Thanks guys, the brochures are working

Just wanted to say thanks again for the responses the other week about making up some company brochures. My little girl was out of school the other week due to the show and ice around here so since I had to babysit I took the opportunity to sit down and get everything together using the wifes Publisher program. I wound up making and sending out about 143 of them and only got 10 back as undeliverable due to the companies no longer being around, or at the address I had.

I sent them out Friday before last and so far have gotten five calls over 5 actual work days. One has already turned into a Gehl skidsteer setting at the shop needing a new drive motor. The nice thing is the time I've got just in troubleshooting on it so far has more than covered the cost of the materials and postage used. Trying not to 'count my chickens' here but I'm also supposed to be getting a call back toward the end of the week with a time frame to change some leaking lines inside the boom on a Lull telehandler...after they get to a stopping point and can let me at it. Then there's another guy supposed to be dropping off a Hobart welder needing work on it's engine toward the end of the week also.

All in all with what I look at what I've got invested in getting everything printed up and then having to send everything first class it was only about $110. When you consider the $90 I didn't have to pay for daycare that week because I had to stay home with my daughter and subtract it from the $110, I didn't have to actually invest but $20 to get it all done. I think for the response I've gotten so far it was well worth it.

So, for all that responded to my post, again just wanted to say thanks. Between all the different opinions and reponses put out, it really helped me get things together.

Excellent! Glad to hear your business is picking up!

L.

Good to hear things are oicking up for you.

Vito

Wayne not sure on this whole post but the mail a brochure to old customers helps some. Do not be afraid to use community bulliten boards and run an ad in the local papers/swap shops!!! If you are rural some guy 5 miles down the road may not know you do repair good luck!

Thanks for the idea. To be honest I haven't done anything with my 'old' customers yet as most of my current customers are also my 'old' ones and continue to do business with me when their wallets allow. That's been my problem, they are all too slow to need me as much as they used to so I got slow too.... The biggest thing for me right now is getting my name out there in different areas of the industry where I've never done business before. The biggest majority of my work has always been on the larger equipment (D5 CAT sized and up, typically) geared toward clearing, grading, mining, etc more so than equipment, like the Lull, used by the actual builders. My train of thought when I started this whole deal is that there is usually one company doing all the clearing, grading, etc, and there aren't really that many of them out there for all of the mechanics to compete for their business....Then there's the added problem that the larger ones usually have their own mechanics. BUT when it comes to the actual building there are the carpenters and masons(with lifts, etc) the electricians and plumbers (with trenchers, backhoes, etc) and landscapers, also with a large variety of equipment...and the list goes on. For a one man show it won't take many new customers, on top of my old ones, to keep me more than busy......and I love to be busy.......

I have found in my area 95% of the people dont advertise. Everybody just knows where everybody goes to get things done. Once I did some poking around I found an on the farm repair shop and a paint shop all within 10 minutes of my house, and I have lived here all my life and I never knew they existed. One word of caution. Make sure you get paid. Often in the repair business you can get new customers because their credit isnt any good at the old shop...

After twelve years I know that problem well. it's a common thing to hear in conversation nowdays that getting the work is easier than getting paid for it... Fortunately I've only run into that problem a very few times over the years and that was usually on the smaller machines that got left here at the shop. On the larger stuff the individuals aren't so much of a problem as the big companies. The small guy usually pays quick, the big company pays in 30, 60, or 90 days, depending on when they want to pay. In that case you have to know their payment schedule in advance and deal with it accordingly. If they don't plan to pay for 90 days then they get a few dollars tacked on the bill from the start just for having to deal with them and having my time/money tied up for that long. In the end it's alot easier to make them pay the invoice total, as written, than trying to get them to pay the typical percent or percent and a half usually added on to that total for invoices over 30 days.

I did a job for JCPenneys once or twice. My friend was the 'merchandising manager' at the Westroads store in Omaha. He warned me that I needed to accept his company AmEx card, or it would be 6 months before I would get paid! Problem was, I did not accept the cards enough to justify the minimum charge, per month, and when the contract expired, it was the first to go!

Yeah, I got a machine about two years back figuring people without the cash to pay 'right now' usually have the 'credit' to do it. As it turned out the machine, which was supposed to be 'free for life' wound up costing me over $200 and never left the box it came in.

As for the getting paid in 6 months deal if someone tries that with me their machine will set right where it is, and remain broke, because I don't need their business THAT bad. Until others take the same approach with places like that and leave them high and dry looking for someone willing to get screwed working for them they will continue to get away with crap like that....