Door to Door Flyers

Let me be clear. If a contractor will be operating equipment in the street near my home, then by all means, I appreciate a knock on the door or a mailed notice to let me know that the street will be tied up. That's considerate and professional, and I do the same in my market. If I'm not home though, and somebody hangs something on the door to further advertise that fact, then they've already displayed sufficient lack of consideration and negative intrusion. Rest assured I won't monetarily entice them to come back. I vote with my dollars. Call it harsh, call it real, call it an opportunity to reevaluate how one interacts with potential clients.
 
cerviarborist said:
Let me be clear. If a contractor will be operating equipment in the street near my home, then by all means, I appreciate a knock on the door or a mailed notice to let me know that the street will be tied up. That's considerate and professional, and I do the same in my market. If I'm not home though, and somebody hangs something on the door to further advertise that fact, then they've already displayed sufficient lack of consideration and negative intrusion. Rest assured I won't monetarily entice them to come back. I vote with my dollars. Call it harsh, call it real, call it an opportunity to reevaluate how one interacts with potential clients.
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what do you mean that you alert people that you will be working in their area/tying up their street? do you actually door knock and let people know you will be on their street before every job? or is this only for large jobs with a crane etc? do you actually mail neighbors to tell them that you will be working?
 
rfwoodvt said:
Just remember, do it well, do it with excellence, spend the money on a quality flyer. That alone speaks to your own quality.
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I've considered it for cold-calls.

I would suggest you approach it as a brochure, not a flyer. Useful for neighbors who you can see need work. I bid a job for a prune, and saw a semi-attached birch hanger over the back yard, maybe 30' long.

If I had a brochure, I'd have a section that allows me to jot notes...

"While assessing your neighbor Bill's sycamore, I noticed a large, broken, hazardous trunk in your paper bark birch. I also noticed that your drought-sensitive western red cedar gets lots of southern and western sun, and has competition for soil resources from the turf below. Please feel free to contact us, if you'd care to discuss your trees. We will be pruning his tree in the next couple of weeks. Its likely more cost-effective if you'd like to schedule your tree care for the same day. Thank you. Sean"
 
The latest Tree Care Industry Magazine - March 2016 has some prime examples of quality print and digital media on pg. 76. I always troll other company websites to see how we can improve our digital and print message.
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Old thread but there seems to be quite a jump here. Lots of stuff calling for fairly large investment on a part time, up and comer.


I found this because I am in the same dilemma. I want to get my name out there, around the area I live, which is outside the service area of the company I work for.

I'm not large enough to afford all the "proper" things a business needs to have. I won't expand on that on the www. You get what I mean. That is my goal, to at least make enough to take it to the next level to where I can justify carrying all the proper things a business should have.

In the mean time, I'm looking at getting my name out there and wanted to research the subject, thus bringing up and old thread.

I have business cards that I hand out to those that ask, and for referrals for the few jobs I have done, but nothing right now.

So, the question remains, how to get the coverage you want (more business) without seeming to be something you're not (a full blown company). Do you just wade through the ones that ask for liability insurance and such until you make enough, steady enough, to warrant a plan? I haven't had anything come up where I figure I might need it for property damage, but I am smart enough to walk away if I think there's risk involved that exceeds what's in my wallet at the time. It's not something I think about at work "oh it's ok if something goes wrong, we have insurance", but it is something I think about NOT having while doing side work, even though I haven't felt like I was in a situation that could go sour.

Sorry, I just feel like I'm in an area that's ripe for the picking, but very few servicing the area. I've moved back "home" to NC from MN since starting tree work, and trying to get a foot hold, to at least stay busy on off days, or some of them anyway.
 
For guys, myself included, that not made ourselves a business yet getting GL is not easy. All the ones I have looked at want a company name and information.
 
My GL policy annual premium has never cost more than 1 day at my published rate. I priced a policy when I decided to hang out my own shingle, and after I sold my first job, I went down to my agent's office and paid the premium to put it into force before work commenced. It's like having a suit for your interview on any other job. No you're not going to wear it every day, but the people making the decision whether or not to hire you appreciate that you own one and know how to put it on.
 
The insurance is relatively cheap. I got mine through an agency that advertised with my local ISA chapter. The first year I financed it to spread the payment out. It does make a difference when you can say you have general liability insurance. It makes you come across as a pro. I never incorporated. Always operated as a sole proprietor. Wasn't an issued ever.
 
Hmmm I'll look into that now. I was under the impression that it was much higher. No excuse for my ignorance. Thanks guys.

I've got to several local "yard sale" types of groups on FB, but don't think that's the type of social media thing to get much from. I did put lots of pics. I'll keep trying. Nothing worth having was easy to come by.
 
@JustinK , you might try (once you have your insurance) sending a Press Release to a local paper that you know has some decent circulation about how you are offering this service locally, what you are specializing in, how to reach you (the who? what? where? when? why?). Here's a good overview on the web: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/write-news-release-new-business-1393.html. I think a good opening title is something about your homecoming to NC to continue doing quality tree work--combine two loves of working in the tree industry and being back home. Find out who on a local paper is overseeing the business page or edits business stories. Interview yourself and come up with some good quotes like "Beautiful homes and yards here have tree species that can really shine with the right care, and homeowners could see enhanced property values" or noting a special problem with weather damage, pest damage, or drought that you would be able to help homeowners fix. This kind of publicity is free and if you can send a nice photo of yourself with it, people might remember your face and name together. You might get a bonus of being called on by local media to talk about any issues with forests, woodlots, trees, shrubs. Keep your name out there without spending a dime.
 
Cisco kid, i hope you are still reading this. Lots of great information here. So the verdict is out. Flyers might work in some instances and are probably not a good idea in other instances. It is marketing and if you simply tos out a bunch of flyers somewhere you are most likely littering more than anything. On the other hand, if you are treating Oakwilt in an area and want to make other homeowners in that area aware, well maybe flyers are your choice. I still think they are a sign of a person who is not very knowledgeable about marketing or very professional. If you have no specific reason to leave that flyer other than for your own bottom dollar, then you are breaking the law or technically trespassing. And most importantly, why would I waste my time driving around burning gas littering and possibly making people mad when the usps can do it for me at a fraction of the cost. Look into direct mailing.
 
I am a very small company myself,
From my own personal experience flyers are hit and miss, more so missed. And I only passed flyers onto people who had a need for my services. Such as dead limbs or even entire trees, not to everyone on the block.

A couple of things that have worked for me, and are free is.

1) word of mouth
2) the next door app. Which half of that is an extension of WOM as other people talk about the work that you did. Another great advantage to this app is everyone that you can talk to is in your neighborhood, and there's nothing quite like being able to walk home for lunch in the middle of the day. Not having a travel expense is great.

3) last advice is register you business on Google. It is free and only took a few minutes. I often get calls from people who say they Google tree services and called everyone on the list. Around here that means maybe half of the ones who are online returned their call.

And not to beat a dead horse, but just getting more info out there, my gl insurance cost me less than 700/year. That's for 1 million in coverage and the cost of that can be made up in no time.
 
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