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Thread: every July the work load always drops off to nothing

  1. #11
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    you can offer your services to resorts as their maintenance crew, I'm sure a lot of them will need your help.

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    work actually picked up nicely the 2nd 1/2 of July & August..both months ended up being in my average hours range....amazing....i was one of the few plumbers in my area who was steady.

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    Not so amazing, anyone who visits here can tell you work hard and care about the quality of your work...that may not be the fast way, but it's certainly the solid and dependable way.

    I don't know about anyone else, but I do get a bit nervous when things appear to dip, but there's almost always something just around the corner to bring things back up and often past where I'd been before.

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    work for me seems to come in waves...its very strange...my 'to do' pile goes to nothing...i get worried.....a week later im bidding like crazy and it fills up again within 2 weeks.....i always seem to be doing roughs all at once and a few months later im doing all the finishes....its like homeowners decide to start major projects at 3 different times per year...late spring, mid summer, mid fall

    i understand the mid Fall because they want to show it off the Christmas

    there is definately a cycle to remodeling projects....

    late winter, early summer, early fall are all completely dead times.

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    What can you do to fill those gaps?

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    those gaps have been filling in somewhat from homeowner calls..small jobs...the homeowner jobs have improved by up tp 50% this year...word of mouth is working well finally...

    problem is homeowners stop calling for 1 month when school lets out and now again for 2-3 weeks when school starts...funny how it goes from 5 calls a day to 2 calls a month.

    when i look at my sales graphs on quick books its smoothed out alot in 2009...2008 was 1 month hot, 1 month cold....back and forth....2009 still goes up and down, but less dramatically....

    i dont think i can do anything to get work during the down times...if everyone is on vacation it is what it is...

    im going to just keep doing what im doing since things keep getting better and better..at this point i can only see it getting better...

    I really think the coupon idea will improve my homeowner sales 10-20%...it gives them a reason to pass my card and also save it....its worth $20...its not just another card its a $20 bill...if the economy gets worse i wont mind losing $20 per job....if it improves ill have a 2 year expiration date to kill it off.....

    Fredrick, you always say to try something new and see what it does....i think the $20 off idea is worth trying for 1000 business cards...if i see results ill keep it going....if i dont see a increase in homeowner sales and referrals ill kill it when i print the next batch of cards...

    Ive been sending out those postcards we talked about inbetween the fliers...i see no results from them...im going to continue through 2009 and throw them out....w/o the handwritten addressing in an envelope they are obviously being thrown out...the message in them is good. im confident of that.
    Last edited by huggytree; 09-07-2009 at 11:29 AM.

  7. #17
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    Trying new things is good - as long as you give them enough time to work (or not work.) I think 1,000 cards will be a good test. Make sure you isolate the results so you can determine how well they work.

    Re: the postcards - certainly, if they are not improving your results, drop the campaign when it has run its course (not before, though.) However, you have told us that your results have improved. You need to be certain that the postcards have not contributed to those improved results.

    How might they have contributed to your improved results without it being obvious?

    1. You have not had anyone say they are calling because of a postcard, but do you ask everyone who calls whether they receive your postcards? Maybe they see the cards but don't think to mention them when they call you.

    2. As you send the postcards to the same people who receive the flyers, how can you be certain that the postcards are not contributing to the effectiveness of the flyers?

    3. If your increased workload has come from contractors who are on your mailing list, the postcards may be responsible for that. How can you be certain they are not?

    I'm not pushing for the postcards - I'm only asking you to make sure they are not working before you drop them. From what you have told us, I don't see any proof they are not benefiting you.

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    eive only gotten 3 new customers (builders) in the past 6 months.

    1 was an old customer who came back (post cards could have done something..dunno) ..i called him several times asking him to come back.
    1 was someone who i wrote to, but met at the builders association and it went from that meeting forward
    1 was someone ive been bidding with for 1 year+...finally they sold something

    ive got 3 more potential new customers who i may get if they sign the jobs..

    yes the post cards could have done something....but all the contacts were made right after the mailers went out(within 2 weeks) or the contacts were made in person and they liked me.

    every new builder is worth thousands to me..potentially 10's to 100's of thousands....so spending $300+ for the post cards each month could be a good investment if it gets me a few more of them.

    its just very quiet the months i only send out the post cards

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    From what you have said, Dave - ...only gotten 3 new builders in the past 6 months - sounds like the flyers are not working either!

    Not working at getting you NEW builders that is. But your business has increased so, that says you are getting more business from existing clients.

    Now, as it is quiet for the two months that postcards are sent, that tells me that the cards are not directly producing new customers nor are they directly producing more work from existing clients.

    But you are sending them and you are getting more work. Are they INDIRECTLY improving your results? How can you find out?

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    i have gotten alot of new calls from the fliers...none turned out to be customers or have yet to become customers(too soon to tell)....i got around 6 responses from the last flier within that month...thats how i know it works...

    yea the post card could be doing something...who knows

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