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Thread ID: 66266	2006-02-16 21:06:00	Well, Thats the end of that then...	Metla (12)	PC World Chat

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
431283	2006-02-20 02:01:00	Write your mailout with care, then get somebody else to check for the obvious mistake, one will always creep through. Decide what your point of difference will be, but DON"T make it price. Quality, service, timeliness, adaptability, who knows; even the pink slippers might be a selling point. I'm not joking either "crazy guy, wears pink slippers but boy can he fix computers". Oh yes, and follow up your 100 mail-outs with 100 phone calls. Just make sure you have distinctive advantage that will help them to decide to try you out of all the other comp techs vying for their attention. Maybe work at night to minimise their office downtime? I will work any time of the day or night and on any day except my wedding anniversary or Xmas day. My key selling points are a unique service; I'll look at anything; phone advice is free and I'll find and pass you on to the service you need if I can't help; plus a very high success rate on the jobs that I do get. Cheers Billy 8-{)	Billy T (70)
431284	2006-02-20 03:13:00	hmmmm.....I was thinking more along the lines of a mail out to specific companies, perhaps 100 at a time to gague how good the strike rate is, any idea if that approach works? A straight mail-out will get you about a 3% response rate. Don't waste your time and effort with a hit and miss approach. As for paper advertising - how is the average business person in your area going to find a technician? Yellow pages? Google? Trade magazine? Local paper? (I doubt it) Find out and then act accordingly. As Billy mentioned you can improve the mail-out odds by following it up with a phone call. Even better is to go straight for the jugular. Phone your prospects, explain what you do, ask can I see you? No. Can I send you some info? Yes. Send a personalised letter and follow it up with a phone call to then get in front of them and sell yourself. If you don't know who to talk to, just charm the receptionist (think of them as the gatekeepers onto whom you need to cast your charm spell level 10!). BUT before you do any of this.......did you buy those 2 books? 'How to master the art of selling' by Tom Hopkins and 'The 22 immutable laws of marketing' by Al Ries and Jack Trout. Do some research before you jump in, to minimise your learning curve (you've learnt plenty already in your first venture, now it's just a matter of refining your techniques for the next venture). Cheers and good luck! Andrew	andrew93 (249)
431285	2006-02-20 03:16:00	Spend an hour a day on the telephone. Just use the *ick* Yellow Pages to browse for small businesses in your area. You don't have to be a sales genius to phone up, ask for the manager, and say "I'm Metz from Computer Medic. I sell and repair computers. Do you have any computer problems I can help you with?"	Greg (193)
431286	2006-02-20 04:02:00	I really don't think that cold calling is the way to go. A letter at least, introduces the caller, provides a valid reason to call, where do don't sound like you're hawking something. Anybody who calls me, gets short shrift as soon as the sales/begging voice comes on. I'd also be inclined to change or alter the name to be more acceptable to a business/corporate, that's just me though and, I've more ecperience in a larger centre. I guess you'll also be targeting smaller businesses who don't have any IT support, though. Just remember, if your looking at small businesses, choose them carefully, as they often struggle to pay their bills.	Murray P (44)
431287	2006-02-20 04:28:00	Ok The way he got my business was a letter drop in my box, he knew where i was, and knew i had probs . . . . . . :rolleyes: But you cannot do that to the whole of town . when it comes down to it he makes people comfortable, doesnt talk crap . . . . and does a good job . and the PC's are great . And i offer any of my skills FREE of charge to help out, paper work or coffee making im can do both . I wont offer my computer skills . . . . as ill scare away customers . . . . . . . . . or kill the pc . but i want to learn more about pc's . . . . . . . . . . . Best of luck . . . :D beetle	beetle (243)
431288	2006-02-20 04:35:00	I really don't think that cold calling is the way to go. A letter at least, introduces the caller, provides a valid reason to call, where do don't sound like you're hawking something. Anybody who calls me, gets short shrift as soon as the sales/begging voice comes on. I'd also be inclined to change or alter the name to be more acceptable to a business/corporate, Murray, I've generated millions of dollars worth of business by telephone cold calling over the years. And many businesses spend a heck of a lot of money paying decent reps to cold call. For good reason. Sure, you may not like being canvassed yourself, but numbers count. Even in my current occupation I get about one new customer per week for the sake of an hour's worth of phone work each day. Each customer is worth about 700 bucks or more to me per year. You can't argue with figures. And... "Computer Medic" is a great business name, I reckon. It says it all.	Greg (193)
431289	2006-02-20 04:58:00	maybe a better looking website might help as well ;) :D, a few would say that about the stuartw site as well	bartsdadhomer (80)
431290	2006-02-20 05:50:00	a few would say that about the stuartw site as well yeath, its a few years out of date now :o :blush:	stu161204 (123)
431291	2006-02-20 06:40:00	yeath, its a few years out of date now :o :blush: just joshin ;) If I was as clever as you at your age, I'd have gone a long way :thumbs:	bartsdadhomer (80)
431292	2006-02-20 06:41:00	I really don't think that cold calling is the way to go. A letter at least, introduces the caller, provides a valid reason to call, where do don't sound like you're hawking something. Anybody who calls me, gets short shrift as soon as the sales/begging voice comes on. I'd take the opposite viewpoint here Murray although I accept there are different horses for different courses. I have the opinion that I can learn from these 'cold callers', especially what to do and what not to do whereas unsolicited letters or material (e.g. addressed to 'the manager') go straight into the bin. But that's just my opinion (for what its worth). Like Greg I've done cold calling for some years with varying degrees of success (although, based on a recent discussion, I suspect Greg has a smoother phone technique than I) ;) Andrew :cool:	andrew93 (249)
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