Any ideas to get the phone to ring?

**byzantium** · 07-12-2009 06:23 PM

Ok, I have my business doing virus removal and other basic repairs in Windows PCs, and I have put out several ads.

*Sacramento News and Review (free weekly paper): ad came out last Thursday

*Valley Yellow Pages (second tier phone directory-AT&T is too expensive): book arrived a few days ago

*Balanced Life (new age/holistic provider directory): ad comes out in August

Ok, so except for Balanced Life, I have my ads out there, and have only gotten one call, a guy who wanted a battery repair for a Mac Powerbook, and I'm not trained to handle Macs. One frustration is that due to the limits of print advertising, I can't say all I want to say in the ad, so I have to put my website url on the ad ( ByteBuster Mobile Computer Repair serving Sacramento, 916 Area Code ) and hope people look. Am I too impatient? Or am I doing something wrong? I tried fliers previously, but only got one call, a woman who wanted a laser printer repaired, another thing I can't do. Any suggestions?

**TuesZ** · 07-13-2009 09:46 AM

Try out CrossLoop and if you like it maybe you can offer a free "over the net" consultation. That way you can advertise the free remote evaluation and hopefully string up more business.

**Gaulkin** · 07-13-2009 11:58 AM

You have to get out and sell, advertising can only offer so much. When your strapped for cash nothing beats being a good sales man.

**david90** · 07-13-2009 12:05 PM

Originally Posted by byzantium

Ok, I have my business doing virus removal and other basic repairs in Windows PCs, and I have put out several ads.

*Sacramento News and Review (free weekly paper): ad came out last Thursday

*Valley Yellow Pages (second tier phone directory-AT&T is too expensive): book arrived a few days ago

*Balanced Life (new age/holistic provider directory): ad comes out in August

Ok, so except for Balanced Life, I have my ads out there, and have only gotten one call, a guy who wanted a battery repair for a Mac Powerbook, and I'm not trained to handle Macs. One frustration is that due to the limits of print advertising, I can't say all I want to say in the ad, so I have to put my website url on the ad ( ByteBuster Mobile Computer Repair serving Sacramento, 916 Area Code ) and hope people look. Am I too impatient? Or am I doing something wrong? I tried fliers previously, but only got one call, a woman who wanted a laser printer repaired, another thing I can't do. Any suggestions?

how much do you spend on advertising?

**byzantium** · 07-13-2009 06:25 PM

Originally Posted by david90

how much do you spend on advertising?

I spend about $100/mo for the yellow pages and newspaper ad combined. The magazine ad is another $100 every two months. As for selling, my question would be, who do I sell to in person? I tried handing out fliers at apartment complexes but never got any calls, I suspect that instead of putting my fliers in the community room they just trashed them. Door to door selling is just not done around here (I'm in California).

Part of the problem is attitude-people around here seem to not want to do anything about their PCs until they slow to a crawl with viruses, and then they just want to toss it and buy a new one like it was a toaster or something. That means pollution from all the toxics in the components, not to mention expense. And then there's concerns about identity theft. But people don't seem to realize that virus infestations can be fixed, it's not like a broken DVD player that can't be fixed.

**david90** · 07-14-2009 01:35 PM

Originally Posted by byzantium

I spend about $100/mo for the yellow pages and newspaper ad combined. The magazine ad is another $100 every two months. As for selling, my question would be, who do I sell to in person? I tried handing out fliers at apartment complexes but never got any calls, I suspect that instead of putting my fliers in the community room they just trashed them. Door to door selling is just not done around here (I'm in California).

Part of the problem is attitude-people around here seem to not want to do anything about their PCs until they slow to a crawl with viruses, and then they just want to toss it and buy a new one like it was a toaster or something. That means pollution from all the toxics in the components, not to mention expense. And then there's concerns about identity theft. But people don't seem to realize that virus infestations can be fixed, it's not like a broken DVD player that can't be fixed.

I'm in the business too. I did fliers for a while too but it was too inefficient. I will advertise on the pennysaver and I hope it goes well.

**jmeijers** · 07-14-2009 03:47 PM

I am a big fan of one-time ads. These are ads that contain a limited offer. For example; 50% off if you call now! Or something along the lines of that, maybe an Internet code people can use, etc.

The idea is that 1 ad won't cost much, and the ad triggers people to respond.

**inle** · 07-17-2009 12:56 AM

mmm..
if you are still there, do pm me..
maybe I can help..

as to why your ads/fliers don't work, it might be how your ads/fliers are being done up & how they are distributed..

I am engaged to boost organizations' sales through sellable business ideas & strategies..
e.g. how to design & turn a simple business card into a workable, sales generating tool for business..
likewise for fliers..

I love to add value to you by increasing the success rate of your materials & increase your sales conversion rate..

Please advise if you still need help..

**inexorable** · 08-03-2009 09:09 PM

byzantium,

When I started, I started with a newspaper ad plus flyers to over 500 houses. Later, I started up a website and bought local traffic to it. I'll never do flyers or newspaper ads again. At VRB, I'm trying to help others learn how to do this as well, with the goal of helping others "fight the Geek Squad". Here are some marketing strategies for your computer repair business. Feel free to PM me at VRB for some tips, or to discuss your strategy over Skype.

**byzantium** · 08-04-2009 11:00 AM

Originally Posted by inexorable

byzantium,

When I started, I started with a newspaper ad plus flyers to over 500 houses. Later, I started up a website and bought local traffic to it. I'll never do flyers or newspaper ads again. At VRB, I'm trying to help others learn how to do this as well, with the goal of helping others "fight the Geek Squad". Here are some marketing strategies for your computer repair business. Feel free to PM me at VRB for some tips, or to discuss your strategy over Skype.

Actually, the News and Review ad DID get some calls, but I realized that it was poorly written, so I got no paying customers. I believe I have fixed that problem. Also, I noticed that most of the calls came around the middle of the month. People pay for necessities first, THEN look to fixing their PCs. Then at the end of the month they are out of cash. Since I can buy ad space by the week, I am looking to only buying two weeks instead of four, halving my cost. I found that most people aren't looking at my webpage (url in sig). I guess if your PC is having problems the last thing you are doing is web surfing. That is why Craigslist ads get zero responses. Around here, Craigslist seems to serve mainly as an outlet for the cops to arrest and prosecute those who don't have the appropriate licenses, since anybody can post. Some poor sap gets laid off from his programming job and posts a tech service ad on CL only to find himself cooling his heels in the Placer County Jail. (Roseville cops LOVE stings.) I doubt that PPC ads would do any good if people aren't using the net to find me.