Hello, and welcome to the service contractor’s business tape of the month. This monthly cassette tape series represents yet another step in accomplishing Grandy & Associates’ vision of helping the service contractor come to a place of maturity and profitability. Each month, a different national speaker from throughout the service and trades industry will share dozens of cost-reducing, profit-increasing ideas to help you become a more profitable company.
Nearly everyone listening to this tape will agree that advertising works. The problem is that it costs money, and sometimes cash is in short supply. This month’s tape may be just what you are looking for.
This month’s tape talks about ten ways you can advertise that will cost you little or no money. Now, that’s what I call a win-win. Our speaker, Joe Lowe, has been a radio TV personality for over 30 years.
He opened Joe Lowe Productions in 1997 and specializes in advertising and marketing for small, local, and regional businesses. Many people know Joe, or at least his voice, from ESPN and TNN as the voice of the United States Hot Rod Association. Mr. Lowe’s company produces radio and television advertising campaigns and personalized telephone on hold and answering machine recordings for clients throughout the United States and Canada.
Now, let’s sit back and relax and see what we can learn from Joe. Oh, and by the way, be sure to listen carefully to the end of this tape. Grandy & Associates is introducing a brand new three-day business training program called the Basic Business Boot Camp.
I’ll give you all the details at the end of the tape, including how you can get a $500 discount as a current tape subscriber. Today we’re going to talk about ways to advertise. Matter of fact, we’re going to talk about 10 ways to advertise using little or no money.
Now, yeah, I know that sounds like one of those cheap late night TV ads or something you see in one of those ragtag grocery store newspapers, but today we’re going to talk about 10 ways to advertise your business effectively using little or no money. And yes, all of these ideas do work. They may not all work for everybody, but they all have been proven to work.
I’m not going to tell you that it’s not going to take absolutely no work on this. No, that’s not true. I’m saying it takes little or no money, and there’s a big difference here.
As with anything else, it’s going to take a lot of effort on your part in order to make these things work. But again, if you’re saving money and it’s not coming off that bottom line, it’s a bargain. So let’s get right to it.
The number one thing that I always like to do is trade. You know, trading is as old as commerce itself. And out there in your area right now, there are local newspapers, magazines, or radio and TV stations, billboard companies, and all of them need someone to do their heating and air conditioning work in their building, their plumbing, landscaping, roofing, construction, painting, mechanic work, whatever it is.
So why not trade? Many times it can be worked out so that the work that you do for the customer can be done during your slow times. So your employees, who otherwise would be sitting around with little or nothing to do, would have something to do, and you benefit by not only keeping them working, so you keep loyal customers, but you also benefit with advertising. Now here’s a hint.
Anyone who has any experience with trades knows that you always go retail to retail. Why do you do this? Well, because you want to make sure that you’re comparing apples to apples. Do not take someone’s offer to, well, to sell you their advertising retail and then want to trade at their wholesale rate.
It’s just not going to work, okay? So make sure that you’re going to make sure and charge them the retail price for whatever it is that you are going to do for them, whatever the service is, and then make sure that they charge you the retail price or the going rate for their advertising. There’s no discounts here. There’s no commissions here.
We’re talking straight trade. Oh, and by the way, it’s not really going to make you anything if you don’t need the advertising. So make sure that you actually need the advertising you trade for, otherwise it’s a waste of time and effort and all they’ve done is benefited and you’ve gotten nothing out of it.
So make sure, number one, that you want to do the trade, make sure you’re trading retail to retail, and that you do actually need the advertising that you trade for. Second idea, and this is an idea that everybody should be doing the minute they go in business, make sure that your name or logo, if you have one, is on everything. I’m talking about everything.
Yes, shirts and uniforms, they are a bit more expensive with your name on them, but remember, it’s a walking billboard, so make sure it looks good. Spend a little time developing a logo, make sure the name looks good, make sure it’s readable, and painting the name on the side of the vehicle the same thing. You know, there are a lot of people that like to put a lot of stuff on there and make it real flowery and people tend to forget the name of the business.
They go, oh, that was a pretty flower, but what was it? Want to make sure that they realize it was Jim’s Forest that they just saw. Or it was a nice picture of an air conditioning unit, but did they know it was Bill’s Heating and Air? So you want to make sure your name is on there and very, very prominent. And if you’re going to go through all the time and all the trouble of getting uniforms and taking care of your vehicles and that sort of thing, you want to make sure they’re clean and they look good all the time.
The other thing you might want to do, even on your personal vehicles, get some magnetic signs and put them on there. And why not drive around? After all, it’s your business and you are the owner. It’s pretty sharp.
You should be proud of that. Number three, and this is probably the most important on the list, volunteer to talk to the media. Yes, volunteer to talk to the media.
Newspeople are always looking for a local angle on any story. And if something is approved for use in your area or is banned by the FDA or whatever, you be the first to contact the news media and then offer to sit down with one of their reporters and explain to them what that means to the average consumer. Remember, you can make the news story by saying, I, as an expert, and because you own the business and use the products every day or use the idea every day, you are the expert in the field.
And you offer to talk on the newscast about the item or appear in the newspaper. And what happens is that many times they’ll send out a reporter and a photographer. You get a front page or a lead story on the evening news with your company’s shirt prominently displayed and you talking about it.
That sets you up to everybody out there as the expert, number one. And number two, it’s free advertising. Since most reporters are not familiar with your business or what you do, and all they hear is, well, Freon is being banned, why don’t you be the first one to explain what that really means in the area? Or we can no longer use this type of insecticide.
Or this type of treatment on the wood that we use is no longer used. And this is why. You jump out there, you become the expert, the story’s written, your name gets in there, your business gets in there, and you’re, well, you’re dollars ahead on advertising.
And remember that most radio stations, most TV stations run that newscast story over and over again. So you get several different audiences. And the newspaper, well, we all know the newspaper is pretty darn good, a lot of people read it, and then at the very, very end, the bird gets to look at it, or it becomes the final resting place for the fish.
But the bottom line is, before it gets to those places, several people get a chance to look at it, and people always do look at pictures, so try to get your picture in there. Number four, always attempt to go to open houses, grand openings, and other events when invited. Join the Chamber of Commerce, and then wear those nice logo shirts.
Now, if you have work shirts, that’s great too, but why not go to the extra expense of getting a nice golf shirt, or even a nice button-down shirt with your logo on it, and then wear it to those events. Somebody cared enough to invite you, so get out there. And it always helps to carry plenty of business cards with you.
Be sure you introduce yourself to people you don’t know. Mix and mingle, don’t stay with the people you do know. These are all opportunities, and people you don’t know are all potential customers.
Maybe not tomorrow, maybe not next week, but if they remember they saw you, they have that business card, next time they need a service like yours, chances are they’ll look at that business card and they’ll try to remember who you were, and you’ll get a phone call. It works every time. Chances are, wearing that shirt with that logo could lead you to a nice job prospect.
Number five, an old one, but a good one, yard signs. Now you’ve seen these before, and it’s not a new idea, but boy, yard signs work. Make it something simple, like another quality job by Joe’s Heating and Cooling, and then put your phone number, 683-0000.
This can do wonders. Now take these signs, have them professionally made, have several of them done, and they’re not that expensive, about $8 to $10 a piece, and that includes the little stakes that you can put in the ground. Make sure you put the sign up before you start the job, and then take it down within a day or two after the job is finished.
Oh, and by the way, be sure to ask the owner of the property if it’s okay that you do that, and you can tell them, quite frankly, you’re very proud that you’re having an opportunity to work for them, and you’d like people to know that you’re doing the job. It’s going to work wonders for you, because other people in the neighborhood will be looking around. Case in point, I had a gentleman just do a new roof on my home.
Within three days of having the roofers at my house, I had two or three of my neighbors come over and ask me who did the job and if I was happy with the job. And by the way, don’t leave those signs up too long or give the impression that your work is slow. Here’s an idea.
If you pick up that sign within two or three days, it does one other thing, too. It also forces you to go back, check with the customer to ensure they’re happy with the work you performed, so those neighbors that come around and ask about it, they’ll get a positive instead of a, yeah, they were okay. They go, hey, you know, they even came back and checked to make sure I was happy.
That’s a big plus for you. Let’s go to number six. You know, you subcontract with many people.
Be sure your company is getting proper credit when you do. Make sure that you’re mentioned when signs go up and during grand openings or open houses or the parade of homes. Many times at parade of homes things and things like this are open house signs.
They’re posted to give credit to the many contractors that provided service during the construction process. You must be aggressive and ask to get this perk because many times they’re not going to be mean, but they just forget to put everybody on there. Be sure you provide them with the information they need, a copy of your logo, and ask when those signs are going up and ask if they’re going to be posting those signs.
Chances are if they haven’t thought about it, when you suggest it, they’ll think it’s a good idea. And then everybody that comes through will have an opportunity to see just who did the work. And oh, by the way, be sure to attend the event and look successful when you do that.
Hand out business cards there too. Did I mention I love business cards? Speaking of that, let’s go to number seven and I have said this several times, hand out business cards. These little items are the best advertising tool out there today.
They’re cheap, easy to hand out, and this promotion is as successful as you want it to be. Now I prefer that people hand these things out personally or include your business cards in letters when you thank people for doing work with you. You must be aggressive in this one too.
Do not scrimp on the development of a nice business card or the printing cost. You want to be sure you get something that’s classy. I also advise you not to overdo the info provided.
Picture cards are nice for models but not a contractor since most of us are not the best looking people in the world and we’re not selling ourselves, we’re selling a service. I’d much rather see a picture of your service vehicles, nice and clean and all lettered up nicely, or the building that your business is housed in with a company name, the main focus. Be sure to include addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses, they’re very, very important but the main focus needs to remain your business name.
If your company name does not reflect what you do, you must also include that. By the way, if your company name does not reflect what you do, you might want to consider changing your company name. Well, I tell you what, that’s a subject for another tape, we’ll do that some other time.
But a lot of times people fail to realize that nobody understands what their business is because it just says Joe’s Shop. What kind of shopping does Joe do? Who knows? Sometimes it’s a simple black and white card with your logo that works, get the information on there clearly printed, maybe the best way to go. Other times, a little more glitz, but remember, whatever it is, make sure you decide on it, take some time, and then stick with it.
And order those cards and hand them out. If you’re locking them away in a drawer somewhere and waiting for somebody to ask for one, you’re doing a very, very poor job of promotion with an item that’s only costing you pennies. Number eight, advertising novelties.
I just need to mention things that cost you pennies. Well, unfortunately, coffee mugs, pens, pencils, t-shirts, calendars, they’re all what I call novelty advertising and they don’t cost pennies anymore. They cost dollars nowadays.
And these are great if you want to give someone a gift, but they’re not cost effective. I have never looked at a pen or on a coffee mug to find a plumber or a landscape designer. I do believe that more people look in the yellow pages for a subcontractor while drinking a cup of coffee than that actually look at the coffee mug.
Now, these items seem to give business owners a feeling of success and hence continue to be popular. But a good advertising tool, I don’t think so. As a matter of fact, you should think twice, especially if you’re on a budget and the goal is to get the most bang for your buck here.
I always find it interesting that we will buy t-shirts, we will buy pens or whatever with our name on them and we say, we’re doing this for advertising and then we hoard them and refuse to give them out freely. If you’re going to go this route, be sure you give these things out so that people have a chance to get them. But again, I don’t think it’s the best way to spend your advertising dollar.
Number nine, cater to your core demographics. That’s what all the marketing people say anyhow. See, demographics scares a lot of people, that word is so scary.
But demographics is just a fancy word for the people most likely to use your service or product. What demographic is your audience in or what demographic do you cater to? Let’s see, for example, not too many people who live in apartments would need a lawn service, right? Senior citizens are not the demographic that you’d choose to sell baby strollers or high chairs to. Too many times we advertise to get our message out to large numbers of people because it appeared to be a good deal.
Well, this is fine if you have many products from many different people, but contractors must know their core group and target them with advertising. Here’s a for instance, I live in Owensboro, Kentucky and to advertise on television in our area, you must use an Evansville, Indiana TV station. Now is it a good value for a heating and air conditioning company in Owensboro to advertise in Evansville, Indiana? I don’t think so, unless they have another place over in Evansville, Indiana.
You see, what happens many times is the area covered by these advertising venues is so large that the advertising is effectively wasted on a large part of their audience. So you may be getting 200,000 viewers, but maybe only 1,000 of those are actually in the area that would use your service. More than one half of the viewers in our area live in Indiana or a part of Kentucky that’s 45 minutes away.
I don’t think that heating and air guy would really want to waste his advertising dollars promoting his business that’s just in Owensboro, Kentucky. To me, that’s a waste. Now if you’re going to buy this kind of advertising, what you can do is split it with one or two other contractors that say one would be in, I mentioned Evansville, Indiana, say if I split it with somebody in Evansville, Indiana, and then somebody that’s between my hometown of Owensboro and Evansville, Indiana, and all three of us carried the same product, and we’re all three heating and air conditioning people, then maybe if we split the cost of that advertising so each one of us don’t have to pay a great deal, we might get some benefit from it.
That’s another little trick of the trade there. And number 10, and I know a lot of you probably already have figured this out in business, but it’s amazing how many people don’t figure it out when it comes to the advertising end of things. Learn from your mistakes.
None of us are perfect, and none of us hit it accurately 100% of the time. Now if you saw no benefit from some advertising program that you did last year, why in the world would you want to spend money on the same thing again this year? Advertising is an investment, and as such should be studied and analyzed. Not to death, because you can analyze anything to death, but at least we need to check out its effectiveness.
And while I’m talking about that, advertising for the sake of using co-op dollars and maybe getting a trip, a cruise for you and the wife or whatever, may be fine, but realize that’s not the best way to be driven by your advertising dollars. We have one contractor that was telling me the other day that he didn’t normally advertise with this certain radio station, and he wasn’t too sure that they had the listeners that would use his services, but if he were to spend $1,500 a month with them for the next 10 months, he and his wife would get to go on a cruise to the Caribbean. Well, I got news for him.
If that’s the way he’s taking care of his advertising dollars, it may be a cruise to the poorhouse or a cruise down to the bankruptcy attorney if he keeps that up. The bottom line is that you advertise to get more business. That’s the only reason you advertise.
You’re not out there to spend money to keep the newspapers, the magazines, the television stations, the billboard companies in business. No. You’re out there to try to improve your business, to get more business to come to you.
You need to let people know who you are, what you do, and then show that you do a very, very good job of it. Now, if it doesn’t work, try something else. It’s an expensive plan that works better than, say, two or three cheaper plans.
Go with the expensive plan. Let history be your guide on this, and you’ll always be a winner. If history is not your guide and you have nothing to go on, talk to other people in your trade organization, your trade group, and see what works for them.
By all means, take a lot of these one at a time and work through it. You’ll find what works for you and what doesn’t work for you. Above all, plan.
If you don’t have an advertising plan, same as with the business plan, then you’re going to plan to fail. Don’t fail to make that plan. Plan to be a winner.
And I guarantee you, you’ll know more about advertising than three-quarters of those college grads that are coming out of school today. As always, we welcome your feedback on each month’s tape. Feel free to give us a call with your comments, or if you prefer, you may fax or email our office.
Better yet, check out Grandy & Associates’ totally redesigned website. You can email us from there. Our address is www.grandyassociates.com, and it is also printed on the tape insert.
Again, our website address is www.grandyassociates.com. Remember I mentioned at the beginning of the tape that Grandy & Associates was introducing a brand-new program. It’s a three-day program called the Basic Business Boot Camp, designed for trades company owners and managers. The program involves three days of intense business training, designed to teach contractors all the basics of labor pricing, cash flow, cash flow budgeting, and service agreements.
The tuition includes the latest version of Grandy & Associates’ industry-leading software program called Labor Pricing for a Profit with Cash Flow Projections, which each contractor will use to model his or her company throughout the three-day program. Enclosed is a four-page brochure giving all the details. Each class is limited to 15 contractors, so call soon to reserve your spot while space is still available.
By the way, as a current tape subscriber, you get a $500 discount for attending the program. Sign up today while space is still available. The Service Contractors’ Business Tape of the Month is produced and distributed by Grandy & Associates.
If we can be of service to you, give us a call on our toll-free line at 877-202-8891. Until next month, remember, invest your time and invest your money in those things that will reproduce.