needs 4-10 of them a year to live good...i need 1,000 projects a year to live....id think you'd be in the middle with 200-300 projects a year needed?????

whats your sell ratio?

[Steve B]

Expanding Adwords is simple enough for anyone to do - especially since you're not competing on a global or even national scale.

You're correct - I'd be happy to have 200 full fence installations. I probably do a similar amount of repairs and other small jobs. My repairs are $85 - they really pay for the gas and the labor and give me a chance to sell the dog food to them. If I had the business, I would have a much easier time expanding - less equip., easier to find affordable labor and no union to worry about. I just need to find enough customers. I've had three good months in a row, so if the economy continues to improve, this might be the year.

[huggytree]

if $85 is no profit why not charge $95?

every time i up my prices i never see any hit to sales....no you cant double it, but when i add a few bucks each year it results in the same sales or higher. if $85 isnt working for you i wouldnt keep doing it....not with the 'hope' of a dog food upsell....

i know an electrician who installs ceiling fans for a loss for Home Depot....he does a 'free' electrical inspection...he hopes to find problems and create the profit from the upsell.....it makes him seem like a con man to me....and im sure homeowners love it when they do it too

[Steve B]

That's the going rate for that type of work in this area. If I get better at scheduling them by geography, I can make a little money. Some repairs only take 10 minutes, others take 30 or 40 minutes. It's just that I cover a very large territory and I like to get to them right away. If I would make people wait a few days so I can schedule them better it will be O.K.

[huggytree]

water heaters go for $650-750 in my area.....i charge $850-950.....i still get almost every one that calls (referrals mostly)

i tried lowering my prices to capture the few stray price shoppers.....i found i didnt get any of them even with a lower price....so i raised it back up

just because its the going rate doesnt mean you need to lose money...or break even....breaking even sucks