Yellow Page Addiction

YELLOW PAGES – OTHER ALTERNATIVES

END YELLOW PAGE ADDICTION …FIRE YOUR YELLOW PAGE SALESMAN

Contractor 20/20 Has Many Advertising & Marketing Solutions That Will Deliver You New Customers

Note: this was originally a post made to the ServiceRoundTable.com.

The key to doing well, negotiation with yellow pages is to have strong alternatives. Contractor 20/20 has the alternatives which can help you end your yellow pages addiction and get you a lot more business.

Step 1) Analyzes your new customer cost from the ads by comparing what you got in sales to what it cost you to acquire the customers … I have tracking sheets designed just for this purpose (free to SR members) … note, you don’t have too track every customer. A fair random sample of 50 could show you the trends to project against the total.
Step 2) Then compare your new customer acquisition cost to others in your industry.
Step 3) Test direct mail pieces with a good national record of success to see if you can meet or beat the yellow page results.
Step 4) Target your direct mail by age of homeowner, age of home, value of home for best results, even credit scores if you can make a firm offer of credit.
Step 5) Once you have established your new customer cost test, you’re pricing against your closing ratios to see if new customers will bear the cost of their acquisition at expectable closing rates.
Step 6) Set up a direct mail program to old customers to maximize retention unaided by the yellow pages.
Step 7) Leave an outdoor thermometer attached to your old customer’s exterior kitchen window so your customers can find your number without the phone book.

Now you will know
1) What are new customers cost you out of the yellow pages.
2) If you are making money from yellow pages.
3) Can you replace them for less with direct mail leads.
4) That your old customers have a way to find you …

The GOOD NEWS … you can figure out in three months if direct mail will let you fire the yellow pages.
The BAD NEWS … it could take you two or three years to get the thermometers in all your old customer’s homes during a normal service rotation.
For TOO LONG the industry has been overly dependent on yellow page advertising … but now some are now dropping out of them before they test the real value or have a cost effective consistent substitute for leads in place.

You can even beat direct mail’s results with Radio and TV if done correctly:
1) The coverage area of the station matches the service area of the contractor.
2) The price of the spots matches the size of the audience.
3) The script has an endorsement, a testimonial and a call to action.
In my work with over 80 clients in 26 states, I have seen there is a sensible way to make the transition, to break your yellow page addiction.

Call Mike Morosi at Contractor 20/20 for all your marketing and advertising needs.  He is the expert in helping contractors market their plumbing, HVAC, and electrician businesses.