B to B listings in the Yellow pages

Clean County PW

Clean County PW

Active member
I am getting ready to do my biggest advertising yet in the yellow pages. I am going to have an 1/8th of a page display add which I am hoping to generate Commercial accounts from along with some residential.

This 1/8th of a page add is going to cost me $2500 for the year and along with my advertising in the local papers($100/week) I should have a decent year But (there it is the But word) my goal this year is to build my Commercial end. My Residential end is about as big as I can handle.

There is also a Business to Business(B to B) Yellow pages that is a different book. Does anyone advertise in that book and is it worth looking into?? From what I understand this book may even be a little more expensive to advertise then the Yellow page book.
The goal here being commercial accounts do you think that more companies would look at the B TO B book over the yellow page book to hire Powerwashing service.

Thanks
 
Mike


Call twenty business that you would like to clean. Ask them one question - Do you use the BB Yellow Book. I think you will find that most use the good old yellow pages.

Something you may choose to do that will give you the same benefit is joining the Chamber of Commerce. Most Chamber of Commerce offer their own directory to their members. You can also advertise in that directory. It looks good that you are a member and most chamber members shop with other chamber members. Its basically a referral group of businesses.


In you yellow page ad - If you want your commercial business to grow and your residential is big enough - focus your add on commercial issues. Target your market with your yellow page ad.

example --

"We Specialize in Commercial Cleaning"
"Call the Commercial Cleaning Expert for a free estimate"

Always mention "Insured for Your Protection" - almost all commercial accounts require the contractor to be insured.


**Basically answer the questions for them - don't allow the customer to wonder which contractor offers what I need.


Put togethor a mail-out - you have a target list of commercial business in your area - the Yellow Pages.

1. Send them a letter
2. Follow-up with a cold call
3. Visit the business and give them your presentation


The mail-outs are like seeds. You are planting a seed (your business name & logo) into their head, so when they are looking for a cleaning contractor and they go to the yellow pages - your company name and logo are familiar to them. & your ad in the yellow pages is waiting on them and answers all their questions.


I could type forever, but I will stop with this. Say that you get a bank drive-thru to clean. Take before and after pictures - go to another bank that needs your service - take a picture of their drive thru and simply say this:

1) This is what your customer sees when they pull up to your bank.
2) This is what your competitions Drive-thru looks like (show them the clean picture) & this is what it look like before we cleaned it.

Then leave them with a fact sheet of customer perception and the thought process of a customer.

Did you know? When a customer is dining at a resturaunt and they go to use the restroom - & that restroom is dirty, nasty, etc - that customer without knowing it - automatically process in their subconsious that the food did not taste as good as it should of or that 10 minute wait for a table, all of suddent starts to bother them. This is a common thought "If their bathroom looks like this, I wonder what their kitchen looks like?"

Ok I'll have more to say, but I'll stop.
 
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I personally think you should save your money drop the big ad and go a little smaller. Its been my experiance that you dont get as many commercial calls from the yellow pages as you would think that you would. most commercial work comes from you marketing yourself, not waiting for them to call. sell yourself to them before they need your service. dont get me wrong I have got commercial work from the yellow pages just not enough to justify the cost. I could be wrong the yellow pages just havent worked for me like the reps try to tell you they will.
 
Greg

Maybe its your ad. Read above statement on targeting your ad to reach a certain market.

What does your ad say?

Look in the yellow pages - what does other ads say - Is there another ad that targets commercial work?



I agree on marketing yourself, but feel the yellow page ad is very important also. As of the size, Its hard to say if thats good or not - it depends on your competition ad. If your competition has bold print - you want bold print plus a yellow background. Always one up the competition.


If you do not mind - I would like to know what your yellow page ad consist of.
 
My day job is as the VP of a property managment firm, as well as running the maintenance department. We manage over 80 Homeowner's Associations/Condo Associations, with close to 4000 units. We contract out a lot of work, and I have never used anything other than the yellow pages, word of mouth, or those who cold call/send or fax fliers, etc. I have gotten many calls from companies who publish these "Business listings" and in my opinion, they're a scam. No one I know uses them. I've never even seen one. Probably had 100 calls from people trying to get us to advertise in them, but have never seen one. That tells you something.
 
Mike

I agree with you. Its just another way for the phone company to make money.

YELLOW PAGES are where people go to find somebody.
 
Tim i have tried different ads some worked some didnt. I am not saying it doesnt work. Im saying dont expect all your business to come from the yellow pages. In my area there is over 130 companies advertising in the yellow pages,over 30 in just my county and countless others who dont advertise. Its hard to have a uniqiue yellow page ad with that many competitors. Almost all my residential work comes from the yellow pages,less than 25 percent of my commerical does. In my area there's a few big companies that have most of the commercial work. I try to stick to smaller companies that the big boys dont target.
 
Greg

How do you target the commercial business?




Have you tried your local chamber of commerce - they publish a directory and a monthly newsletter that goes directly to other commercial businesses (members).
 
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Consider advertising in a publication that goes directly to the type of business you're going after. Also, check and see if you have a small local paper that has a free issue distributed only to businesses in your area. (many do) If they do, then think about an ad in there.


Beth
:)
 
Tim the chamber of commerce around here seemed to be more of a social club. I didnt have time to go to all the functions. I was in it for 2 years and got maybe 3 jobs. I imagine if i had more time to attend all the functions it might have been a more positive experiance. I did find out that members dont always get contractors from the chamber directory. I just feel that i did not get a good return on my investment. Try to hook up with some sweeping companies they usually have the right contacts and get you alot of business. I subcontract to some maintaince companies who do the marketing for you,same with property managment companies. When i do market I usually directly contact the company and go from there. The key is once you get some under your belt keep them happy.
 
Landed Huge Comm. Accounts

As Far as commercial accounts go,
I have landed over $80,000 a year in business in the last 120 days
(and this is the slow season) and I never ran one ad, I made
my own business cards, $15.00, a 4 color flyer $20.00 and
spent a couple bucks in fuel, and thats it. I did it the old fashion way
sit down pick up the phone and have a goal, mine was to make
50-100 cold calls a day, that takes less than a couple hours,
and never made 1 long distance call, so my phone bill was never more
than $25.00 a month,
And what is really crazy about all of this is the company I was selling
for didnt even have a power washer yet, nor had they ever washed
1 surface, so I had to figure out everything, so why make them money
when I am doing all the work, so during this past winter, I have bought
my own power washer, vehicle, etc.. and hope I can duplicate in the
residential market what I accomplished in the commercial market,
my goal is to generate at least $5-$7,000 a month within 8-10 weeks..

Im keeping my fingers crossed,
Good Luck, hope this helps
 
Rob,

You should seriously consider going after commercial business also...........REPEATS! Residential means you are just constantly chasing down work..............I know first hand.
 
Rob

The company you were working for are not too smart.
First they allow a saleman like you to get away.
Second they did not have you sign a non-compete agreement.

How do you plan to get those results in the residential market?

I agree with Mike, If you can sell that much in that little of time, stick with commercial - get contracts - and practically work year around. Residential is another ball game - always on the hunt.


**If I made 50 cold calls a day to businesses - I would reach every business in this area in a day and half. I need to move to a city - maybe not, I like the slow pace around here. You can still write personal checks and a handshake still means something.


Was that your van when we me in St. Louis or your previous company? Sharp set-up
 
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Tim I Did..

Hey Tim,
I did sign a non- compete, but for commercial only, but here
is the kicker, say I sold a total of $200,000 my first year
I would gross with salary and commission about $60,000
and no right offs, I figure if I owned my own Co. I would
gross at least $90-$120,000 with that much sales not including
write offs, being my own boss etc.. they dont offer any benefits
to my family no retirement etc.. plus once I learn residential,
house washing and wood rest. I should easily surpass my
income right now, there is no comparison to hourly rate
with residential to commercial, why make $20 an hour
commercial when I can make $75 + hour residential,
by the way I need your phone #, and yes that Van set up is
my system not the companies..

Hope this makes sense
 
Rob

1-573-243-1777 best time to call is around 9:00PM.



We need to talk - I think, we may be able to help each other out.

How far does the non-compete agreement say - Miles?




$20.00 an hour for commercial - that seems extremely low.
 
Re: Tim I Did..

rfitz said:
I figure if I owned my own Co. I would
gross at least $90-$120,000 with that much sales not including
write offs, being my own boss etc.. they dont offer any benefits
to my family no retirement etc.. plus once I learn residential,
house washing and wood rest. I should easily surpass my
income right now, there is no comparison to hourly rate
with residential to commercial, why make $20 an hour
commercial when I can make $75 + hour residential,
Click to expand...

Rob,

That feat is not going to be easy, by any stretch of the imagination.............especially for residential. Get ready to bust your ass..........between working, estimates, office work, returning phone calls.............you're in for a real treat..........$60K for making phone calls will start to look very attactive.

I'm not saying it can't be done..........I'm just pointing out that it is in fact going to be a lot more difficult then you ever imagined.

Best of luck, and we're all here for you.
 
High Energy, Mike

Hey Mike,
I know it will not be easy, or quick, Im just not the type of person to sit
at a desk and make calls all day, I really enjoy being active, figuring
things out, being on the go, that is just the type of person I am.

For a while I will do both, but at some time one will have to give,
or maybe for the 1st year if I can make an extra $25000.00 on
a $15000.00 investment part time, I can do that also, I will just have to wait
and see what happens with the residential..

I just landed another commercial job today washing 1000 office trailers
a year, at an average of $72.00 a piece, so that will keep me busy
with paper work for a while..

And if I can land a house wash and a deck job a week, that would be
great too..? added income

I just hope I make the right choice..

THX
 
I have seen, so has Tim, the set up Rob has, I congratulate him for taking the time to get the right tools to do well. Quite a set up. I am just glad he is in the south county area and not out here competing extensively with me:):) Seriously, we will be referring to each other I am sure. There is enough work to be done in and around the St Louis area to keep us very busy.

Rob, just remember potential numbers are great attractions, but realistic numbers can be humbling (?sp). You will do well and I look forward to a healthy relationship with our businesses and expertise.

Reed
 
As Reed stated - Rob has a very nice set-up. I met Rob at the round table and I must say that he is impressive.

Rob

I personally think your numbers are a little high and I hope you take this comment as fuel to your fire. Its very apparent that you are a very determine person and know how to sale.

Maybe, we can meet again and discuss marketing & sales - along with a few more things. This old dog can always learn new tricks.
 
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