Brian c Posted August 23, 2005 Author Posted August 23, 2005 well you have been trading almost a year on the whole how is it going and would you recomend it? ( you know the position i am in ) 65497[/snapback] you're ageing me mate. it's more like just over 6 months! Would I recommend it? Definitely. But it's hourses for courses, I've stuggled to make enough money (and actually receive it!) to keep going, but it's getting easier after adverising and WOM starts working. I can't see me being comfortable for a couple of years, but I can see the business growing little by little and I'm sure it will be worth it. It may not be though! It might all go t*%s up and I end up worse of than I was before. That's why a lot of people don't do it! If you don't know......ask.
whistle Posted August 23, 2005 Posted August 23, 2005 I found this site a very intresting read WWW.startups.co.uk
Guest MSI New York Posted September 22, 2005 Posted September 22, 2005 As we all know, word of mouth is the most effective advertising. Yet you can't buy word of mouth. Or can you? When we were starting out, we went to a few well-connected friends, nieghbors, relatives, etc.- anyone who wouldlet us do an install. And we installed whatever they were willing to buy for dirt cheap. Anyone with a retail business that we knew got approached. It helped that there was a mini crime spree going on at the time. Once we did the job, we put up signs in the stores. Big, attention grabbing signs. And we got a quite a few jobs from those signs. Another thing we did is we went to the most persuasive friends neighbors, etc., and promised five per cent of the gross for any job we were recomended. We didn't ask them to do sales- we did that ourselves. But if we have a neighbor, and that neighbor has a weekly poker game, and one of the other players happens to mention that he needs CCTV- well, all the neighbor has to do is pass along our telephone number and we give him five per cent. We now have six people who do this for us on a fairly regular basis. These people don't rely o this money to eat, so the sales pitch is so low pressure it isn't like a sales pitch at all, more like some friends talking over a card game- and potential customers love that. We figure at least 40 per cent of our jobs come from these reccomenders, and if you count the signs in these recomenders' stores the figure jumps to almost sixty five per cent, certainly worth tossing a nickel for. You might want to try the same thing. If I were selling rap albums instead of alarms, you would call this "virul marketing", in case big fancy words impress you and make you more likely to try it.
secboy Posted September 22, 2005 Posted September 22, 2005 Bit like SKY advert on telly,? hey that might work? pirimid recommendations!is any one thinking of getting sky who hasn't yet??????? Paul.
Guest MSI New York Posted September 22, 2005 Posted September 22, 2005 Oh, and the number one piece of advice for anyone seeking to get into this business: don't do it. Get an honest job, like selling drugs or day trading. If you really must, however..... The number two piece of advice for anyone seeking to get into this business: take a little pride in your work. Remember, good enough isn't; take the extra ten minutes to make the install look neat and pretty. Try not to use substandard parts, the money you save on the initial purchase will be forgotten after the first hour of trying to make it work- the pain of low quality is remembered long after the pleasure of low price is forgotten. Take care of yur tools and your tools will take care of you. Wake up early, go to bed late, and be prepared to drop your vacation on a moment's notice. Wherever you go, always carry basic toiletries- toilet paper, soap, a small towel, etc, as you never know if those things will be available on site. Drink a liter of water a day. Use your safety equipment. And, above all, have fun. Set off the main siren without warning anyone. Get into staple fights and have staple gun duels. If anyone on your job has Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (you know the types, the super neat, catalogue-ready toolbox with everything in it's place), steal a small but vital tool and put it somewhere they'll need to look 5-10 minutes to find it. If you have any diagnostic tools (ohmmeter, oscilliscope, etc.) take it out and wave it around the other contractors- tell them you're checking for alarm radiation so you know how to install the panel. Tell your apprentice to check all the screws in a box to make sure none of them are threaded counterclockwise. The job is what you make it.
Guest RICHL Posted September 22, 2005 Posted September 22, 2005 The job is what you make it. 69148[/snapback] Too true
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