ForumsAdvertising, Sales and Marketing

Jess,

I was fascinated, and some even disappointed me, on the different replies you recieved. Some of the advice was excellent, find what is best and leave the rest.
The advice to develop your niche is in my opinion the very best thing you can do, and the example on how to wow the Dr.s office is excellent. Focus your efforts very narrow and be the BEST at it, and explain why people should do business with YOU, regardless of price. Very few people are able to make a comfortable living by being the cheapest, that is a game to be played by gamblers. Tell me, do you want the cheapest, or the best value for your money? Most of us want the best value for our money. If you try to differentiate yourself based on price alone then the logical choice is the cheapest. But if you show you are the best value you can move away from "price wars" and into a real discussion on why your the best value.

A word on post cards to businesses, do not spend a dime on them at this time. Take that money and make yourself and your image the only logical choice for a business to trust you for this very important work. They are trusting you to make thier place of business presentable so they can feed thier children, pay the mortgage, take a family vacation, take care of thier loved ones.

Make them an offer they can not refuse, one that is based on value, not price. Know your prospect, know who they are trying to impress, know what problems they have and how you will fix them, know what they want, and then show how you will give it to them. When you have a new client look them in the eye and ask for a referral, ask them to call them on your behalf. Do not leave until your client until you have an appointment with the referral. This is the hardest thing to do, but it is the best way to grow your business.

Good luck, and be tenacious.

One of the key parts to any business is a website because if you got a advertising slip though your front door and it says call me on 347939 most people will just bin it because they carn't be bothered but if on the card there is also a website then people will just think oh well i may as well have a quick look at the website and a good website is normally all it takes to draw some body in and it is a very cost effective way of advertising. If anyone is interested in having a website designed then please visit www.xenondesign.co.uk or email l.scott@xenondesign.co.uk

As a one person operation you have several options:

a) Do calling to these businesses and offer a cost comparison quote or a unique selling proposition that will set you apart from what they are currently using (if they are using anyone)

b) Joint venture with someone that has relationships with the types of businesses you want as clients. Make sure its a related joint venture so that it makes since why you are contacting the prospect

c) Do free one day cleaning samples. Time is money, but if you are on a budget then you have to use your time as your marketing currency. Offer a free one day cleaning so that they see the quality of your work and offer them some sort of special to sign you up immediately. Create momentum.

d) Hire a performance based business development company that can help you with marketing and business strategies on a "pay for results" billing basis. This will cut down on your out of pocket expenses and gives you access to expertise and resources that can help you in ALL areas of your business. Contact us for details on our performance based program at jaones@abcsolutions.cjb.net

Now that is brillant!

QueenClean (great name, BTW),

From my experience, you might want to invest some time to sit down with some people who choose the cleaner for their business and learn more about how they chose their current cleaner, how happy they are with them etc. For one, this type of investment can better inform how you market and sell in the future. Secondly, it sounds like you don't have much personal experience with this type of customer and so it would help you think through what you need to do to win.

As with many things, this is a good way to leverage your network. I think people are often willing to go out of their ways to help people understand how to crack a market. See if you can use your contacts to get some time with potential decision-makers. Maybe ask some of your residential customers if they know anyone. You could also ask around at your church, health club, doctors' offices, or at other places you frequent or are a customer.

I think this is the kind of step we sometimes miss when we want to go fast.

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TheCleanQueen

Nice Name, which itself will help you brand your Business. There
were several wonderful ideas people in this forum have mentioned. What I would
do:

I will not rely on just one source, if you want your phone
to ring on a consistent basis you have to create some process in place.

For ex.

1. Lead
   Generation
2. Marketing
3. Sales
4. A/R
   and A/P

For our discussion let us just focus on your question about
how /where to advertise to gain visibility in the Market.

My Exp and from my mentors what I learnt was Pain is more
motivational to Buyers or Clients. For example if you can tell them the
negatives or problems that can happen if they are not keeping their place clean
with Factual Information from sources like EPA or OSHA.

There are lots of things you can do for FREE to advertise
your business.

Talk to fellow business owners in your network and conduct
free seminar where in you teach something FREE about cleaning which will be of
help to them.

Go to the Networking groups, you don't have to become a member.
Exchange Business cards and create a powerful Email campaign. (Use Constant
contact or icontact for mass mailing).

If you can provide value and add some testimonials from real
people who have used your service in your marketing campaign that will give
some credibility rather than you blowing your own trumpet.

Advertise in Craigslist.

Google Adwords if your budget supports it.

MOST IMPORTANT THING HAVE A FOLLOW UP MECANISM TO CAPTURE ALL THE LEADS AND
EFFECTIVELY TRACK IT. EITHER USING A SOFTWARE PROGRAM OR ATLEAST MAINTAIN AN
EXCEL SHEET OF PEOPLE CALLING YOU, ASK FOR THEIR PHONE AND EMAIL. SO THAT YOU
CAN BE IN TOUCH WITH THEM SO THAT WHEN THEY ARE READY TO USE YOUR SERVICE YOU
WILL BE THEIR FIRST CHOICE.

Prophet, I am not sure who you are talking about, we are discussing general practices for working with people. Somehow I doubt Google Earth is going to be a big help to most people because in most cases you will not be looking at a motor home.

I would note Google mobile is not live, so what is parked on a particular property is really kind of irrelevant. By your own standards, you may miss the motor home because it was not there the day the image was added to Google Earth.

The point I was making, is making a couple of calls on clients is probably the better way. See how the person actually works. This is real information in real time that can really give you an idea of what the person is about.

Conducting investigations as you suggest simply misses even finding out what the person is about.

I am sorry you take that as insulting, I just don't agree your way is effective. Really it would seem to be an overreaction to your own negative experience. I am sorry you had that experience, but in the end I am not sure it is helpful to spread your ideas to others.

Find out who they do work for and call them.