Craigslist What Do You Think

milezz

beating my head against the wall with craigslist. what do you all think has anyone had luck with it.

Mike Finley

I know one guy who is doing great with it, he looked at a $20,000 remodel and was offere 5 bucks, a 6 pack and 10 minutes behind the wood shed with the guys wife.

Jason Whipple

Was she hot?

__________________
Jason E Whipple, General Manager
Historic House Restoration, Cincinnati, Ohio
Facebook | Twitter

Mike Finley

I don't know, the contractor was an unlicensed hack so he cut is price to get the job, he did it for $4.00, a 4 pack of wine coolers and 7 minutes behind the woodshed.

threaderman

Craigs list is on average 15-20% of my monthly work.I appreciate the site.You get tire kickers from any form of advertising.There are plenty that use that sight that are actually looking for a quality job and realize the value for their money with my business.Thank-you craigs list!

__________________
Joe ---International Code Council Member

Your plumbing & gas specialist proudly serving Oklahoma City OK, Moore, Warr-acres, Norman, Midwest City, Edmond, Bethany, Forest Park

Bill

I will do it for 3 Buds, one joint, and 3 minutes behind the shed!

__________________
Is it beer thirty yet
Virginia Department of Licensing
Virginia Plumbing Codes

rotarex

here is the Advice with internet, EVERYONE talks crap, Craigslist is good, but anyone looking on sites like that is looking for a deal, so they gonna talk you down, your best bet, is a website, organic paied search and you will get top jobs, only problem with top jobs is top quality work

__________________
Custom Decks
Custom aquarium all salt water
Renovation
next on my list............planting trees for all those material i used

wyoming 1

7 minuets behind the woodshed? what would i do for the other 6

thom

I'm not convinced CL is necessarily "cheap"

I list my rental houses there along with other places. I get better responses from CL.

I think a lot of people are using CL like the yellow pages. They don't know anywhere else to look. For many of them it really isn't about being cheap.

On the other hand, many of those listing are looking cheap. It's a cheap and easy place for the unlicensed and/or incompetent to list.

Your ad needs to convey that you are professional. That means licensed, insured, and qualified. Those who are looking to go really cheap probably won't bother with you. They think they can save money by hiring the guy who is unlicensed, uninsured, and unqualified.

Meetre

Not much of a problem from my point of view

__________________
www.meetre.com LinkedIn Facebook Meetre_Newsletter

airborneSGT

Not sure how many contractors out there want to sell "just ok" work.

Maybe I need to start Good Enuff Contracting or Well we tried electrical

C.C.R.

Or maybe; "can't see it from my house"inc., "what do you want to pay me" Builders.,
" I think that's right?"construction, or my favorite, "Yeah, we can do that without a permit" Handyman service. just kiddin' don't get your panties in a bunch....

__________________
Complete Custom Remodeling
"When Quality is Top Priority"
www.completecustomremodeling.com

MALCO.New.York

I have gotten a lot of tire kickers as was said prior.

As far as a Rental site............It is the ONLY way in New York City!

__________________
Something to One may be Nothing to another!

Ultimate Wisdom---------
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OW-cnizLDEE

TileLady

I get about half of my work from CL. Sure I get plenty of tire kickers but that's the nature of being a contractor.

In my CL ad, I direct people to my website. I'm probably one of the most professional contractors on CL, especially since I have a website with my own domain name.

There are hacks on CL so I anonymously point them out for all to see. LOL.

threaderman

Same thing as I do,it is easy to portray your professionalism and set your company apart from the hacks,if you are indeed a pro .

__________________
Joe ---International Code Council Member

Your plumbing & gas specialist proudly serving Oklahoma City OK, Moore, Warr-acres, Norman, Midwest City, Edmond, Bethany, Forest Park

Mike Finley

That's a huge fallacy / myth. Who started such a ridiculous belief that lots of tire kickers are the norm for a contracting business? That's no different then making believe that crappy customers or people who don't pay you or stolen tools are the nature of being a contractor.

Just like how you've taught your kids that who they associate will be who they become, where you get your business effects the customers you will deal with.

How hard is the denial to see when someone in one breath says tire kickers are the nature of the business and in the next they say they get 1/2 their business from craigslist????? You really don't believe that your acceptance of tire kickers are business as usual having anything to do with the source you are pulling your business from?

dirtdiggler pt2

I am by far not an expert or even a highly skilled salesperson



but, one thing I have learned ... is that when I finally sit down across the kitchen table from someone ... it is not a waste of time.

BTW - not getting a job is not necessarily going to be a waste of time. The more times you get to meet with prospects, the more you practice and refine your sales skills.

It is NEVER a waste of time.


What is a waste of time is meeting with someone that is obviously tire kicking ... and there are some basic red flags that these folks all have in common.








Now --- for one --- Craigslist is the last place on earth I would look to find work, as a businessman.

As a desperate contractor - then perhaps craigslist is ok -


but people on Craigslist are not looking to make business transactions. They are looking for a one-sided deal.

KMac

I post an ad on craigslist on occasion with images and a link to my website. I spend more time than usual qualifying leads I get from CL. After weeding through the responses there are some good leads that come in and It's free so why not. I met an interior decorator through CL that now steadily feeds me great jobs and is a very valuable customer. I have been the highest bidder on every job i have gotten through CL. Some people will get all their bids for their project from "contractors" on CL. It's pretty easy to stand out in that crowd - one customer was just impressed that I had all of my teeth and wasn't drunk when I showed up! After they meet the riff-raff that usually advertises on CL cost becomes less of an issue.

dokuhaku

I have made a great deal of money this year from jobs I procured with my Craigslist ad. Though I change up the wording a bit from time to time, I usually state that there are many people on Craigslist who will do the work cheaper than I and, if the lowest price is most important, I wish them luck. I have a higher labor cost because I have a greater level of skill. I think the wording I use weeds out a great deal of nickle-dimers.

Grumpyplumber

I share a similar view to Mike Finley, BUT...I have been recently questioning whether maybe it isn't just me.

I DON'T like C-list, I found myself wasting a lot of time deferring negotiating with these people.

It's one thing to bid, discuss and go back and forth on a $10k job, another altogether when someone wants to price shop something under $200.00.

One VERY important point I might make, not knowing how long some of you have been in business...

When I first started out, I folded on price frequently when things got slow, I didn't know to be patient back then and let the bargain hunters go to my competition.

Later on, after I realized I was better off throwing the small fish back to wait for the keepers, I started getting return calls from these people...they STILL expected the same discounts.

In other words, if you are willing to take a cut in pay for the sake of generating future business, you can expect that future business to be low paying as well.

I may be wrong about C-list, but I won't guess I am.
Maybe I'll humor myself and try a campaign on C-list for a month or so and record my results....when I have the time.