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View Full Version : Where do you get new business?



cocoy
08-03-2009, 01:08 PM
Where do you get most of your new customers?

Do you get many who just came across your website?

Did they reply from one of your direct mailings?

Referrals from past customers?

huggytree
08-03-2009, 01:30 PM
most new homeowner customers are from referrals

ive gotten 4 jobs this year from my website and all were small....for a plumber you need a website, but its just a sales tool, not a job finding tool.

direct mailings to builders is still my ONLY way i get new contractors...i send out 250-300 mailers every 3 months and usually pick up 1 or 2....i used to get 12-15 responses...now its only 4-5, but i just picked up a new one last week. in the mean time you always lose customers....so gain 1 lose 1, or hopefully gain 2 lose 1

homeowner referals have dramatically picked up this year for me..it took 2 years in business to get a referral base going..im almost up to my 3rd year now and it keeps growing....someday i hope 80% of my business to be referrals.

cocoy
08-03-2009, 01:49 PM
I'm curious to know how many service type business get "cold" customers from a website.

vangogh
08-03-2009, 02:27 PM
Clients find me in all sorts of ways. In no particular order

1. Referrals from past and current clients and others who know what I do
2. Finding me through various social sites such as this forum
3. Discovering my blog via any number of sources
4. Searching for the kinds of services I offer and finding my website

People absolutely do find my website on their own and later become clients. If you aren't picking up clients through your site then:

You aren't delivering the right kind of traffic to the site
You aren't delivering enough of the right kind of traffic to the site
Your site isn't doing it's job in converting visitors to leads.

One simple thing to help improve the second thing above is to add a forum signature (and any other forum where you post) that includes a link back to your site. Then if you post and show others what you're capable of doing people will click through the links and land on your site.

Harold Mansfield
08-03-2009, 07:02 PM
I know a lot of serviced based contractors that still won't listen to me about having a web presence.
IMO, even if referrals are a large source of business, people usually will check you out online to see some professionalism before they call you depending on how close they are to the person making the referral.

You may only get 2-5 cold customers from your website, but a well constructed website can make the difference in a business card collecting dust and the first phone call being "I just have some questions" to an immediate call and "I need some work done, when are you available ?"

Of course if you go full fledged to capture your local search result for your niche, it will increase, but even without a budget for professional SEO and advertising...it is still necessary.

I keep telling them that to some people a nice website is a difference in perception from just a guy working on the side out of his truck, and a professional.
As was said, it is a tool that should work in conjunction with your other efforts, especially our business cards.

Dan Furman
08-03-2009, 11:18 PM
I'm curious to know how many service type business get "cold" customers from a website.

Define "cold".

I would say someone who searched for what you do, then found your site, is a (very) warm prospect. If you aren't converting some of these, something is likely wrong with your website.

cbscreative
08-04-2009, 04:02 PM
I know a lot of serviced based contractors that still won't listen to me about having a web presence.

So true!! They either don't have a web site or it just plain sucks. I have observed that this particular group is among the worst for recognizing the value of a web site. When seeking services, it's frustrating finding a good source. This offers a wide open opportunity that so far, very few are taking advantage of.

I would second that it's difficult to guage the success of your site. A "referral" could come in as a referral, but check out your site first. That site can mean the difference between calling the service contractor and being turned off by a lack of professionalism in having a good site.

As for me, I get business in all the above, even "cold" contacts from search engines.

Steve B
08-04-2009, 09:16 PM
First is customer referrals.

The website directly gets me a lot of jobs via adwords, but it also has replaced the telephone book in a lot of cases. If someone has heard of us, but doesn't have the number, they can always Google it.