Clean It Up
UK Floor Cleaning Forum => Carpet Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: Neil Grainger on May 22, 2007, 05:10:39 pm
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Hi
Just been speaking to the Yellowpages rep and he has told me that a guy called Tim cooper running a company called Total Cleaning Solutions in Wakefield is using Yells 0845 number and getting 35 calls a month on average from it.
Does anybody no him and no if this is true.
Cheers
Neil
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here's his website ring him and ask, nothing like hearing it from the horses mouth
www.totalcleaningsolutions.net/ (http://www.totalcleaningsolutions.net/)
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just to add; thats only 9 calls a week, not totally unbelievable
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Neil, I am an ex Yellow pages rep and whilst the figure may be true you need to allow for repeat customers looking for his no. in book and those who ring more than once before during and after a job. The rep is on very shaky ground though because he shouldn't be giving that info out (good or bad).
Pete
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just to add something else :D
if those 38 are new customers then according to his website;
We pride ourselves on the fact that 99% of our work comes from Customer referrals and repeat business.
so the 38 from Yell must be the last 1%, if you do the maths you can see why it doesn't add up ;) ;)
I also agree with Pete, the rep shouldn't give out info like this because it puts a innocent company under scrutiny.
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We get more than 9 calls a week more like twice that and a lot more in the busey season ! Not saying that we will convert them all mind you
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Mike
Did find his info and called him, Nice Guy. He said that the info was true. Wow a Yellow Pages rep that tell the Truth. That's a first
You are right about it being 9 calls a week, I dont get anything like that from Yellow pages at the moment 2-3 if i'm lucky
Yellow Pages want me to spend more money but I want to spend less and have the same size advert. Stalemate at the moment.
Mike i'm just looking at different adverts and did have yours lost it on my old computer but could you send me another copy again.
He never gave me the contact number but just the Company name and location, I figured the rest out for myself, nice guy happy to help. I just wanted to no if anyone new him or if he was a member on here before I called him.
Cheers
Neil
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Just because one company gets that many calls it does not follow that you are going to get the same.
Yp should have a system where you pay on calls achieved instead of charging £2000-£3000 for an ad that does not work.Don't know how they would do it but their present system is a total rip off.Ufindus always tell me you guys on here who have used them with poor returns are telling lies ::)
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neil. just sent it in a PDF file .
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neil
dont forget with those quoted numbers that Yell rent out our details to companies so some of those calls willl be sale calls.
just think how many you get each week?
respect
Ian Harper
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Hi
i think if YP charged per call, they would be out of business within a year!
for me so far this year Crapus maximus, annus collapsus! Last year turned a small profit, always end up being a quoting service.
Regards
Martin 8)
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Hi Neil,
I know tim he has been established for almost 20 years, he has thousands of regular customers.
However i was speaking with his Prochem supplier about a month since and Tim has bought a tm and is pushing the commercial market so i can only assume that his domestic side was quiet.
I found out some time ago that yellow pages sell your details and the 0845 number they issue to other companies, these will then cold call you trying to sell you things, these calls all count towards the end of year figures which yellow pages give you.
Kind regards Mark
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Guys,
The general pattern (although not strict) seems to be that the more cosmopolitan the area the less the directory is used. People in wealthy built up areas tend not to use the book as these are people that are in jobs with constant access to a PC or more so have one at home so they are more likely to use the internet.
Would be interesting to see a survey that displays the differences between people living in provincial/rural areas and those living in more built up areas. I bet you'll find that the former use more traditional ways ie. YP and the people living in the smoke use more modern methods. I can say that YP in London is finished. If you take a look at the London Central Yellow pages 10 years ago it looks something that would make Magnus magnusson shiver (ex world strongman champ) and now it looks more like a cbeebies comic I get for my kids.
Pete
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P.S. Neil, if you want any advice give me a call and I'll tell you what I know. Worked for them for 7 years.
07816 276290
Will be avail tomorrow.
Pete
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Yellow Pages used to be my main source of advertising but to be honest it is the worst now, I spend £200 a month and don't get that back some months, so next year I think I'll drop it I feel I am just filling someone elses pockets.
Shaun
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Hi Guys
The reason Yellow Pages is pushing 0845 is so they can convince us poor unsuspecting CC's, that the book is actually doing far better than we thought.
It's easy enough to work out how much you get from YP, just keep a record by each job.
Salesmen for YP are having a tough time so expect more 'stats'.
Those of us who have websites know that we might get many hits but the bottom line is how much work.
Cheers
Doug
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As Mark said, Yellow pages sell marketing lists to big business, lists of telephone numbers for the target market they require, thats how these companies get your number and address's in most cases.
But they dont tell you this >:(
http://www.prospectlocator.com/index.aspx?pageid=4
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this year yellow pages has not been good for me
my ad cost £450 per month and im getting about a 2.5 to 1 return from it
way down on previous years
if you listen to the b******s my rep told me then i should be getting a 25 to 1 return
if only..............................
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perhaps Yellow Pages has had it's day! you wouldn't think it would happen virtually over night though as it seems to be happening.
Shaun
PS I have noticed a serious drop in calls from YP since September last year.
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Yellow pages has been a waste of time for us, dont think i'll be using them again next year.
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Good to hear this as i was thinking my phone was ignoring YPage customers. I used to get this same number of calls a few years ago but now maybe 1 every two days.
Really cant understand it either. Where are the customers going? Cant all be the internet and if it is how on earth do you find out what sites their using to search for carpet cleaners??
Mark
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And another thing Yell.com has also died a death but why??
Could it be a turn in the economy people arnt spending?
MArk
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Mark
you have to look at marketing in two ways, passive and active. yellow pages and any directory is passive. with passive you wait until someone has a need for your service. but with active you though offers try and get prospects to use your services.
One other big reason is the use of hard floors. we all need to get what i call the dust warning over to the public, and stop telling people about all those nasty things in carpets. flipping it on its head will benefit us and the public. lot of them know that hard floors are hard work because of all the dust blowing around, we just need to tell them that its harming their health. and that carpets act as a filter.
respect
Ian Harper
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i think the hard floor argument is a load of rubbish, most people still have carpets that need cleaning, not to metion rugs, upholstery, stone floors e.t.c
the point is about the response from Yelow pages
generally this has been my best year ever and getting busier
but the Ad in yellow pages has been poor
its not the content of the ad because i use the same one in several other publications and it works extremly well
just not that brilliant from yellow pages this year.
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I spent thousands this year on YP and have received very little in return, I was speaking to a guy the other day who does dent repairs on cars and he gets about 10 calls a DAY from YP but thats because he is one of the only companies in the book. I asked him how he found his carpet cleaner and he said that he waits for a leaflet with an offer to come through his door and then books them if it needs doing. This is not the first time I have heard this as I think that most areas get at least a couple of leaflets through their door every 6 months so this will be where I will be spending my money next year.
Regards
Tim
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Its not moved to the internet, as i used to get a couple a week from there, not for the past 3 months though, absolutely nowt!
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chridg
when was the last time you added any content to your site? also does you page have your top search term on it? SEO is an on going thing you can never sit back with the Internet. not lose faith it only cost you your time
respect
Ian Harper
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It's not my position thats the problem Ian.
nothings changed, but new calls have stopped.