First time poster –
I recently started a business providing smaller roll-off dumpsters. These dumpsters will hold 15 cubic yards and about 3 tons of waste. They measure about 8.5 feet wide by 12 feet long.
My question for the contractors is what would be the best method to market this service to you? What would you respond to, what would turn you off?
Thanks
Mike
Replies
Alibi, you seem to have a perfect product for remodeling companies.
Direct mail to everyone in the yellow pages, builders association, news advertisors, etc, seem to be a logical choice for me.
I would suggest a postcard mailing system. The US postal service has a service that will do all the work for you....cheap.
What kind of area do you operate in? Urban, rural?
blue
Thanks Blue
Did not think about the USPS having a list. I have been working on getting a list from the yellow pages, but I know a lot of the smaller guys do not list in them.
What would make a contractor pay attention to the postcard. Would 10% or $10 off help get them to try it.
I'm in an Tucson, Arizona - lots of building and remodeling going on. Right now about half my customers are contractors and the rest are homeowners. I would like to get more contractors because they will tend to use the service multiple times a year. Just looking for ideas that contractors will pay attention to.
Businessmen think about risk and cost.
The risk of using a new supplier? Is he reliable? will he do what he says? will he do it the same way everytime?
Time will tell, buit you can sweeten the pot so the risk has a higher payoff the first time by offering a one-time 10% coupon.
Cost. If your reduced cost is in line with your reduced capacity, that's good.
Tell me your costs up front. Send me a one page, standard sized cost sheet that I can easily file and find.
Attach a couple of biz cards so I can put them in my tickler file. If you give me 1/2 doz or so I may pass them out. I may just throw any extras away, so don't get your hopes too high.
Give me instant delivery and pickup. Everytime.
Include a cover letter that tells me about you. In the letter specify a date and time you will give a followup call. You'll probably get a recording. Reset the date and time for the beginning or end of the work day next week. Each time you get a recording Id your self with name, biz name, and phone number, and move the time of next call to an, earlier or later time.
Don't sell dumpsters during this call, just verify delivery of the letter and make your self known and familiar.
When you talk to the decision maker, set a follow up meeting. Don't forget early coffee, lunch, or after work beer date.
If you meet onsite for lunch, offer to stop by McD's and buy lunch for the crew. Obligates him to consider you.
SamT
What SamT said. Good service, competitive cost, friendly person on the other end of the phone.
Take a couple of mornings and afternnons to drive your territory, looking for job sites. Stop in and introduce tyourself. Leave a box of donuts in the morning and burgers at lunch, maybe a six pack of cold soda in the afternoon. And business cards. Don't stay long, hopefully the contractor is busy. Just stay long enought to grip & grin.
Whenever you are asked if you can do a job, tell'em "Certainly, I can!" Then get busy and find out how to do it. T. Roosevelt
I like the postcards, the 10% off. You can get a mailing list from a list service. How they get the info... maybe I don't want to know... but I use one for my postcard mailing and the list I've bought is cheap and effective. They send preformatted Word files and I print mailing labels. They'll do the whole thing so you never touch it, if you want.
For the postcard, a photo showing your yard full of boxes ready to go, a couple of trucks too.
David....I like that part...."they can do the whole thing so you never touch it"!
I have never done a mailing campaign, but after I found out about that service, I'm itching to get started.
blueIf you want to read a fancy personal signature... go read someone else's post.
One company that will do a turnkey mailing of postcards is Modern Postcard, or modernpostcard.com. They print postcards, sell lists, and combine the two. They printed my last batch of cards with acceptable results, although as a serious photographer I see some loss of color and sharpness in the image... a slight muddiness... but no homeowner's gonna give a dang about that, of course, and what do you want for $99 per 500 cards? The list I'm using is from Spectrum Data, 800-227-MAIL. It was $100 for about 800 names. I specified zip code, residential property address, and property value of $250K or more. They sent me a Word file to print typical Avery labels. I have repeated use of the list at no charge, which is a major plus when you start trying to buy a list.
Where in MI are you? I spent my first 25 years in Ann Arbor. Did they win yesterday?
Michigan won...smoked Illinois.
Thanks for the info.
I'm trying to find that info that explains the US postal services. They print the postcards too and mail them direct. They also print letters and mail them but I've been warned that the letters don't look as good as the postcards.
Cheap too.
blueIf you want to read a fancy personal signature... go read someone else's post.
blue,
The USPS site has lots of info but your best bet is to talk to a Postmaster at a smaller office. They are looking for revenue units and have more time to help you. If you have specific questions I'll ask my wife who is a Postmaster.
http://www.usps.com/
KK
David --
Thanks. How did you find the mailing list company? What does it cost per "contact"?
I bought a mailing list one time. I looked in the local weekly business paper (the San Antonio Business Journal) and there was an ad for a mailiong list company. I think the Journal is part of a chain, with editions for several large cities. The company was a local one, which may be good since they market in the city where they live.
Whenever you are asked if you can do a job, tell'em "Certainly, I can!" Then get busy and find out how to do it. T. Roosevelt
Edited 10/18/2004 8:38 am ET by Ed Hilton
Sam
Thanks for the reply. So far I have been able to take care of a customer either the day they call or by the next morning. When they call to have a container picked-up, I always try to ask them how it worked for them. So far I have received good feedback.
I think the key is going to be to get the guy to use me the first time. After that, based on price and service, I believe I can get them to keep using me.
One thing about using a dumpster on a remodeling site is the potential for damage of the driveway, yard, etc.
Is there a way you could lay tracks or something like that down before dropping the dumpster? Plywood is often used but it might require an extra trip to the site and the ply is often damaged beyond the point of reuse. If you could find a way to save time and also decrease the potential for damage you would get my attention right away.
Jon Blakemore
Jon
The yards here are mostly gravel or natural desert - not to many lawns. So it is pretty easy to fix the tracks the rollers make in the ground. A lot of the driveways are concrete and if the concrete is in good condition to sart with and you are carefull when picking up the container you can not even tell there was one there.
I'm not a contractor but I've used roll-offs. Building permits are normally public records. Why not get the contractors names from the permits issued each day, contact them and see if they have a need. Not this time? Well, Ok...nicetameetcha, next time...I can beat price, service,etc....then deliver on it.....
I don't know if you can use this or if it even would be considered. Last winter a local "high end" builder had an addition in a nice neighborhood. The houses are right up by the street, enough room for a roll off, but right out front. He put Christmas lights on em and ran a cord to it. Nice touch on Christmas eve.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
Quittin' Time
One thing I would relate to the contractors is what you are doing with the waste, they may have customers who cares or potentially Arizona state law regulates this. I know here in Massachusetts the dumpster laws are very strict as we've had alot of illegal dumping, alot of potential clients(especially urban ones) would be interested in knowing if anything was recycled. Beyond that a quick call-back when someone asks for an estimate can be the best strategy, sometimes I might go into something looking to compare prices but if one person replies promptly and professionally I'll give them the business before even waiting to see what others are charging.
-Ray