[www.mrgutters.co.uk]

HOW GOOD IS ADVERTISING IN THE YELLOW PAGES AND HOW MUCH DOES IT COST ROUGHLY I NEED TO PUSH WFP NOW THAT I HAVE IT

SHAWN 

[DASERVICES]

  Shawn,

  Not worth it , the amount you may get for it will not cover the cost of
  advertising. The best way of advertising is on your van, best of all
  that I have found is word of mouth.

   If you do a good job people will always recommend you.

[rosskesava]

I agree with the above.

We tried it and it cost I think about £400 and got us nothing.

I also agree, your van is better advertising if sign written and is a lot cheaper and word of mouth must have doubled our business every year.

Cheers

[kingfisher]

Total waste of money I run a car Valeting business as well as a window cleaning business and had good success with Yellow Pages with the car Valeting so thought I would try advertising window cleaning with them.

I got a lot of calls from people trying to sell me advertising in there wonderful publications website ECT, and about three calls from people wanting one off cleans.

Over £500 of advertising for nothing.

The car valeting ads still work though, don’t know why but it doesn’t seem to work for window cleaning.

[www.mrgutters.co.uk]

what about local advertising free ads etc

shawn

[rosskesava]

Hi  kingfisher

I also got sick of the companies phoning us about advertising. I got to a point where I'd blow a whistle down the phone to them just to express my anger.

Hi Shawn again

We tried local advertising but ended up going all over the place which was more trouble than it was worth.

One real problem with that is not if you get a well priced big job, but all the small priced stuff. Then if they agree to the quote, you've an obligation to an out the way job.

We now only canvass in area's where we already have work. That works much better and is more profitable but when we were short of work when we started, then local advertising got us going.

I still think you cannot beat going door knocking. Then you choose the area but to begin with, we didn't know that.

Cheers

[www.mrgutters.co.uk]

hi ross

i am trying to atract business or flats cos of my wfp and i am not sure how to market it any tips besides advertising..

got a price from local free paper £54.90 per week for 2 inch by 2 inch ad so wont be doing that

shawn

[deci]

picked up few large contarcts but advertisers drove me mad
mark wales

[rosskesava]

Hi Shawn again again

Leg work and leg work and leg work and the bottle to go into every shop, pub, club, office and so on.

I do it every 3 months along our commercial route and over time, the people in the various places get to know you but I still hand out a leaflet which is different every time.

I always get a  few new jobs.

Recently we tried new areas near by where we already had work. Or rather I have.

I find it difficult sometimes and often I stand outside a place trying to decide whether I should go in and ask, based on whether or not I'd think they'd be interested, but lately I just say to myself 'just do it' and take the plunge and walk through the door. I do all the cold calling and the other 2 who I work with when I'm doing that do odd outstanding w/c'ing jobs and they think it's easy but they don't do it. I do.

I have been surprised in the last few months at the odd work I have got by not being discriminating by my own personnal veiw of how it appears from the outside.

The last job I got a few weeks ago from a garage was not for the garage windows, but for the owners own home, his daughters and his sons. Then he asked us to give a quote for a customer who owned a massive house which he accepted which then led to doing his ex missus house and her friends.

I think just pick a street full of shops or offices or whatever and walk in and ask. They won't shoot you they will just say 'no' which doesn't matter. For every 'no' eventually you will get a 'yes'. It's a stastitics games. A certains amount of 'no's' equals one 'yes'.

Cheers

[www.mrgutters.co.uk]

cheers for that mate i will try and let you know how i got on

shawn

[steve k]

put a free listing in Yell.com
I have had 3 management companies ring me within a week to quote for 5 apartment blocks and a 5 storey office block which I am going to look at today. I have no idea how to price this but I will go, take stock and find a way to complete it (assuming I get the job that is!!)

I have to agree that residentially, door knocking in the areas you want to work is the best way.
Steve

[s.hughes]

I dont seem to get any luck with the yellow pages, I used to but over the years it dosnt seem to work not at least for w/c. I always use the free one liner but one year they half their advertising costs and really went on at me about it. I decided to take the plunge and got a small box for £100. Well what do you know? They must have really been on at w/c that year because everyone had a box and I mean virtually every w/c in the area. I think the only business that got a call that year would have had a name that began with A. After that I wouldnt bother.

Steveyboy

[telboy]

AT THE THE MOMENT WE ARE EARNING NEARLY £5000 POUNDS
A YEAR FROM WORK WE PICKED UP FROM A £300 POUND A YEAR
ADD IN YELLOW PAGES.

HAD THEM FOR 2-4 YEARS

THEY ARE COMMERCIAL

DONT DO DOMMIES

PASS THEM ON TO A LOCAL WINDOW CLEANER

AND WE GET THE OCCASIONAL ONE OFF AS WELL

SO Y/P WELL WORTH IT IN OUR VEIW

WE LIVE IN NORTH LONDON

TELBOY

ANGEL C/S

[Terry_Burrows]

 ;)sorry biggest load of crap never been good for us spent some £1300 one year got
zilch,all we got was other people calling us,waste of money,we have done yell.com
3  areas, I would rather put it on red rum! and that is a dead sirt!

[s.hughes]

Its true what Terry is saying. I suppose it depends on what area you live in. I  do get calls every now and again but they are all for jobs, i.e not for me but people wanting them.

Steveyboy

[zeusjazmin]

i got a free ad in the yellow pages ,just a small one liner,
only got 1 job from it ,it was an english company asking me to do a clean for them every week

[www.mrgutters.co.uk]

i just put a free one in ... see what happens but i dont think i will be paying for adv ..best to invest in advertising on the van .. might get a vehicle wrap ...ha ha

shawn

[baldeagle]

I don't have my name in "YP" or have my van sigwritten - I got all I needed to start with from a few flyers, and now it carries on with recommendations and people seeing me working.

All this has been stated before on this forum, but I should relate my brothers experiences with getting work....

He started as a TV and satellite aerial contractor some 2 years ago.

Got his initial start by approaching the local TV shops, [he knew that the local aerial contractor was retiring, after many years in the business]. First shop gave him ten jobs, so a good start!

Then he put ad in "YP" - useless!

He's found that the best method nowadays is to do his paperwork in the local Morrison's car park, [in Stamford, Lincs], or take my sister-in-awe to do the shopping there in the van - carefully ensuring that he's "Got work to do in the van", of course!!

Then during the evening he will get two or three enquiries from people who "Saw your van in Morrisons, mate, so got your number".

Works for him!!

Baldeagle in Staffordshire.

[gaza]

Bald Eagle: Better drive around Stamford three times and everyone would have seen the van

Put advert in Thompsons [3 sections] nothing ,one liner in Y.P.
loads of work for djing [was a dj for 17 yrs.
Its hit and miss.

Put an advert on Nottm Forests desk pad and the advertisers
placed me next to a company that had sacked me 6 months earlier bet that pead the director off

GAZA

[jsm]

used the YP when we was in essex , spent £200 a yer on a little box - got loads of work from it ,as the years went on just took the free line till i got fed up with saying - sorry we can no longer take on any more work !! so came out of it .

now been up here for a month and just starting again so going back in yp etc
In my view it works ok

yellow advert