Promoting your business and increasing sales

[David Rogers]

Hi dave. This has been covered many-a-time with some good and some not so good suggestions. Try a quick search for ‘increase sales’ or ‘advertising’ etc. Sure you’ll get a few tips.

I’m no fan of business networking meetings as it doesn’t fit into my strategy, but others on here pick up a lot of work via them.

Flyers and leaflets seem to have a very low hit rate (under 0.5%) unless you do the deliveries yourself to pick up instant work.

We’ve not noticed a drop off in work. Infact quite the opposite with the better weather maybe being a positive factor.

[Martin Pearson]

David, there are pro’s and con’s to most networking type clubs, most are a business themselves so they are always going to portray themselves as the best way to attract new business.

I’ve been a member myself in the past and for me it certainly didn’t pay for itself so not something I would rush to do again. Having said that if I was invited as a guest I would go and would also look at any other one off type events that don’t cost to much but give you the chance to meet other business owners.

If you have spare time because you are between work one good way to help get yourself known is to arm yourself with a pile of business cards and flyers and go round the local industrial estates and high streets handing them out.

Don’t try to sell anything, just introduce yourself, tell people that you are a local signmaker and ask if you can leave some information on what you do. Nothing pushy, if your asked questions try and be helpful and answer them but don’t try to sell them.
This can be a great way to get your name about and known and because your not trying the pushy salesman approach people are more likely to look at and hold on to anything you leave.

Mo is the best one to give you advice about sales as he was a salesman in another life lol. Sure he will say I’m talking rubbish but it seemed to work quite well for me.

[David Hammond]

Cheers martin and david.

I got invited to networking by another printer, he gets enough work to justify the expense, and commitment.

I was planning to do what you said martin. We’re surrounded by businesses, with trafford park a stones throw away. Either people don’t know we’re there, or think we’re only small and (we have 3 floors) cos of the shop front, so maybe just a case of spreading the word.

Not only do I need more work. But better work. Not people after the cheapest sign going, (actually told someone to come back with a realistic budget the other day.£100 for a shop sign supplied and fitted, with stand off letters! )

[Mo Gillis-Coates]

Hi Dave,
ok this is something i have been working on for a long time now. Iv’e tried some stuff that’s worked, some stuff that hasn’t worked and some stuff that’s left me seriously out of pocket. Here are some pointers which in my humble opinion are a good start. I can only speak from my own experience, so please forgive me, this advice is based on what works for me and my abilities and business model.

My main area of expertise is sales and design, so that’s what i now concentrate on, i have someone working with me who makes the signs etc. I think i have said this before (quoted book is the E-myth) every business HAS to have, to work effectively.

A manager: he runs the business, the books the accounts, the organisation spending blah blah blah (you seem to have a good grip of stats and where your business is, so you seem to have this bit ok)

A Technician: He does all the manual work, he makes things and figures out the best way to do a job, he’s not concerned with how much things cost or the most cost effective way of producing something, now is he concerned with how long it will take, he just wants to produce the very best that he can, sometimes to the detriment of the business. He generally has no time constraints.

And Finally, an Entrepreneur: This is the big thinker, the dreamer, the creative force behind everything. But he never sees a project through, he just starts things off and then moves on to the next project.

Now, if your on your own, you have to jump between roles when required. Some people can do it quite effectively, most can’t, that’s because by their very nature they require different skills, training and thought processes. I for one can only really do the last one. So I have people who cover the rest for me. I only mention this because sometimes, you can get an idea of which part is falling down and take steps to modify that.

Lets start with the negatives, this is what has lost me money and from some of your posts I see you going in the same direction occasionally:

Advertising: Random telesales calls, I have spent a small fortune on wasted internet advertising and crap campaigns that have left me with nothing but a headache, lost time and a debt that i didn’t need. That’s not to say it’s all pooh, but remember this, if someone is trying to sell you advertising then it’s probably not any good, otherwise we would all be doing it already. Make it your policy the same as mine to refuse ANYTHING being sold over the phone. OR ask for a fee trial like I do do they can prove tier wild claims! Most wont because they are generally kids trying to make a quick £20 comm per sale, so they will say anything because all they want to do is to get drunk or laid on payday (I know Iv’e worked there)…unless someone you know and trust tells you it works and can verify it the AVOID IT… I always ask for the name of a current advertiser that can confirm they are telling the truth (preferably in the same line of business as you).. no one to date has been able to provide me with this.

Now things you can do to be as effective as possible:

ALWAYS ASK EVERY CUSTOMER HOW THEY FOUND OUT ABOUT YOU!
Don’t accept a squiffy answer, like "on the internet" drill it down to whatever specifics you need. I get as much details as i can from them. I use this information to concentrate my marketing and also so that I know what works and what doesn’t. I even use little tricks, EG I have a web site that on the contact page it says phone 1234 5678 and ask for Susanna, there is no one in my workshop called that but i know instantly where that call came from.

OVERHEADS!
Cut the damn things down, spending more money on stuff other than decent marketing will not make you more money it will only leave you with stuff that you don’t use because you don’t have the work for it. Work with what you have and promote that. When you have 2k in the bank keep it there and go and find another 2k to back it up. Only get something at the end of the financial year to eat your tax up or if you need 3k for a new laminator or whatever, only get it when you have 6k spare!

Find every way you can to reduce costs, whatever that may be. If you need something like a rack, then make it yourself. Why pay someone else £500 for something that you can make in a day yourself for £100? There you go, you have just earned £400! If your with BT phone them up to see if you can reduce your bill. I did and they not only halved my monthly bill, but i got more features. He then told me that BT wont call you to reduce your bill, but if you call them they will (top tip: reductions are really easy to get if you tell them you may want to cancel the service). Get cheaper bins… I just reduced my waste bill from £45 a month to £20 a month AND I got a bin 3 times bigger…Doh! There is much more you can save on, best electric prices, gas, rates the list is quite big if you look, and even if you only save £10-20 a month on each, it all ads up…. more money in your pocket!

MARKETING!
The big subject, i read a great book once called "Guerilla marketing tactics" Find different ways to bring business in. I use a lot of loss leaders (an odd term really because I don’t really lose money on them but I just don’t make as much profit as I should) I advertise some relatively cheap but decent products that are simple for me to do and use them to up sell. Here is an example. Recently I was asked if I could do 2 x 1000mm web address vinyl’s in silver and 2 telephone numbers. First thing i did before I quoted was look at their web site, great site, decent sized business. I charged them £25 plus postage for supply only, cut and taped, a 15 min job and only about £5 worth of materials. When I sent it out, I also threw in (designed based on the artwork on their web site) 6 small stickers, 4 medium stickers and 2 large ones, cost me less than £3 to produce. Guess what? I got a phone call the next day asking for a quote for 2000 stickers and up sold them another £300. This works 1 in 3 times for me, the artwork was already done so it was load up and print, cut and post. ALWAYS work the customers who are already spending money with you…. because they have it to spend. Again the list is extensive of what you can do, and I’m sure if you scour the boards you will fins many many tactics, one I picked up recently from here was using magnetic offcuts to put stickers on with my business details and a message saying "did you know that you are wasting the most valuable advertising space you have?" then I plonk them above the drivers door lock on every un signed van I see. This has generated £800 revenue this month alone. They are always in the car and I keep a few in my pocket!

NETWORKING!
I’m in a local business forum, we have an email circulation on a regular basis. Some people ask for favours. I asked the local forum if anyone had some old double glazed french doors that they wanted removing fro the front of my new unit. I got 3 phone calls and 2 sets of doors….. Each one of those phone calls and subsequent visits to look at the doors resulted in a sale, 2 sets of free doors and £300 in business…. Do not underestimate the power of local business forums, 2 customers actually walked in the unit today for quotes just because they had seen my emails with my signature on floating around and wanted labels, another one has just placed an order for 200 pull up banners just because I’m local and a member of his business link.

Sorry Dave I’m going on a bit now, but I’m just excited because I’m getting really good results and it’s all working out for me at the moment. I do feel a great sense of pride because I only had £500 in my pocket 2 years ago and a oversized ink jet printer in my spare bedroom. And I have to say, this forum is probably the most valuable resource I have, (pssst I even get work from the forum..) I’m always happy to share everything with people on here, because they have shared with me. But above all Dave… keep banging away at it and keep trying… It’s out there if you want it, you just have to be creative in getting it, it won’t come to you unless you stand up and say YOOOHOOOOOO here I am!

Lastly….. I don’t have a van, I don’t see the need for one (I did but sold it, it was a wasted expense) if I do anything that requires a van, I hire one. BUT my 4×4 is fitted with roof bars and i have a trailer. My jeep is covered in graphics depicting what I do, the back window, the wheel cover, the side window, they all have something on them. I always wear a uniform to work with the name of my company on the back as big as it can be. I am always getting stopped in garages and in the local shops and asked questions, do you do this? do you do that? I don’t just answer the question, I chat and work the customer and try and turn it into a sale there and then…. MAXIMISE EVERY OPPORTUNITY!

Go Get em Dave………… let me know how you get on, I have a bottomless pit of ideas!

BigMo

[David Hammond]

Thanks Mo, lots of advice to take onboard there.

I’ve set up another e-mail address (forwards to the general one), which I used on my leaflets, so I can see if I get any enquiries from them.

Really like the idea of using a random name, to see how many enquiries you get.

After the trouble with advertising so far, I’ve knocked it on the head, and do as you say, buy nothing over the telephone now.

I do ask where people heard about us, just to see where the business is coming from and don’t trust me web stats from my host. I’ve had a few who’ve found me through google, ranked high, and then get curious as to the search term they used.

The spending on a new laminator – well the old one just wouldn’t work, and even the company who part-ex’d it for a new one still cant get it working! It wrecked more jobs than came out good. The new one makes life so much easy. Not only speeding up jobs, but giving a better finish. (especially after advice from these boards)

The work bench I had wasn’t flat, and cutting by hand it was frustrating – I hate being angry too – again the number of posters I wrecked when cutting them out was 3/10, now I get everyone spot on! With the additional bonus that I can mount a print onto an over sized board and trim it down so easily – again making life so much easy and quicker.

I’ve cut reduced spending on daily stuff, I am on the cheapest phone tarif I can get, my rent is fixed and included all the bills and rates (family rates too) so I am trying to take advantage of that to drive the business and hopefully get out of the shop into a more suited unit within 2 years.

We’ve got a 10yr old Skoda – I’d rather not have my company name on that! :lol1:

I will get out and about and throw some leaflets around – especially as I have my partners new car 😛

[Mo Gillis-Coates]

quote David Hammond:

We’ve got a 10yr old Skoda – I’d rather not have my company name on that! :lol1:

Why? My suzuki is 11 years old…..no one seems to be worried about my car, the graphics take the attention away… also that could be a fantastic advert…. pimp your skoda, give it a full wrap with your company details on it, at least you could show people what can be done even if the car is old..

Just a note.. James Deacon of Bigger Stickers (he a market leader in vehicle wraps and he also runs wrapping courses) drives an old Skoda…. its completely wrapped too… it looks great:

[David Hammond]

Does James’s Skoda have its front bumper hanging off like ours?? My old Man got into a fight with a Merc Van and didn’t do too well. 😮

[Mo Gillis-Coates]

quote David Hammond:

Does James’s Skoda have its front bumper hanging off like ours?? My old Man got into a fight with a Merc Van and didn’t do too well. 😮

hahaha, then fix it dear henry dear henry 😎

[David Hammond]

No amount of pulling, tugging, or tw@ting it will fix it. I neglected to say… the merc had a tow bar fitted, and thats bent the metal work behind the bumper. It’d probably be cheaper to get a new car.

Unless I get a tow rope and really big tree 🙄

[Martin Pearson]

Won’t dispute any of what Mo says as I am not a salesman and never will be but one point I would make to do with some of the cost cutting measures is that producing stuff yourself is not always the best thing to do in my opinion.

Yes I would (and have) made my own storage racks but only because I had the time to do it and knew I could manufacture them to an acceptable standard. If If I can make more money working on my own business then I would do that rather than do something like make my own racks. If I make 400 quid the day I was going to make the racks then they haven’t cost me much at all and if I do a good job then I also have a customer who will come back to me.

I have a lot of spare time so yes I do manufacture most of what I need myself but everyones circumstances are different so most people need to work out what works best for them.

[Mo Gillis-Coates]

But you could always make them at home at the weekend? Then your not cutting in to valuable production time

[Martin Pearson]

your right Mo you could but you need time to recuperate, recharge your batteries for the following week AND spend time with family and friends.

[Mo Gillis-Coates]

quote Martin:

your right Mo you could but you need time to recuperate, recharge your batteries for the following week AND spend time with family and friends.

Yeah sorry Martin, I have 2 girls under the age of 4, I’m also a Fireman Part time and I get about 5-8 fire calls a week…..

I disagree, when your starting a business, that’s not the time for R&R especially if you need to get it moving to pay for all that. I run my own business so that I can be at home more and spend more quality time with my family, but my wife understands that the first 2-3 years is going to be hard graft… Plenty of time for rest when it’s in profit! This is what I’m working towards.

I have just spent 10 evenings from 8pm (after my girls are in bed) until 3am and 2 weekends about 18 hours a day renovating my new unit.. If you want to make it and need to save some money then you gotta do the time. If not then you have loads of money, a business plan and you buy everything in, labour and equipment! But that will postpone your profitability for 3-5 years.

But maybe that’s just me….. 🙄

[David Hammond]

One main reason I spent on the media rack (which is awesome) and a lot cheaper, and more substantial that others, is because when I took over after my cousin walked out, I was left with work that needed doing.

I don’t confess to be tidy, but I couldn’t stand all the rolls of media all over the place, propped up against walls etc.

I’ve been and delivered some leaflets face to face this morning, literally around the corner from the shop, and they didn’t even know we were there!

[Martin Pearson]

Mo, I know you don’t know me but from personal experience I have to disagree with what you have said, wouldn’t want anyone to end up the same as me.

Not a complete story but enough you will get an idea.

Borrowed money to start a business, worked 24 hours a day 7 days a week trying to establish the business and pay bills, made myself so ill that I couldn’t work at all, got into a lot of debt, lost my house, wife divorced me. Shall I go on…..

As well as a physical disability I now have a long term illness that I may never get over fully. I’m not looking for any kind of sympathy (I know where it is in the dictionary) I made my choices and I can live with that but I honestly didn’t see it coming at all, yes I felt a little tired but that was all and was to be expected. If I can help anyone avoid what I went through then at least some good will have come from it.

I know this won’t happen to everyone but everyone should give some consideration to life outside of work and at least get some sort of rest.

[David Hammond]

I suppose I am in the same boat as you Martin.

I’ve put everything I have into this business, and it MUST succeed, otherwise I will be spending years working for another prick, paying off what I owe.

It is a case of all or die for me. Whilst things are going ok, they could and should be better.

Mo is an inspiration, I don’t know how long he has been trading, but his knowledge, moving premises, a family, the fire brigade, all of that and running a business. It shows it can be done, and motivates me to do the same.

Things aren’t too bad here as I can only work when the adjoining shop is open, and since my partner started a job over the road, we car share so I start about 8.30 (spend 30 mins doing my own things) until 5.

I don’t do weekends, and evenings (except once a month to do accounts), i do get my e-mail to my phone (it doesn’t beep or anything) so if I am awaiting confirmation for a job, I get it at home, and can crack straight on in the morning – or if I am out and about I know what to expect when I get back.

I think my partner is has realised just how ‘big’ the situation is.

[Mo Gillis-Coates]

quote Martin:

Mo, I know you don’t know me but from personal experience I have to disagree with what you have said, wouldn’t want anyone to end up the same as me.

Not a complete story but enough you will get an idea.

Borrowed money to start a business, worked 24 hours a day 7 days a week trying to establish the business and pay bills, made myself so ill that I couldn’t work at all, got into a lot of debt, lost my house, wife divorced me. Shall I go on…..

As well as a physical disability I now have a long term illness that I may never get over fully. I’m not looking for any kind of sympathy (I know where it is in the dictionary) I made my choices and I can live with that but I honestly didn’t see it coming at all, yes I felt a little tired but that was all and was to be expected. If I can help anyone avoid what I went through then at least some good will have come from it.

I know this won’t happen to everyone but everyone should give some consideration to life outside of work and at least get some sort of rest.

Sorry Martin, I get the idea, I must admit it’s probably not for everyone. But like you said, you didn’t see it coming. I should be a little more sensitive to stuff like this, I guess I’m just used to plowing ahead and busting my gut to make it happen… But then I have a weakness too… I’m lucky enough to be blessed with ADHD….. That has it’s drawbacks, but the need for a time out or a slow down isn’t one of them 😉

[Neil Speirs]

The age old question, Do you work to live or live to work?

Me, I work to live. Evenings & weekends are for family and fishing 😉

[Mo Gillis-Coates]

quote Neil Speirs:

The age old question, Do you work to live or live to work?

Me, I work to live. Evenings & weekends are for family and fishing 😉

I definitely work to live……. But I understand the more I put in now, the more I can take out of it when it balances up later on… it’s about a work life balance for me, and right now, the work side if heavier than the life side… BUT according to my 5 year plan and 10 year plan this balance will shift quite heavily in the next 2 years and then shortly after I will live to not work.

But I agree if your working your arse off running around just to scratch a living then your doing something wrong…. I’m working my arse off now so that in 3 years I won’t be scratching a living and within 10 years I expect to be looking at working much much less if at all!

It’s simple really if you shorten the times down… If you earn £10 an hour for a 40 hour week then you earn £400 over 12 weeks that’s £4800…. Lets say you decide to work 80 hours a week, then you will have the same money in half the time so you can work for 3 weeks then take 3 weeks off with no loss of money…….. now convert that to years! 😀

I play a trumpet as a hobby, someone once asked me how long it takes to learn to play to the standard I do… I say Iv’e been playing for 40 years, but I practiced about 8 hours a week, if you practice for 8 hours a day youll be as good as me before you are 16 😉

[Neil Speirs]

quote Mo Gillis-Coates:

quote Neil Speirs:

It’s simple really if you shorten the times down… If you earn £10 an hour for a 40 hour week then you earn £400 over 12 weeks that’s £4800…. Lets say you decide to work 80 hours a week, then you will have the same money in half the time so you can work for 3 weeks then take 3 weeks off with no loss of money…….. now convert that to years! 😀

So just because you double your hours you double your income? You suddenly get twice as much business? My calculation is try earn £25 an hour and if not go fishing 😉

[Mo Gillis-Coates]

quote Neil Speirs:

quote Mo Gillis-Coates:

quote Neil Speirs:

It’s simple really if you shorten the times down… If you earn £10 an hour for a 40 hour week then you earn £400 over 12 weeks that’s £4800…. Lets say you decide to work 80 hours a week, then you will have the same money in half the time so you can work for 3 weeks then take 3 weeks off with no loss of money…….. now convert that to years! 😀

So just because you double your hours you double your income? You suddenly get twice as much business? My calculation is try earn £25 an hour and if not go fishing 😉

lol, no you missed my point… I’m not saying double your time earn twice the money, that is if you had a "regular" job… I’m saying what you put in now you will reap later

[David Hammond]

I wish it worked like that.

I could work 24/7, but there’s not the work there to fill the time.

[Neil Speirs]

quote Mo Gillis-Coates:

quote Neil Speirs:

quote Mo Gillis-Coates:

quote Neil Speirs:

It’s simple really if you shorten the times down… If you earn £10 an hour for a 40 hour week then you earn £400 over 12 weeks that’s £4800…. Lets say you decide to work 80 hours a week, then you will have the same money in half the time so you can work for 3 weeks then take 3 weeks off with no loss of money…….. now convert that to years! 😀

So just because you double your hours you double your income? You suddenly get twice as much business? My calculation is try earn £25 an hour and if not go fishing 😉

lol, no you missed my point… I’m not saying double your time earn twice the money, that is if you had a “regular” job… I’m saying what you put in now you will reap later

Well your point isn’t really relevant then because none of us have "regular" jobs. We could all work evenings and weekends (I sadly have in the past) but whats the point, your customers won’t thank you.

[Mo Gillis-Coates]

No guys, I was responding to Martin about how I work, I work evening as the small hours and sometimes weekends……. what am I doing? I’m not doing orders, I’m marketing, making racks, coming up with new products, answering emails, designing, trying every single way I can to maximize everything now, so that later I can relax…… and my Point is relevant…..

The More you put in the more you will get out and quicker! But it’s not for everyone. If some people prefer to take it easy and work with what they have, that’s ok by me. I have a plan, and I know what I have to do to achieve that plan…. Plan your work then work your plan!

I’m sure most are familiar with the 6 P’s quote?

I’m not a workaholic, far from it, sometimes I have to force myself to get going… Sometimes I’m ahead of my plan, so I can relax for a few days, and boy I do…. When I’m beat I know it. I like top sit on my harris as much as the next man, but I also know that won’t get me where I need to be to "really" enjoy my life.

the definition of success….

"living your life, in the way that YOU want to live it"

Regardless of money, status, material benefits.. As long as you are 100% completely happy with everything then your a success. Not every one elects to do things my way, and thank christ for that… if they did, I would never make it. Just think if all my local competitors worked as hard as I do, I’d be in trouble…lol Fortunately I have a very understanding family, and they are starting to see the rewards of my efforts now, not big ones but enough for them to keep their faith in me…

[Martin Pearson]

The More you put in the more you will get out and quicker!

Mo as i have already said that isn’t always the case, I do truly hope it works out that way for you.

I spent 20 years in the Royal Navy as an engineer so I know all about working long hours and getting the job done. Don’t want to start an argument but I doubt you have ever worked harder than I did, as hard maybe, worked smarter I would say definitely 100% as I was doing jobs far to cheaply and know absolutely nothing about up selling a job.

I’m not saying that you should work 9 till 5, 5 days a week and have the rest of the time to relax. All I am saying is to make sure you plan in some time to rest along with all the other jobs you have to do when you run your own business.
when most people make a list of all the things they have to do something like this is never considered, who has time to rest when you run your own business?? Truth is with a bit of rest then you will probably work faster and smarter which more than makes up for the time you took out most of the time.

[Mo Gillis-Coates]

Hi Martin, I am on your wavelength there, actually I schedual in to every day a slot in the afternoon where I take about 45 mins out.

At my old unit where i couldn’t come home I had a pull out bed chair and I used to lock the door, unplug the phone and grab a 45 min nap or time out, if I didn’t feel like sleeping I used to go for a walk or light jog. Just to collect my thoughts and give my brain a little resting space. This is mostly because of my ADHD so I need to essentially stop my brain from overloading. (but being a part time fireman, I often get called out at 1-3am and find myself running around squirting water on rural fire for a few hours, so it helps to be able to re-charge a bit)

I’m fortunate enough now to be close enough to home to be able to go home and take a break.

So I do know what you mean, Having 2 small children I can quite often find myself going for several days with little more than a couple of hours sleep each night, and we are always up at 5.30 am so it can get a bit wearing. As an example, a few nights ago I had a big job on that had to go out of the workshop the next day, so I worked late and finished it at 2am went home, sat in front of the box for 45 mins (I like to wind down first) then retired. I had been asleep for qpprox 30 mins and my pager woke me up for a fire call. Not a big fire but hot and hard work wearing breathing apparatus and then making up lots of hose afterwards as it was a long way from a water source.

I finally got home after cleaning down the fire appliance and showering off at about 6.30 am. My wife goes to work in London at 7am, so i then have the kids until 9am when i drop them off at the grandparents and childminders. Then off to work to deliver the job that i had completed the previous night. I couldn’t leave work that day as I had so much work on, so missed my Power Nap in the afternoon. I then pick the kids up at 4 and look after them till 6.30 when the wife comes home (no mean feat in itself)….I then had to go to the fire station as it was a training night until 9.30 PM… under normal circumstances I would have then gone to the unit for a couple of hours to finish off quotes and prep for the next day so that my staff can get started without me while I do the rounds with the kids again(wife is asleep by this time so she doesn’t miss me at work). Needless to say I decided this evening to go home and straight to bed… ahhh lovely, what happens? My youngest is cutting her teeth all at the same time and is awake most of the night in pain…… so it gets a bit strained….. Fortunately for me, my wife was off the next day so I took full advantage and caught up on a few hours sleep…

The need for rest is definitely required. I guess I just use my extra hours effectively based around what I can manage and fit in around my family life. I do agree, lots of people are busy fools and whilst they work really really hard, they don’t really achieve anything, this is usually to lack of good planning and not working towards a goal. I used to be that person many years ago, but I like you learned my lesson and ended up losing a very very large amount of money, i won’t go in to it but it was a 6 fig sum promptly followed by bankruptcy, along with a family business that had been established for over 40 years.

And like you I am former forces, but I doubt I worked as hard as you did as I was RM and probably never spent more than 5 days on board.

Definitely worth noting your comment Martin……. "Don’t be a busy fool" If your going to work hard, make it count!

[Neil Speirs]

Back to your original question David, what works well for us is pavement signs, our van and roadside banners. The banners seem to bring most business through the door.

[Mo Gillis-Coates]

quote Neil Speirs:

Back to your original question David, what works well for us is pavement signs, our van and roadside banners. The banners seem to bring most business through the door.

I know another sign company that does that Neil, they put correx signs up and banners everywhere (even known them to add their own road sign on a direction post)….. some get taken down, but they do well out of it

[Martin Pearson]

Think where you are located makes a big difference as far as roadside banners go, round here you would be lucky to get away with it as it seems to be a pet hate of the council and if you get a letter to remove them and don’t within 7 days( I think) they do it and charge you. Might be worth a try where you are but I would make sure you fit them reasonably well so they look good. Vehicles obviously work well and as well as your own it is worth asking your customers if you can put a small sticker on vehicles you have done. I didn’t use to put a sticker on every single van I did but did put them on the ones I was personally happy with :lol1: :lol1:
Pavement signs I have never tried but I have heard that some councils are now charging companies a fee for using pavement boards so worth checking the rules first.

[David Hammond]

I do put my company name and phone number on the hem of all the banners I do.

There was a company that put a load of aboards up along the main roads. I personally wouldn’t ring a company advertising on make shift a boards and signs attached to lamp posts.

Might speak to the tyre company around the corner, they are on a very busy road and we do a little work for them, so might get a banner on their fence.

[Mo Gillis-Coates]

quote David Hammond:

There was a company that put a load of aboards up along the main roads. I personally wouldn’t ring a company advertising on make shift a boards and signs attached to lamp posts.

Hi Dave, I’m not saying your wrong or right in this, but one thing I have definitely learned from being in business and through marketing is that because I am in business for myself I tend not to think like a customer or a consumer. It’s very hard to remove yourself and put yourself in the customers shoes, even though we are consumers ourselves, we, by the very nature of what we do, do not think like the "normal" consumer.

So I try very hard "never" to say I personally wouldn’t buy that, or I wouldn’t be attracted to that advertising. Especially as we are sign makers we tend to be over critical of the sign itself rather than the message.

We all know or are trying to learn what good layout is and what will catch the eye, but I wonder how many of us have actually studied what "Good Advertising" really is? We have a good idea, but there are lots of combinations that make up advertising to attract different types and groups of customers/consumers.

For example, in a study commissioned by a large company I used to sell for, they found that, Colour, position on a page and certain images attracted a customer of a certain type. Green, yellow, blue and red combinations attract customers looking for cheap (specific shades of those colours too) good references are.. ASDA, LIDLE, ALDI, MORRISONS and MATALAN.

Higher class class customers tend to go for deep blues and Greens combined with specific types of text. There is a lot to it, but basically what attracts us to an advert or puts us off an advert may not be the same for the next person. There is plenty of various studies and examples on the internet that you can reference just by doing a Google search now.

It’s worth bearing this in mind when we start to advertise our own businesses. How would you attract a boy racer who is looking to blow his monthly wedge (cos he probably lives at home and has more disposable income than most) on a £200 bonnet wrap? Would he be attracted to the advertising that would pull in a high paying stock broker to a golf club advertising for continental golf weekends?

It’s a mine field lol but worth having a look at

Mo

[Denise Goodfellow]

I except that people need to advertise, Personally speaking, I think there is a very fine line between acceptable street advertising and I am desperate for more work advertising.

We have a sign company in our area, that take every opportunity to advertise themselves.
From, an Aboard at the end of a street where another sign company is, parking their very badly designed van again in the same street as another sign company. Correx signs halfway up a lamp post, banners on every railing fence. Home made trailer parked on a mini roundabout. Aboards sited no where near their shop…. 1 was at least 5 miles away…

If the truth be told, my husband has taken down other signmakers advertising signage placed too close to our shop.

[Martin Pearson]

David, Mo is on the right lines with what he is saying, you wouldn’t buy from a company advertising on makeshift boards probably because you think the quality wouldn’t be as good but what if the boards you saw were neat, looked good and had well designed graphics on them ?? This generally doesn’t happen because people are looking at buying these as cheaply as possible so all they get for their money is a couple of lines of text and a contact number, nothing fancy, no great designs etc etc.

If you get on well with the tyre fitter then an add on their fence would be a great way to advertise. You have a captive audience as they are stuck there while the tyres are changed, people tend to look around under these circumstances and will read stuff they might not normally even notice.
A well designed and installed banner or ridged sign I am sure would increase the number of enquiries you get. Do make sure that as well as a good design you put it up properly, personally I hate seeing banners that are installed badly and droop or sag.

Denise, try and look on the posotive side of this, if the graphics on their van and A boards are that bad then they probably atract the sort of customer you don’t really want.

[Neil Speirs]

I wouldn’t go down the road of Correx signs on lampposts, far to cheap and nasty looking. Even with pavement signs I would avoid the cheaper eco & swinger panels and push the boat out for a quality snap frame forecourt sign, they look so much better quality and after all we are sign company’s.

[David Hammond]

I think I will speak with the Tyre Company and see what I can do.

I finished work early on Friday, and received 3 e-mail as soon as I got home about 3 different jobs. I am hoping that the last few weeks was the calm before the storm.

[Mo Gillis-Coates]

quote David Hammond:

I finished work early on Friday, and received 3 e-mail as soon as I got home about 3 different jobs. I am hoping that the last few weeks was the calm before the storm.

Dave it may be worth thinking about something, try and keep this in mind all the time.

Having done many many monthly sales reports and stats, I used to make myself a sales graph every month in every job I have done and I noticed the same pattern over and over again.

Every month you typically have:

A Brilliant week of sales
A Good week of sales
an ok but could be better week of sales
and finally an arsewipinglybad week of sales

It’s always the same, you just never know what order they are going to be in. So whenever I have a really crud week for sales, I always rub my hands together and think, excellent now we have the good weeks to come. That’s not to say your not going to get two shite weeks in a row, but at the same time, you will also probably get 2 brilliant weeks in a row! (which is a bummer cos you know some pants weeks are on the way lol)

[David Hammond]

I usually notice a pattern with Jobs.

I havent done a vehicle in months.
May it was pull up banners
June I printed more banners than I have ever done.
July it was Posters.
August… well not a lot really. Its my local pub who’s keeping me busy this month. Banners, posters, flyers, tickets, signs… if only the landlord was like this every week.

[BenRead]

Hi Guys,

We use google adwords extremely effectively, we set ourselves a budget each month and make sure we keep a track of all the work that comes in.

You just need to make sure that the key words your using are relevant and are going to get you clicks through.

[David Hammond]

Thanks for the replies guys & girls.

Things are picking up… but still could be busier. I like being busy, as I can’t handle boredom very well. Funny thing coming from an ex-submariner.

I don’t have a clue how the ad words work, but would certainly be interested in finding out a little more.

[Martin Pearson]

Funny enough David even when your at sea for periods of time there is plenty of things you can do to keep yourself from getting bored. Firstly there’s the golden sleeping bag :lol1: , if like me you can’t understand how people can slepp so much there are always other distractions, as well as the usual work, board games, sleep etc etc I use to run a couple of the boats radio shows which took quite a bit of time organising and I also use to take some sort of modeling stuff to sea to give me something to work at.

[David Hammond]

True, I took my saxophone to sea, spent my time down in the diesel room practising.

We had the beer fridge. There was a ‘gym’ crammed in there.

And many an hour spent sleeping. Usually 6 on 6 off, but went relaxed with 18hours off every 3 days. 🙂 it is possible to sleep that long!

Only difference was I got paid regardless.

[BenRead]

If you google adwords, there will be a number of tutorials on how to do things. If you look around you should also be able to find some £50 free adword vouchers.

If you want any more info im more than happy to help.

Cheers Ben