coalminer

Seebol I hear you man... Royal Mail is a no go.. apart from the time scales, check this n that, then maybe we will deliver by then.. I will have to drive 150 miles up the M4 to a centre for the coupons to come back down 150 miles.. crazy And yes, got to be A4, that's the max size that will fit through the letter box, which (for you guys across the pond) is an actual hole in our front doors and not an actual box on the front lawn. The vat/tax thing I will worry about when I eventually get this thing up n running as I got plans to take it all over South Wales... so earning 2k or 3k is all good to me at mo'.. was originally planning on 250 an ad anyhow, so 300 will be ok Probably getting a team together to do the lot, just outsource the printing... Which by the way, Soloprint?? I think its called, around £800 for 10,000 A4 UV coated Me and a couple of mates will probably do the posting ourselves 1st off, it's just one of them "do it now or never moments" for me, to get out of the construction game that I currently cannot rely on an income from. Are you going for this then?

Dexter AJ

Thanks for this great business idea...I am planning to work this one out here in my locality.

sbishop

Wow What A thread. I am sad that I just found it 3 days ago and missed the WSO. I drove by Officedepot and decided to stop in. I spent less than $4.00 and I now have a blank lamated 9x12 card.

I printed out Bob's example and I plan to start out next week!

warrioradam

I encourage all to take action. Bob I think should go down as a legend for this WSO.

seebol

Coalminer, agree that "now or never moments" really applies to me as well.

Very serious about this as I can see the potential.

Not afraid to admit "scared as hell" about going door to door. It's that first line that comes out of your mouth that's stalling me; in effect THE INTRO.

I KNOW I MUST TAKE ACTION - in the past there have been many times I haven't - I hope that today is my breakthrough day!!!!

"Hi, is it possible to have a chat with someone about the biggest problems being faced with business at present?" - should I go with something along these lines?

If they'd like to know a bit more - "I have a unique lead generating system that works for most businesses. If you have time, I'd like to ask you a number of questions to determine whether my system will work for you. Is this OK?"

At this stage it's not too important whether I have the decision maker. My questions will targeted so that only the DM would be able to answer.

Hopefully, they'll be around or I'll find out when would be best to call back. - All theory at the moment. Comments appreciated.

steverich

This Is a very do-able project and relatively easy if you have the right skills.

I have designed similar projects in the past and would be happy to help if anyone needs their post cards / flyers etc designed.
Just mail me.

Cheers.
Steve

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Deidra Renee

I don't know why I'm just finding this thread, but to anyone that's having doubts about if a company will actually pay for this type of service..I worked at a callcenter and we did b2b phone sales selling this type of advertising. The difference is it was not a postcard that we were putting them on and mailing out..It was a refrigerator magnet. (The kind with all the emergency numbers on it also)

We explained to them something like what the OP was talking about (the exposure, no one ever throws away a refrigerator magnet, etc..) And the crazy part is that company charges about the same that's suggested in this thread! They had different size ads for different prices, but the concept is pretty much the same, so this works. I'm not doing it because I don't have the time right now, but businesses will buy this if you go out and contact enough of them.

coalminer

Steverich
may take u up on your offer if somebody doesn't get back to me soon, thanks
Seebol
I know exactly what you mean mate.. really scary.. but like I keep on reading in other prospecting threads, we just got to face our fears.. and with this we are the ones who hold all the cards.. if somebody does not 'get it'.. their loss, and move on.. don't waste time with them.
I have a couple of ideas for that tho..

1. act as if you are doing market research for the idea which you are going to launch in another town/area. Ask the biz owner if they think its looks a good idea, would they be impressed with the mail piece coming through their door?.. and if they think the business owners in the other town/area would be interested? Coming from their point of view kinda..
After explaining it all and handing over a print out of all the plus points, size of mail piece, cost of delivery per house, even if only 1% redeem you make xxx, etc etc..

From that you will get a lot of info from the biz owner anyway... and find out if they are interested, and hopefully a question of "why don't you do it in this town, 1 would be interested"

2. This is the 1 I will probably go with, because it does not involve me . My better half, she's intelligent and she get's this.. she's used to meeting lots of people with her employment background, has a couple of free mornings and afternoon's because she works freelance.
She is really up for it once everything is in place, and my mate's mrs is the same. I will be getting 2 attractive intelligent women doing all the selling for me. Could be my secret weapon, especially as most biz owners are blokes around here. I even said I will do the cooking from time to time if it comes off.

Nice

seebol

WILL be your secret weapon!!!! You'll have South Wales covered in no time.

I do think you are under selling your service. If a Builder quotes 5 people and gets only one 10k extension. All for £300.

If a Personal Trainer gets 10 bookings on "book 10 pay for 7 deal" and each session has a £30 value. £2100 in bookings with upfront payment. I'm sure they charge more than £30.

My intention is to charge higher allowing me leeway to eventually pay salespeople GOOD money. Also, allows to me to pay well for referals.

I'm all set to start pitching tomorrow.


Added to the last line so now I'm accountable to this thread!!!

coalminer

Seebol

Yeah I will think about the pricing a bit more b4 going out.. thanks

I think once you get 1 area nailed down you won't need a sales force for the next area..
Should be an easy sale because you will have proof it works..

and all the best for tomorrow mate..

be interested to know about your mail piece design...
have you got mock up biz's in place or just overall design with prices in the ad areas?
and what price point you going for?
don't have to answer of course.. just being nosey

Nick

seebol

Fine for you ... you've got your sales force in place!!!

Seriously though, it's about leverage. For some - more money, others - more quality time.

If it is an easy sell, then your job will be one that's in demand even if it's commission only.

seebol

Walking the dogs I had another thought on why you should have a higher price ..... referrals.

Can't get past the gatekeeper .... pitch to them (good practice) and casually in the conversation offer them £50 if the company sign up. Up to you but if you offer it on a recurring basis you can be sure that any evidence of success with the campaign will be forwarded on.

Priced too low and your judgement might be compromised as you brainstorm useful ideas to increase your conversions.

Wouldn't allow a sales force to have this option though as it would be abused.

seebol

Ref: pricing and mockups

Both sorted, the mockup with US businesses (this working great in the States right now, high take up of offers etc.) and prices on rate card up to £745 for a space. Undecided whether I'l be seeking £400 or £500 a space (play it by ear). This leaves me ample room to pay a sales person very well.

Bear in mind I'm in London so can probably fill at a higher price.

If you set the bar at £400 you can pay your staff handsomely (great for you that money will stay in the household), offer a referral compensation scheme (pretty much the affiliate model)to gatekeepers and those that sign up and have a nice chunk of change at the end.

Sounds better now doesn't it. It takes the same amount of effort to sell a space at £400 as it does £300. Saw this on another thread but it was referring to $300 and $30000!!!

seebol

Do hope I can take this confidence level out on the road tomorrow!!!!

coalminer

Yeah
Referrals is a good way to go.. so many options with this.. so many businesses, so many towns..
What about big discount for the 1st month as long as still in profit obviously.. and for those who do jump on, have a slightly lower fee the next month locked in.
Got another idea for businesses I wouldn't have gone for...
Butchers and fruit n veg shops
Have a coupon with 1st 2nd 3rd & 4th week clip off/redeem sections..
When people have their weekly meat shop they can have say 25% off whole chicken, meat joints, or anything over £20.. same with £15 spent on fruit n veg get 20% off, so its each week, and not just once a month.
Because we know for a fact these shops are dying because of the likes of Tesco's
Nick
Just cross posted, nice man.. I lived in London for a little while and I know for a fact you can probably double what I can offer

seebol

Once you start digging there are so many possibilities. Why I keep nudging hints your way to look at the value of what you're offering and price accordingly!!!!

Don't forget, not everyone has the balls to pitch cold to businesses. Still not sure whether I have ...... that's why I'm finding inspiration from this thread and contributing. I made the decision by announcing that I'm pitching tomorrow and am now accountable to this thread.

I got the demographic profiling for the first area I'm pitching to. Removing profiles K,L and M (on benefits) leaves me with 33k postcode allocation. Need to double check whether the 33k relates to individuals or households.

If households, then I'm thinking of splitting into 3 so each split will get the offers quarterly. Reasoning behind this is: avoiding the situation where certain businesses end up only doing trade related to the offer.

The other option is to deliver to the 33k for double the price. Probably best to gauge the preference in my pitch. This will engage the owner and make their opinion valued and bring them onside.

coalminer

Seebol

So you are going with the Royal Mail then yea, thought you weren't too fussed.. (they can't give def' dates n what not etc)
I'm going to go with mates or a local guy who does it around here for a fee.
.. and like you said, and what I have read elsewhere, give them options to engage & feel valued. Different ad prices is an option which I am not going with as I just want to keep it simple, but will prob give the option if it's a stumbling block.
and again...I probably will go with higher prices now as it takes just as much work and gives more leeway with everything else... thanks

I have been doing a bit of research with another side of it... it has been brought up b4
Once a school term, do it really cheap for advertisers, say 200quid.. and tell them its for a school fundraiser.
Then get the school to send a letter/email to all parents that on such n such date to bring in £10 to get £500 pounds worth of savings coupons for local businesses.. £5 for school, £5 for me
£200 x 16 = £3200
1000 kids comprehensive school - 500 take up = £5000
all the local primary schools - 500 take up = £5000
potential £6000-£8000 month
Coupons will get used as they paid for them, if not, everybody is happy as its raised some good money...
Have to get school to sign something so not to steal it, but my other half says no way will they have time for that anyways.:p

seebol

Royal Mail ...... too much aggro.

Mailbox Nationwide, a leaflet delivery firm, deliver leaflets to your requested profile. Only on request, but they will give you witness statements to verify that your 10k drop did get done. Completion in 5 days. And they are cheap, which does worry me as I can't see how they make money. I estimated one delivery every 20 secs, paying minimum wage leaves no margin. I specified that I wanted only my leaflet to be delivered and was expecting to be quoted a lot more.

Was actually reading a thread related to garages services using this exact method as a cash generator in it's own right.

There's a lot of good tips available in this section of WF and, for once, the info is consistent. Done a lot of browsing for inspiration.

Ref: different ad prices - Whichever ad size taken will be the same price. First come first served. Prices are just rate card prices, no one pays rate card. You're pitching the fact that they must offer a deal to get the best conversions. The rate card shows that you practice what you preach!!!

P.s ask them (mailbox nationwide) for a quote stating that you don't want households on benefits (k,l and m). Ask them to email you the quote with the demographic info regarding your area. You'll have the info to hand for your pitching, giving credibility that you've done your research and they'll see you in a more professional light.

coalminer

Seebol
no pressure, but as you made yourself accountable.. did you manage to get out??:p

steverich

Thanks to all who contacted me, sorry I can't pm back as I don't have enough posts on here yet.

If you want exact match front and back "post cards" designed .....
Please email me Here: otm-club(at)ntlworld(dot)com

I personally don't like the term "post cards for these projects, I much prefer the phrase "GIANT MAILER" It packs a lot more PUNCH!

Cheers guys.

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coalminer

Steverich
thanks mate, just mailed you
Nick

seebol

Wasn't going to go out as had to wait ages for citylink to collect a parcel.
But being accountable I did go out even if only for a couple of hours.

Couldn't really control the nerves and and it probably showed. Could have visited more businesses than I did. Didn't get to actually pitch as the owners weren't present.
Only went into retail establishments as knocking on a businesses door was too much for me today.

Went to see an old friend I hadn't seen for ages tonight to get some tips. Although he gets appointments made for him, occasionally he does go door to door.

He sells merchant processing. His line - "do you take card payments?" to which the usual reply is "£5 minimum". He knows this response is coming which makes him chuckle every time, leaving the shop staff bemused. He then goes on to explain that he can save them money on the charges and is there anyone specific who he should talk to. Misunderstanding over.

If they don't take card payments then the pitch is on the lost revenue of not having a machine.

Not sure whether "do you take coupons?" will work but no harm in trying.

I need to beat this fear or find a sales person. I did actually hint to my friend to join me. He liked the idea and who knows, may be tempted.

Neodism

Would it be okay for me to post my mock-up here for everyone to see and use if they wanted?

Free Web Design from Neodism.

ascot01

This is a awesome thread packed full of information, thanks to all that have shared information.

A few years back i put out a massive residential leaflet campaign to drum up some business for my offline company and although this is one of the oldest advertising methods if done correctly its one of the most effective and often overshadowed in recent years buy more 'digital' forms. I had a massive response to it.

Their is huge potential to make a good profit from this, has anyone considered putting one or two of their own adverts on the leaflet for either any services you offer of any affiliate products you can promote.

Also how are people going about drumming up the business, personally i think b2b cold calling would be the way forward as you can show your mocks then and their, is anyone doing this to a good affect? if so what sort of script are you using?.

hademade

I am trying to learn more about this, a mock up would be nice. But i think the OP showed a mock up picture on the first page. It looks nice, but a mock would be good. I am trying to figure out where is it a good place to get these postcards printed.

coalminer

Larches
Go for it bro... its always good to see what others are doing... I am in the process of getting mine sorted
Seebol
Mate I can totally understand what you are going through... and have been in that situation with going with biz owners before with another project..
We got to have faith in what we are offering and we are biz owners ourselves, they are no better than us, we got a plan that will make them money if they want in..
I know I got my partner lined up for it but I am thinking I need to do it 1st and maybe I will surprise myself..
Ascot01
Yea that's what most are doing I think.. get your mock up looking good then head into town... it's good to hear people who have had experience with a direct mail piece.. give's me encouragement

steverich

Just my two pennies worth:
.......

Whilst working on warriors mock ups for this project
here is a little bit of advice I suggested:

"Rather than picking any random logo for your mock up
It would be a good idea to do a 'recce' and scout out 'actual' businesses local to you ......

Reason being,
You can say: "this is what your ad could look like" ....
Or if they see their COMPETTITORS logo.......!!!!! (Heaven forbid they should get in first!!) It could create the sense of urgency you need to clinch the deal."

Good luck you guys and gals :rolleyes:

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ascot01

coalminer

mock is being worked on as we speak, its good to see a fellow warrior from the UK Im based along the south coast.

I think the UK market is pretty unsaturated in the way of coupons and discounts, and now more than ever is a perfect time to launch a campaign like this as everyone is tightening their belts and trying to save a few pounds here and there and business's would be grateful of of the publicity.

What type of business's are you targeting?

What stage are you at with your campaign? How do you feel about sharing our progress to one and other over the next few weeks?

coalminer

Ascot
Yes defo mate.. Seebol is the same also.. it's good to get each other going on this... starting off is going to be tough but we are doing something at least..
Too many people around my place just moaning about life and not doing anything about it.. So I am..
I got my affiliate stuff going on and a few site's built for people.. but this really can be the 1 if done right and the effort is put in..
I am also at mock up stage, funny enough, Steve who just posted is helping me, I just mailed him some details but I need to get a bit more info.
Where I live is not really saturated with biz's but should be enough to hopefully get this going. If not I will just have to move to areas closer to Cardiff (I live about 15 miles away).
The communities are quite strong around here so with a bit of luck and really focus on the "let's help to save our communities" type of vibe, I may get somewhere.
My bloody day job is really getting in the way of getting stuff done, but it's catch 22 at mo'.. need that job for now.. but really want this job!
Biz's I'm targeting, the norm I guess... salons (bloody everywhere), restaurants (loads), dry cleaners, off license, mechanics, gym's, physio.. whatever people use daily basically..
Got a good plan for butchers and fruit n veg which I posted a day or 2 back.

Neodism

Here's my mock up. The two spaces in the top right are for postage stuff. It's bright, has a nice font and the spaces are good sized.

http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/6157/fdsafa.png

Free Web Design from Neodism.

ascot01

@coalminer
Yeah that's great, will look forward to see how you get on, I'm hoping to hit the streets by Tuesday, so i am gonna be rather busy i think for the next few days. but will keep you posted.

Also this goes out to anyone...

Can someone recommend some software or even a warrior who can help design my flyer??? as its proving a bit harder than first thought.

Cheers guys.

TracyMoore

Hi Redshifted,
I do not have enough posts to send you a PM.

When you are ready to sell your information that goes along with Bob Ross' postcard WSO - I am ready and eager to purchase. I do not live in NJ, I live on Long Island, NY and can prove it however you want, I can give you my cell #, my home ph# copy of a check, DL, whatever you need. I also purchased Bob Ross' Premium WSO (I can prove that with a screenshot of the files, or however your want). I am really interested in YOUR method. So please let me know as soon as you have it ready.

Thank you,
Tracy Moore
North Babylon, NY (Long Island)

Neodism

Go back three posts and look at my flyer. It should be easy to customize and I can send you the PSDs if you would like. Or, I could make you your own.

Free Web Design from Neodism.

coalminer

Be interested to know how others are doing with the variety of businesses they are able to target.
There's not much where I live, as I really want to target biz's that people already use, and not just hope they will go in because of a discount coupon.
I think I may have to have a couple in the same niche/industry to get a card filled up.
Got about 50 service industry businesses in total that people regularly use, below are the 1's I will be targeting.
(people seem to love eating indian food & getting their nails n hair done by the looks)
indian restaurants - 6
pizza - 2
italian/steak type restaurants - 4
delicatessen - 1
fruit n veg - 1
butchers - 1
beauty/ hair salons - 9
physio/therapy/supplements - 3
florists - 2
gym/personal trainer - 2
Struggling to be honest folks

ascot01

Well here is idea that came to me today Im in a very rural area and the town im gonna be targeting is about 20 mins drive away, I popped into my local pub at lunchtime its a gorgeous old country pub the food is outstanding but its miles away from anything, I new the manager there and it just happened the owner was in, I asked him if he would appreciative being advertised to 10000 Holmes in the town, ( He was very interested ) bottom line is im going back tomorrow with my mock up ect, He basically said to me that he wanted to get some new customer from further afield as all the locals already know he is there.

seebol

Haven't been on here since I got the wso (purely for the forum).

Coalminer, open your eyes, theres a huge variety of businesses.

Driving Schools
Chiropractor/osteopath
Garden Centres
Scrap car removal
dry cleaners
garages
bike shops (pedal variety)
salsa classes or zumba etc
childrens nurserys
vets
adult education (not that sort!!!)
optician
and many more


Thought I had found myself a salesman but got let down at last minute.
Got a lot going on in my life at the moment and I'm very conscious of the fact that it's plain to see. May have to change my mindset to entering every premise whether it be a chain or not. Spending too much time deliberating and not enough time DOING!!! Example - will I be interrupting the chiropractor whilst they are with a client.

agonce

I hope REDSHIFTED will have ready the information he said he would some time ago =) or maybe he has already created a WSO and I might've missed it? :O

TracyMoore

I'm wondering the same thing, does anyone know if Redshifted has already offered his information here or as a WSO?

Tracy

seebol

wouldn't bank on redshift disclosing his method. Think he has strong concerns with competition in his area affecting his business.

his choice and should be respected. There was enough information to figure it out. The method is used all the time by financial advisers.

coalminer

Seebol
I know what you mean.. but my eyes are wide open.. I assure you.
My initial target business is going to be what local residents need, want, and use day to day and week to week.
I may not get the exclusivity for each biz on my final coupon piece that's ready to roll, but hopefully all coupons will be what local residents will find very useful... and give them a choice also.
eg. Shall I go to the Indian restaurant that does a cracking korma and use my coupon, or shall I use the coupon for the Indian restaurant that does a cracking pint of Tiger beer?
At the moment I aim to get the best return for the biz I am targeting, so as to get a recurring monthly ad from them.
If, which is probably likely, I struggle to fill my ad spots, even after discount offers, then the next level of targets will come into play.
These will be prospects who would love to get a quality promo ad posted to 10,000 local residents.. just to get exposure basically, and no real thought of, "is this really going to work for me?"
This type of ad is unlikely to yield any instant type of return, meaning no recurring biz.
Will local residents redeem coupons in bucket loads for driving lessons, a garden centre, a children's nursery, scrap car removal? nope..
I do realise that these can be high value type coupons to some biz, as 1 redeemed coupon may pay for the ad tenfold.. but they won't be of high value to 99.9% of the local residents.
So my eyes are open, I am just opening them just wide enough to see as far as I need to see for now.
Ascot
Mate, that's something that I did not think of, that's a whole new ball game again I reckon. Where I live there are loads of little pubs out in the countryside. A big massive mail piece with coupons for all them places, "save big, support, & enjoy your traditional pubs" type theme.
I bet there's lots of biz's out in the sticks that need a little boost from the surrounding towns. Will look into tha, as I got nothing else to do :rolleyes:
Anyways, anybody know how the WSO buyers are doing within the 'secret circle', anybody with inside info?
Would love to hear how Bob is getting on with the expansion of his empire also.... BOB???

Roan

direct marketing is often forgotten but can make you lots of money! Well done! It's awesome how much you can charge for a company to put their logo on a small piece of paper.

Are You Looking For a High Quality Shopify + FB ads Course? PM me. - Only available for ONE person. Be Quick.

Tiduslite8

I went ahead and downloaded the trial version of Adobe Photoshop. I've never worked with Photoshop before, but there are tons of videos on youtube that will show you how to do various things.

I've actually managed to create 2 ads for customers using it, and made a fake ad to give possible clients ideas about what their ads should say.

I figure that once the card goes to print, the profit will be enough to pay for the Photoshop program. Thirty day trial is very nice!!

Scottish

I read this thread when it first started and quietly went away, planned over December and went out today to sell. Here's what happened...

First I checked out the costings. Royal mail were far too expensive. I went to a company one of my networking contacts referred me to. Royal mail wanted £2k to run ten thousand A4 fliers in postcodes of my choosing. The company I met with charge £500 for the same amount. They also do the printing. It would cost under £1000 to do the whole thing.

I picked one of the most famous streets in Scotland. Hugely popular with middle class students and the wealthy (think vodka bars and boutiques - don't forget the Starbucks). The street name is searched on Google over 20 thousand times a month on 'Low' competition rating. The street is quite a few miles long and would take some time to walk the full length.
I set up the webpage for the flier, explaining what customers get.

I had a unique spin to the idea. Customers got:

- Flier sent out to 10,000 local homes with their promotion and cut out coupon.
- Custom QR code on the coupon that linked to....
- Mobile landing page with the promotion that also offered an opt in for database building. Meaning the old school can cut out the coupon and the tech savvy can scan the code and show their phone to the staff for the promotion.
- Database listing on the website that I will rank number one for the street name.

I avoided the big guns like Starbucks/Subway etc as they obviously run their own promotions and probably don't have the authority to run separate local fliers/websites.

Armed with a sample landing page on my phone I hit the streets. I walked for 3 hours, going into every store. I explained that I was a local business owner and have begun a project called "we love <street name>" which is a vehicle designed to get the businesses of <street name> more exposure and more customers.

I spoke to one business owner the whole time, which was the second biggest business on the street. He said that the price (£500) was every reasonable and he would be very interested. I was to send over the details to get things moving.
The rest of the time was spent speaking to managers because the owners weren't in. Every manager I spoke to that told me they were interested (about 18) gave me the owners personal emails.

So for 3 hours and several businesses later I got one sign up. The other emails....I'm going to record a personal video for each individual email explaining who I am, who I spoke to in their shop that day and go over the offer. I'll also add pictures and text to the email just in case they read it on their phone and can't watch the video.

I'll let you know how that goes....

r2997790

Great thread!

Seebol, I'm also in London and have some ideas. Used to work in advertising and can design. Have InDesign, Photoshop et. al. Would like to chat.

Here's another idea to throw into the mix... for all the doctor's surgeries, takeaway shops etc. in your area you could offer a wallplanner or fixture list for your relevant sporting competition(s).

Chances are it'll stay up year round and you'll have more positions to sell on then planner, and you only need to do it once a year/season.

Cheers
R

seebol

Coalminer, You're after repeat business aren't you? Those that repeat are going to be the one's that get the best return on investment, agree?
If a return of 10 new customers means they will repeat I'm fine with that.
They're the ones paying me. To them the USP was having their coupon on a giant mailer positioned with more popular coupons such as Indian food. Their coupon now stood a better chance of not being binned straight away. A tenfold return on investment and they WILL repeat. Even doubling their return on investment. The following month the USP is make your cash work hard for you, INVEST £500 on this and you will see at least double return and might even possibly see a TENFOLD return.

I'm getting paid by the businesses not the residents and am looking to provide value to those that put money in my pocket. If you want every single offer to have mass appeal and give high value to the locals then go for the raising money for schools model charging the public £10.

Think I've been too harsh, re-read your post and see how much negativity you were creating. Setting yourself up for failure or some might say being realistic.

coalminer

Seebol

You do what you think will work around your area... I will do what I know will work around my place..
A negative person will think I am negative maybe, a positive person will think I am being realistic maybe.
Look, neither of us got any clients as yet, so this is 'pie in the sky' stuff at mo. We are here to help each other out.. when we finally hit the streets, we can then report back. If what you are doing is working, I will follow, and vice versa, I assume.
Lets just get out there and make some bloody money, although I got to watch a rugby match for the next 2 hrs.

Anyways, my update is, just waiting on my mock up.. then full throttle ahead..
Nice

seebol

Harsh because I care ...... I want you to succeed!!! If I didn't care I would not have responded. Would have much been easier to think "oh well" and carried on with my life.

"If, which is probably likely, I struggle to fill my ad spots, even after discount offers"
"This type of ad is unlikely to yield any instant type of return, meaning no recurring biz."
"Will local residents redeem coupons in bucket loads for driving lessons, a garden centre, a children's nursery, scrap car removal? nope."

The above are the three statements that I found to be negative. As stated, you haven't started yet but have already dismissed quite a few possibilities and have the feeling that you are going to struggle. My instant impression was that you weren't as upbeat as before. Just my impression.

Driving lessons, children's nursery and scrap car removal - every month there are new entrants to this market, whether it be turning seventeen or whatever age kids join a nursery, or a car fails an MOT and is uneconomical to repair, or part exchanged with no retail value. There are limited opportunities and, here anyway, there is competition for those opportunities. These businesses all advertise their services in the paper and the yellow pages. They ALREADY spend on advertising and usually are grouped amongst their rivals. Your product gives them the chance to exclusively advertise themselves to 10,000 households in their area. People spend small fortunes in Garden centres and usually have their favourite. A competitor can try to entice new customers with an attractive offer. I look at garden centres as a supermarket for plants as opposed to food. They will use similar tactics such as loss leaders to get a greater share of the trade. Where better to promote than your giant mailer.

My experience so far - around 60 cold calls and 1 sold. How did I overcome my fear (not gone believe me!!!). I took my girlfriend with me, Two choices: either humiliate myself in front of her or just get on with it!!!
The downside, every restaurant we entered automatically thought that we were after a table for two!!!! Not here to eat, they're not happy to see you and not too interested in anything after that. Hard work.

My one success is with a bodyshop that also does small paint and dent repairs. The offer - 2nd panel half price on the small repairs. Price £400.

Timescale to fill remaining spots: 3 weeks. You won't close unless you specify when your mailer is going out. Then the pressure is on!!

Next week I'm going to aim to book appointments as well. Most owners aren't there or make out that they're not the owner. One man businesses (e.g chirpractor, personal trainers, decorators etc) will need an an appointment. Will still cold call eg when there is an hour between meetings.

Going to try and book appointments one sector at a time.

Probable pitch- "Have you heard of Groupon? .... well they generate an influx of BUYERS to a business that promotes through them ...... our company does something similar, targeted much more locally and at a SIGNIFICANTLY lower cost to the business .... in fact, we GUARANTEE that you will see a POSITIVE RETURN on your investment ...... can you handle a lot more business? ..... looking to promote ONE ****** in this area ..... when can we meet up? "

Comments appreciated

Will be posting here less as I have joined the forum. There was a small re-opening of the wso (not sure if still open) and joined purely for the forum. Quite a number are starting to progress well there. About 200 members and around 40 regular contributors.

seebol

Thinking about it, I'm also going to prepare an email pitch similar to my phone pitch. Not concerned whether I end up emailing, phoning and cold calling the same customers. A three pronged attack better than one ...... got to fill these spaces!!!!

seebol

r2997790

don't have enough posts to pm you

hademade

Does anyone know a good software to make a mock up on. I was thinking about using gimp or Microsoft word, but i am not sure if these software are good enough. What is a good software for designing the card. I don't have the money to spend on photoshop and adobe illustrator for now.