-
Appearance is everything!
Appearance is everything!
The old saying says so.. “You only get one chance to make a first impression”What am I rambling on about now? Well I had an e-mail last eek and decided to post part of it on here.
Well my reply to it I mean.
They said, I have been in the business 2 years and i’m struggling to get the right customers. Any tips?Appearance! Is my first tip..
If you know what your doing & you are finding work but not the right type or maybe not holding the type you want then ide take a fresh approach.
Re-do your van.. Make it simple, fresh and right to the point. Eye catching. Forget writing a million small things on the sides etc. distinctive logo and number on the side and bonnet. On the rear the same and if you want to tell them more do it here. Probably the best place for some light reading is behind you at the traffic lights.
If your vans eye catching then that’s what will make them read it…
The name is important. No point calling yourself: flower signs, lambie signs, hot vinyl on wheels. Be more to the point. People are ignorant and don’t want to think… get something catchy but to the point. Catchy or maybe descriptive.. There are lots of names. Ultra modern can sometimes shoot you I the foot…
Next your dress code & staff for that matter.
Our guys wear rigger boots mainly with jeans a navy t-shirt with name on back and front and a navy bump baseball-cap. We all look the same. Clones actually. But when three guys walk in dressed the same we are an advert for health and safety and the company. Steel toe riggers and bump caps and at same time tidy and advertising the company. We choose this way because of the high mixture of types of jobs we get involved in daily. From building sites to car garages.
The tops and the vans all match so we look the part. Even if our works crap..lol the hats help with staff appearance if nothing else. We had a guy come in one Monday, hair dyed white. Another had a becham skinhead.. now I know the guys are nice honest guys. But both looked like a pair of bams… once the hats are on your none the wiser. Thank god!Next make yourself some decent sample boxes.. Don’t scrimp with some old case. Make something elaborate with your logo on the front and have some of your best work in it. Not dog-eared leaflets with coffee mug stains.
We don’t have a high volume of customers come to our work. Im glad because it’s nothing fancy or modern but when we are on site or have been referred by someone else. The customer sees the van arrive the guy getting out with the display/sample box and thinks he’s creating the right impressions already “professional”. If his prices are right ill give him a try at least. If he likes your prices and the finished job. You now have gained & kept that good standard of customer you wanted from the beggining. -
7 Replies
-
Not sure about the baseball caps Rob. I have a sign up that says the wearing of baseball caps on these premises is strictly prohibited!! You can imagine my reaction if anyone turns up with a baseball cap on back to front (hot)
PS – the same sign also says “No Bikers” (Sorry Mike – Steve etc.) no “Boy racers” – “No Pensioners” – “No Caravaners” – “No Poor People” and “Beware of fascist narrow minded ignorant fat proprietor” 😆 😆
-
😆 😆 😆 yep know what you mean phill.. 😆
the hats are plain navy & in the style of a baseball cap.
the good thing is that they have plastic underneath the cloth.
not as hard as your on-site hard hat but tough none the less.
its easier to get young guys to stick to wearing them as opposed to the site hard hat.. they feel daft in those.. so they tell me.
health and safety give you the thumbs up for making your guys wear them also in a light industrial trade like ours..
to be honest, they have saved, i dont know how many accidents with our guys. one about a month ago was when two of them were lifting a forecourt pavement signs from the rear of our van.. you will know the type.. round concrete base. heavy metal framing. anyway the guy in the back of the van tipped it forward to the guy on the ground waiting to help lift it out.. but he let go and the weight shifted. sending the sign out the back pretty fast. the guy outside being 2 foot lower took the edge of the sign on the front of his head. luckily the thud was all he took.. the cap took the full blow, but split the plastic… i simply replaced the insert in the cap.. inserts cost about £1.50 cheaper than a new head 😮 😆 -
Rob, I would have gone the whole hog and spent the extra £1.50 on a new head. You would then have some sort of control over the looks the laddie had?
Where do you buy new heads these days?
-
PS – the same sign also says “No Bikers” (Sorry Mike – Steve etc.) thats OK Phill don’t apologise you can’t help being ignorant 😀 😀 😀
-
quote Steve Broughton:thats OK Phill don’t apologise you can’t help being ignorant 😀 😀 😀
I can help it. But I prefer being ignorant to being nice. Much more fun 😆 😆 😆
-
Robert
You haven’t told us where you can get these hats from (?) (hot)
and how much are they (?) Do you have to buy them in lots of 500 😆 😆 😆John
-
*NASA* drafted in scientists from russia and japan. four years they took and every last coin we could gather from making signs. in the end, they did it… pheeww at least our wee noggins are safe…:lol: 😆
cant remember the name on the rear of them mate.. you can buy them at any good trade health and safety suppliers. they are called “bump caps” as oppossed to hard hats. ill see if i have a picture and details tommorrow.
i think they are about £10 each not sure.. again ill check. 😉
Log in to reply.
