[Agnessa]

I have seen others trying to ask same question without much success. So, I decided to start with myself.

Here best marketing/lead generating tool in my purse…
1. Advertising in free construction magazine (just like the one for R.E. lots of good leads and cost is low)
2. Advertising in niche periodicals (we grew business on ads in Russian paper)
3. Networking. Especially membership in Organization of Woman Business Owners … all members are my potential clients.
4. Professionals that service my potential clients like realtors, interior designers, and architects.
My business: Residential remodeling

Please write what works for you (you don’t have to wear a purse , tool belt well do). Can be more or less then 4 and what type of business you are in.

 

[Floorwizard]

1) A.M. radio.( Lots of rich people LOVE talk radio....)
2) Front section of the newspaper. (again, rich people are interested in international, now more than ever)
3) Word of mouth ( Always the best IMO)
4) Realtors, designers, builders, ect...

I am in Flooring........

 

[Grumpy]

Realtors are a complete waste of time IMO. Oh god! I hate it when I go to an estimate and find out the building is for sale. Ugh!

 

[Floorwizard]

I have found Realtors a fantastic source of income. They find a house to sell, it needs new flooring before it goes on the market, they buy flooring from me, and the house looks great!

or....

A person is buying a house, they get an allowance for carpet, they come to me (thanx to the realtor) they get new flooring, and they move into their new home looking real nice...

great source of income for me....
Although my new home and retail still outpays the Realtors....every penny counts

 

[Grumpy]

I have found realtors to be a fantastic source of wasting my time. They use roofers for free inspections. If they represent the buyer, they want a HIGH quote to use as a negotiating tool. If they represent the seller they want a low estimate to use as a negotiating tool. If the house is for sale figure 6 roofers look at it. 3 for the buyer and 3 for the seller... and in most cases none of those 6 roofers get the job because the roof usually has a 3-5 years left and the buyer waits until it springs a leak... or the buyer has a temporary fix done instead of a repalcement.

I speak on this subject from experience. I have made it my policy to charge for all estimates if the house is involved in a transaction... I will make exceptions in special cases.

 

[Mike Finley]

Sorry your thread got hijacked Agnessa, the replys in regard to realtors by Grumpy and Florcraft once again demonstrate how we have found that almost any subject can be viewed totally differently based on the trade you are in. Both people have different outlooks on realtors as souces of potential income and both are right when their opinions are based totally on their own trade. Throw in a 3rd trade and you will probably get a 3rd opinion.

What works for marketing is very trade dependent because not all trades are trying nor able to service the same consumer. Take independent real estate investors who specialize in fix and flipping properties. They are a fantastic customer for handymen, but a lousy source of income for professional remodeling contractors, since their main concern is fix it fast and cheap, just spend enough money to make it look good enough to sell, most handymen excel at this type of work, most remodeling contractors can't sleep at night if they have to work for a customer like that.

What marketing works for me? Word of mouth is the best source, but you have to build up a big enough client base through traditional methods that require spending money first, which is where I am at currently. The only marketing I have done so far is to supliment my word of mouth work with small advertisements in service directories in the two local papers that circulate in the two areas I want to work in. I'm actually excluding 80% of the customers in my geographic area of Denver and concentrating on 2 sub areas that meet my target demographic.

My next step is to explore:

Church flyers and newsletters
HOA newsletters
Inserts in my local newspapers
Doorhanger services

Down the road the big time with advertisements in our full color regional magazines such as 5280, and Colorado Homes followed by bill boards and radio.