Friday Failure Club — FACE YOUR FEAR
Goal–Start a handyman company and get 10,000 customers in 1 year.
Liz is one of the best business people I know. I have seen her have such determination this year. Today, we will look at her ad campaign and what may have worked or may not have worked with what she is doing.
“I had 20 calls from friends and collegues. I got 3 customers. If I’m going to scale this. I’ve got to go beyond that.”
I want Liz to come to my house. I’ve got ton of things that need fixing. In terms of scale…scaling up is funny. What’s even funnier is thinking that your friends and family actually want what you have to offer. If you are going to offer something. I think it’s best to start with the people that have the problem you are trying to solve.
“I’ve got the word out about Checklist Home Services through email and word of mouth, but to actually print something to have something that is tactile will help drive business. “I targeted married couples in Brooklyn over a certain income level.”
She got the word out, but no one responded. Her marketing message may need some work–along with targeting direct customers who have a problem with fixing things in their house.
Her postcards were focused for Valentine’s Day. You always want to rally around an event that people can embrace. This is a good thing. And she even used the narrative art medium. But this is not enough, you have to use the narrative art medium is the after effect. Liz customer talked of the great design of the flyer. As will more of her customers. This works. But you have to attract the right people to view the narrative art if you want sales.
“I used a printer in my old job. He’s giving me everything for free. He’s saving me a ton of money.”
It is great to have these connections to get you started. But have you ever noticed, that these connections rarely work in the real world pricing game. You can’t justify your business taking off. unless it can pay for itself and the advertising needed to procure the business. Sometimes good will is ill-will. It doesn’t make you think about the real cost of doing business.
“I’m going to customers. send 3000 postcards. 2-3% call rate, I should get 60 to 90 new customers. I got 1 new client.””This is a really low rate.”
I’m surprised how many people think having something tactile in their hand = sales. The direct market must get some attention, but can it really be that effective. You are blasting things out to people who you don’t even know if they have a need for your services or not. Think instead about facebook, or google, or twitter. Where you know exactly what your customer wants within moments of them saying so. — you can have an immediate, targeted sale this way. And you can send the digital file with no need to print.
“It is discouraging, but this is actually the kind of advertising that takes a little while.”
You know how successful webcomics take 5 years to start gaining attention. Or people who work 10 years at something until they become an overnight success. It takes time. So if you are not passionate about what you like doing. Don’t start. You want to be in a business where you don’t care if you make any money. You don’t care if you never see one dime. You have to do what you love.
“I don’t have a paycheck. I don’t have a yearly bonus. I need clients.”
Neediness is the worst thing you can let on. You will kill you sale, if people think you need them to buy, then they won’t buy. People want to buy from leaders who are successful.
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