No call outs for 14 days now :(

[Andyuk2007]

Hi All, its about 2 weeks since i had a call out and I'm very worried again The local booklet went out last week with my advert in, it advertising in 4 villages near me but no phone calls yet.

I tried the leaflet thing once and it was a waste of time as i didnt get any response from that at all.

what can i do folks ?


From a worried Andy

 

[NYJimbo]

Can you tell us a little about your past six months, did you change anything like prices or offerings of what you do ?

 

[Andyuk2007]

Can you tell us a little about your past six months, did you change anything like prices or offerings of what you do ?

For the past 6 months its been off and on in terms of call outs, I mainly do pc repairs on site such as upgrades,virus removals...stuff that IT techs do at people's houses I dont charge a call out fee and my rates are only £15 per hour in the hope of being busy but sadly its not been the case. I was busy when i first started my business for the first few months but then slowly after christmas its been around 1 call out a week which is not enough.

 

[Bryce W]

Check the obvious first.

Call your own phone number, does it go though? I know it sounds dumb but disconnections, redirects, unpaid bills etc do happen.

Double check the number on your advertising, is it correct?

Was it this slow at the same time last year? It could just be a seasonal thing.

 

[JRDtechnet]

For the past 6 months its been off and on in terms of call outs, I mainly do pc repairs on site such as upgrades,virus removals...stuff that IT techs do at people's houses I dont charge a call out fee and my rates are only £15 per hour in the hope of being busy but sadly its not been the case. I was busy when i first started my business for the first few months but then slowly after christmas its been around 1 call out a week which is not enough.

You are too cheap, people are seeing other techs at least triple what you charge and they say to themselves why is this guy so cheap he must be inexperienced.

 

[Andyuk2007]

You are too cheap, people are seeing other techs at least triple what you charge and they say to themselves why is this guy so cheap he must be inexperienced.

I'm cheap because i have virtually no overheads to pay as i still live my parents. I'm not inexperienced I've been around pcs for over 10 years and ive done everything there is to do with them. i also have all the equipment neccesary to carry any computer related problem.

 

[Andyuk2007]

Check the obvious first.

Call your own phone number, does it go though? I know it sounds dumb but disconnections, redirects, unpaid bills etc do happen.

Double check the number on your advertising, is it correct?

Was it this slow at the same time last year? It could just be a seasonal thing.

Just checked my phone numbers and they are working fine, checked the adverts too the number is fine, It was sort of quiet this time last year it never really got going untill the kids when back to school as at the moment its there summer holidays so schools are shut.

but its just a bit slack all the time maybe i should raise my price but I honestly dont think thats the problem it could be the credit crunch and high food and oil prices we are experiencing here in england

 

[seedubya]

£15 an hour!! How can you make any money at that?

Advertising is not marketing. Advertising is spending money with no idea of why you're spending it. Local booklets are usually crap. They are neither direct marketing nor advertising but instead the ******* offspring of the worst examples of both. Nobody looks at them more than once, just chucks 'em.

The only way you'll get business is market/promote/network or whatever other verb you want to use to describe getting more business. Can you tell me a little about where you're located, the demographics etc. I know the UK PC repair market is a biatch - full of cowboys and fly-by-nights.

Next thing - leaflets - you did it once and it didn't work so therefore leaflets don't work. What a load of B****cks, mate. Leaflets/flyers are the most common and most successful form of direct marketing there is. The reason they're so common is because they work. They're not expensive to produce nor to deliver (if you've nothing else to do). However, if they're not done at least half right then you may as well burn whatever money you spend on them.

What did the leaflet look like, how many did you drop, where did you drop them, when did you drop them, who dropped them (you or someone else) did it have a great headline, an offer and an immediate call to action? If you didn't do at least 500 - 1000 in one go AND repeat it every month or two with a different headline and offer THEN its a waste of time. Oh wait, that's exactly what you did.

If your business is still not self-sufficient with referrals then you need to be marketing in some fashion EVERY single day. BTW, Double your prices immediately. If everyone else is charging way more than you then customers will notice that and think that there's something wrong with your service. Get out and knock on dooors. Go to every small business in your area and drop off a voucher for 2 hours free service. If you're sitting idle what have you got to lose?

Sorry if I seem harsh. But with PC ownership in the UK at almost 60% there's buckets of work for everyone if you chase it.

 

[hawks5999]

I'm cheap because i have virtually no overheads to pay as i still live my parents. I'm not inexperienced I've been around pcs for over 10 years and ive done everything there is to do with them. i also have all the equipment neccesary to carry any computer related problem.

Is that what your ad says? Probably not.

Regardless, when you undercut the market as deeply as you are doing, the perception is that your quality is no good. It doesn't matter what your overhead is. It's all about market perception. Low overhead means you have a real opportunity to make some profit... the reason you are in business. Take advantage of that, don't undersell yourself because of it.

 

[NYJimbo]

I agree with everyone else, you are too cheap.

Sometimes when we really want a client, because they look like they will bring us more business, we will do things on the cheap or offer free diagnostics but never lower your price so much where it looks like you are either a kid or desperate for work.

We do website design as well and when we price some design jobs too low we lose them and find out later it was because the customer couldnt imagine getting anything good at such a low price.

 

[Andyuk2007]

Thanks for your replies Everyone Maybe i should try the leaflets again but i think the reason why it was a disastor is that it wasnt a very good leaflet. i made it myself with microsoft's publisher program and printed out black and white copies.

Here is my Current black and white advert

(Numbers blanked out)


I did have some colour ones but since its a black and white booklet i had it redone so the font is clearler e.t.c , would it look better if i take the price off the advert ? I thought it would be a good idea to have the Price on so people know what i charge per hour for my services.

what changes would you make to the Advert to make it better ?

 

[NYJimbo]

Damn, is that a local phone number in your ad ?. I'm not familiar with telephone numbers where you are but thats amazing. When I do a local ad I just put in the 7 digit, leave off the area code.

ps- ok you removed the phone now, cool, but still that looked like 15 or 20 digits.

 

[Andyuk2007]

Is that what your ad says? Probably not.

Regardless, when you undercut the market as deeply as you are doing, the perception is that your quality is no good. It doesn't matter what your overhead is. It's all about market perception. Low overhead means you have a real opportunity to make some profit... the reason you are in business. Take advantage of that, don't undersell yourself because of it.

No my Advert doesnt say that I think i might have the hourly rate removed from the Advert for when its published again next month. Maybe its time i got a really good professional leaflet designed aswell to help as the one i had done looks a bit poor.

problem is having them printed cost alot of money

Damn, is that a local phone number in your ad ?. I'm not familiar with telephone numbers where you are but thats amazing. When I do a local ad I just put in the 7 digit, leave off the area code.

ps- ok you removed the phone now, cool, but still that looked like 15 or 20 digits.

yeah i included the area code as other Ads over here seem to have them aswell, the second number is my mobile number.

Ok here is my Leaflet which kinda sucks compared to simon's, I think the wording is ok on mine but i dont think its very appealing.

 

[Andyuk2007]

Ok i've just emailed the people that made the black and white ad to remove the hourly rate for next month's publication.

What would you change about the leaflet ? I'm thinking a nice 2 page colour or something like that.

 

[bagellad]

i'm thinking about designing a leaflet myself, one for business one for residential. I think the spacing of your leaflet is very good, very easy to read but I think a leaflet that gave them a reason why they want the product would be good. I mean you can say "Upgrades" or you can say "Computer need a speed boost? Let us handle the whole upgrade process!" Do you know what I mean? I think they need a reason why they want the product. WE are marketing to people who don't know a lot about computers, they want you to do that for them. So I think we have to keep that we have more knowledge about the subject, and have to break it down more to their level.


Have you considered calling your previous clients and seeing if they are having any computer problems? or just a "check up" to see how their computer is doing?

 

[TimeCode]

2 things.

Here is my Current black and white advert. I did have some colour ones but since its a black and white booklet i had it redone so the font is clearler e.t.c

USE COLOR!!! I dunno, maybe Los Angeles is different but NOBODY responds to B&W ads here. If it isn't color, you get no response.

And to agree with everyone else, RAISE YOUR RATES! I never hire companies based solely upon their rate. I want somebody whose rate is competitive but not a steal. I think they're cutting corners.

 

[Andyuk2007]

USE COLOR!!! I dunno, maybe Los Angeles is different but NOBODY responds to B&W ads here. If it isn't color, you get no response.

And to agree with everyone else, RAISE YOUR RATES! I never hire companies based solely upon their rate. I want somebody whose rate is competitive but not a steal. I think they're cutting corners.

the leaflet was made in colour but in order to save myself money i just photocopied a few hundred copies of it, I dont know if to take to a professional printer or to have it redone so it looks better then what i can do. i'm told by the previous poster that the wording looks ok so maybe i just need to get it printed professionally, I'll take a look at vistaprint.

 

[Prune]

Andy
Stick with it if you able.
Keep going the extra mile for people, they will like you and call you back again. Nearly every customer I have done work for calls me back again.
Every week now I get 4 or 5 calls from customers I have worked for before and this provides me with a fairly regular workload. I found that once I had around 300-350 customers in my database, this was generating enough regular work for me to survive, even without any new customers.
Be encouraged. Every new customer you get onboard will bring you closer to your goal. Also you will know that most customers will recommend you if they are pleased. This is my absolute favourite kind of call "Mr/Mrs. Smith said I should give you a call...you fixed thier PC last month..".
Im now in my third year of working for myself and its just about starting to pay me a living wage. Many experienced business owners have told me that it takes 5 years to get a business fully off the ground.
On the pricing issue, I would just ring all of the other folks who operate in your area, get thier prices, and maybe place yourself in this bracket somewhere.
One pracitcal point: you mention targeting some local villages with advertising. Perhaps you could expand your potential target area by offering remote assistance type services. This is something I decided to do myself a few months ago. Its hasnt made me a millionare yet, but I'm getting a few nice remote jobs in and people are reacting well to this new service (I dont relly want to be a millionare anyway)
Prune

 

[TimeCode]

Printing

I'll take a look at vistaprint.

Also look at http://gotprint.net/g/welcome.do they have great prices and they don't advertise on YOUR literature.

Just be sure that they ship to your area.

 

[hawks5999]

the leaflet was made in colour but in order to save myself money i just photocopied a few hundred copies of it, I dont know if to take to a professional printer or to have it redone so it looks better then what i can do. i'm told by the previous poster that the wording looks ok so maybe i just need to get it printed professionally, I'll take a look at vistaprint.

If this doesn't explain immediately why you should raise your rates, then nothing will. Somebody mentioned the appearance of cutting corners on web design if the price is too cheap. Friend, you ARE cutting corners with this leaflet. This is a perfect example of why you would need to charge more, so you can spend more on advertising that looks professional to get you more clients to make more... that's how it works.

I'm going to climb back on the soapbox that I haven't been on for awhile: Your best marketing will be referrals, not flyers or circulars. People ignor the flyers and throw the circulars away, but when they have a problem they ask a friend or someone they know. If you want to take your business up to the next level, you've got to start getting into networking opportunities or business network groups. You need to expand your social and business-social network to the point that you are getting endless referrals coming to you. A few well-placed relationships will generate more business for you than 10,000 flyers. So start getting involved in formal networking (your chamber of commerce or BNI equivalent) and informal networking (community based events).

I'd redirect the money you are spending on flyers towards good quality business cards. spend the extra, get the glossy, the rounded corners, a distinctive design and logo. then hand them out. the personal interaction involved with handing off a card is so much better than a random flyer stuck up at the bus stop or handed out on the corner.

And one last thing, my one and only experience with vista print was a disaster... consider overnightprints.com