[darren Jones]

Recently new to the business and would like to consider your thoughts regarding Yell .

Have been quoted £300 for 1 year mediumweight listing incl of Vat for listing in manchester south.

What are your views and are you receiving many referrals.

Was also considering a more direct approach of leafleting. Any company you would recommend for printing full colour 2 sides would be very helpful.

Thanks
Darren Jones
www.Dazzlingcarpets.co.uk

[MAX Carpets]

spend your money more wisely

[GWCS]

spend your money more wisely

...by not spending it with yell.com

£400+ wasted this last year, nothing from it except price hunters, and sales calls.

Get out canvassing and get a good website instead.

[Jim_77]

I do OK out of it.  I have a main listing for my home town plus two add-on ones for nearby towns, i think about a total of £400 ish per year.

There isn't much competition in my area though, only a handful of enhanced listings at the top of the page, so it may be different in Manchester.  If theres more than half a dozen they don't look "different" so you're in effect paying for a normal listing.  Tough one, maybe give it a miss for your first year and take a punt in year 2 when you have a little more money coming in.  You only need a few jobs to get your money back out of it.

Leafleting is proven to work.  The message in the leaflet is important, but the most crucial thing is getting a big number out on a regular basis as cost-effectively as possible.  Best method is delivered by you personally, worst method is in free papers, expensive and very little return.

[absolutecleaning]

I've had two listings since the end of June and have quoted 3 jobs so far which will cover the cost; one has confirmed just waiting for the others.

[Aquakleen Restoration Services]

Forget Yell.com, Thomsons etc... Get yourself 40,000 A5 colour (both sides) leaflets printed up for £398.00 from www.printcarrier.com and get your a$$ out for an hour a day. Guaranteed to get you more work than anything else you try!!!

[richy27]

you will get mixed responses on hear on this ongoin hot topic.

basically works for some not for others

that sums it up.

wouldnt throw much at it though

[Mike Osbourne]

I agree with what Richard says.

And I think particularly if you are starting out you would be best to avoid it. You want to get stuck in to your market. Drive around find nice places and walk them with leaflets. When you got more money than time marginal ROIs that run automatically are worthwhile.

[richy27]

i think when starting out you need to set a budget each month and try as many dif thngs as you can find out what works. because in dif areas of the country dif things work. apart from one ref and rec by doin a good job  not because you are cheap. i find the internet poor in my area because the high pop of oaps still get work from it but the old fashioned methods work better in my area local numbers good read advert books parish magsi get   leaflets get a limited response but better quality leaflet works better  . But these custys who find you this way are not really price shoppers and are loyal as long as they like what you do. 

[Shaun_Ashmore]

I think there is a bigger picture if you are to do it properly.

Yell customers are internet customers and usually want information straight away so a special website just for yell would work better by getting an informercial like Ian Harpers but with a buy it now style of message and getting the customer to call you and not leave email quotes.

Shaun

[daysdeepclean]

I have yet again become dormant with regards to leafleting... It's the van signage, local pages and a 2 week slot in a local rag that's keeping me busy right at this moment! I have work for the next 3 weeks and as the Mrs is at home with the kids for the next 6 weeks, I'll be neighbour nudging with the leaflets....

I've told the guy at Yell.Com to poke it....

[Len Gribble]

Darran

Ant got a view don’t often advertise

Think Pete Sweeney may be your man

Len 

[Shaun_Ashmore]

I'm not one for getting booked up too much infront as you can lose regulars so I invent and 8th day in the week to make space for them, I'm guessing Roger does the same when he said that he had a call for a suite for the next day and they cancelled next.

Shaun

[richy27]

Darran

Ant got a view don’t often advertise

Think Pete Sweeney may be your man

Len 

i was mis lead by a yell sales woman.

thus was before i knew pete was the man in the know although i dont get a terrific response it has improved since pete helped me out with acouple of his listings.

[darren Jones]

Gentlemen

Your help has been invaluable as always. I feel leafleting and local parish mag may be the way forward. not doing to bad on google itself but want more until i win the lottery. Also thinking well outside the box with a proposal to my local bingo hall. I will let you all know in due course how it does .

Thanks once again

Ps if pete sweeney by chance reads this any tips would be great!

[richy27]

darren good think outside the box the marketting programs you can pick up eg guerrilla etc etc are all very usefull and yes there are some good tips and hints included but generally small business owners follow each other like sheep instead of working on their own personal methods of promotion and advertising. This in my opinion is why so many fail.

its easy to ring up and put an ad in a rag but thinking of a unique selling strategy to attract customers is not so easy requires thought.

Ps i love thinking lol

rich

[Len Gribble]

Yell must be desperate three calls in two days and I ant listed under there freebie going X directly.

Darren

Not a lot of churchgoers but a lot of churches, out of the box check out local Mosques, Temples and Synagogues they have a sort of parish mag I get a lot of work from two of them.

Shaun

I’m a lazy git commercial is more my forte.

Len