Frustrated Calling

Thank you Jason. I'm reading through everything right now.

Really good advice here. Jason knows his stuff for sho!

Good point. I wrote a blog entry about calling trades that I'll paste in here.

**

I get this question frequently: "When should I call tradespeople?"

It took me a year to understand this, working as a credit manager for a national electrical wholesaler, but your typical tradesperson is halfway up a ladder, juggling a tool in one hand a the cell phone in the other when you call. Later on, I worked in trades myself--running a metal fab shop and then a custom construction business--and learned first-hand. They do not have an easy time of it.

If they're not working, they're not making money and they know it. Not the same picture as an office employee, is it? So what they want is, as fast as they can and as early as they can in the morning, to be out on a jobsite. Getting paid for doing what they do: paint, electrical, insulation, stonework, or whatever.

That's what you're competing with. It's frequently "a bad time" when you call; they're tied up with technical work.

Now many tradespeople like to start early, 7AM and even earlier, and be done by 2PM or 3PM. It's a different lifestyle than office work. So this means when it's really early in the day for us, they've probably already been on the job for an hour or so. You shouldn't call before 8AM, but right after can be effective.

Also in the afternoon, after 3PM. Keep in mind they'll probably be tired. Which leads to the second point:
This will probably be a two-step process.

ALWAYS open with "Is this a bad time to talk?" You are being considerate. You know they might be lying on their back under a house, fiddling with a voltmeter.

Expect that it is going to be a bad time. This is the only case where I recommend attempting to schedule a discussion call time. When they confirm it is not a good time to talk, I say something like:

"Okay. I realize you're probably in the middle of a job, so let's pick a better time when you'll be free. When would work best for you?"

Note I did NOT go into why I called, what I do, what the benefits are of working with me, etc.

They may ask that. Keep it short: "I want to talk with you about getting you more customers. Won't take long. A lot of my trades clients want me to call after 3 or 4PM. Would that work for you?"

And then calendar the callback and do it. Any questions?

Let me discourage you from doing anything.

Leaving a message will work... sometimes.

Doesn't it really depend on if any one of them listens to the message?

Which they should because they're hoping it's about getting work.

But then doesn't it depend on what you say in that message?

And then doesn't it depend on if they happen to want to respond to your message?

And that would depend on what's happening with them at that moment and if they're somewhere where they want to act on your message?

So isn't a lot of this really dependent on several things?

Sure is.

So now the short answer is: yes, leaving a message can work if you leave the right message when the circumstances are right.

So now work backwards from there and ask yourself, what circumstances would have to exist, and how can you identify them so you can know who to call?

This is spot on. With the exception of a 5 year hiatus, I've been dealing with different elements of this massive market for many years and I can tell you from experience that it's either feast or famine. These guys live job to job. My Dad was a carpenter too, and I recall him being laid off for weeks at a time and sometimes having to travel out of town for long stretches to find work.

It's also very seasonal. Much of the country slows down big time during the winter, but then starts picking up again in the spring, usually more so after tax time. Then you really have a hard time catching them in because they're out early.

This was a lot different before the wars and the recession. I was doing REALLY well back in 2002, but the entire industry has gradually changed drastically. Some companies that were running multiple crews at one time are now a 2-3 man operation.

Their needs dropped drastically. I've had many of them tell me that what they're doing now is allowing the bigger companies (like Rus pointed out) to have the bigger projects and they're going around and picking up the smaller stuff. Less stress, less expenses, lower payroll, BUT they still have a comparable bottom line at the end of the year.

Good for them, but not so good for those offering supplies and services.

I've seen some of my major competitors online, including where I used to work, now casting a wider net to offer products to more related markets.

Actually, in the past decade I've seen two of the biggest suppliers in the industry sell out. That's never a good sign. I've also seen manufacturers sell out to larger firms, merge with competitors AND even cut out dealers and start dealing directly with end users! I could say how I REALLY feel about that but I'll restrain myself. :-(

Honestly, I've built a base of good customers that I've enjoyed dealing with off and on for many years, so I'll likely hang around in the industry for at least awhile longer, but I'm currently looking into other alternatives that are more stable.

My advice is to move on to a different market, or at least don't make this one your primary focus.

This^^^^

300 calls per day is hardcore. I'm usually pretty tired after half that. I like to do three 2 hour sets. Some people do more, some less. That's my "sweet spot".

I wouldn't call on weekends either. We tried that once where I used to work and lost a few good customers. A lot of these guys work from home offices and you may wake him, his wife or both up.

I suppose if they're cold calling and have nothing to lose it wouldn't be that big of a deal, but I'd never, ever bother an established customer in this niche on the weekend.